Free Web NovelNear Bu Ye Street, the residential area that suffered a severe Spiritual Energy attack last night.
The sunlight grew fiercer, carrying the unique intensity of summer. Among the scarred residential buildings, a group of Da Chunyang Palace disciples worked diligently like worker ants, busy eliminating the effects of the Spiritual Energy attack.
On the narrow street, under the convenience store's umbrella, Zhang Huainan sat cross-legged. Several damaged items exuding a heavy aura of death were neatly placed on the white cloth spread out before him.
He surveyed the items, picked up a relatively intact dressing mirror, held the mirror in one hand, and took out a turtle shell and copper coins from his In arms (bosom/pocket) with the other. He cast a divination and then gazed at the hexagram formed by the coins, sighing silently.
This was his fifth attempt to use these damaged items to pinpoint the urban legend behind the Secret Society, but without exception, the divination results were vague and unclear.
This wasn't because the urban legend were hidden too deeply or their abilities were too strange, but because the damaged items were contaminated with too many Spiritual Energy fluctuations emitted by the Wu Qi Tian Jun Spirit Mark.
"Ah, I still hit too hard..." Zhang Huainan muttered to himself, put down the dressing mirror in his hand, and was about to pick another item to try divining when Qingxia Zi hurried over from a distance and stopped in front of him.
Qingxia Zi bowed slightly to Zhang Huainan, "Martial Uncle, Senior Brother Wang, he truly..."
She trailed off mid-sentence, a hint of regret appearing on her face.
The Secret Society emblem found by the disciples sent to investigate Elder Wang at his residence, which was made based on the death-announcing owl, was enough to prove his connection to the Secret Society.
Qingxia Zi thought that many years ago, when she first entered Da Chunyang Palace, the person responsible for guiding her was Elder Wang, and afterward, Elder Wang also took care of her a lot. A wave of emotion couldn't help but rise in her heart.
She hadn't expected that with the passage of time, people would eventually change...
Noticing Qingxia Zi's thoughts, Zhang Huainan gently shook his head, "Qingxia Zi, you really don't need to feel sad for that kid. What he is today is entirely his own doing!"
As he spoke, there was a clear look of disappointment in his eyes, like someone frustrated that iron cannot be made into steel.
Including Qingxia Zi and Elder Wang, which of these older generation disciples wasn't watched by Zhang Huainan as they grew up from their youthful days?
That Elder Wang was never someone with dull aptitude. Under the same cultivation conditions and resources, Qingxia Zi, whose aptitude was slightly inferior to his, was already only one step away from becoming a Calamity Psychic, while he was still at the level of twenty years ago. That was enough to show the problem.
If you put in some effort, you are happy to accept some harvest. There is nothing to criticize about that; it's a personal choice.
But if you lack the drive to improve yourself, yet blame insufficient aptitude, unsuitable Spirit Marks, or insufficient help from your sect, and then encounter a shortcut that allows you to gain without effort and accept it without hesitation, ending up in such a state, there's nothing worth regretting.
"Martial Uncle's lesson is right." Qingxia Zi withdrew her thoughts and responded respectfully, "The disciples sent to investigate are still following the clues to track Senior Brother Wang's whereabouts. Once they find Senior Brother Wang, I will have them bring him to you immediately."
"Mm..." Zhang Huainan responded. He was about to instruct Qingxia Zi further when the old man's phone in his In arms (bosom/pocket) suddenly vibrated, ringing loudly.
He took out his phone and glanced at it. The call was from Lu Yibei.
Oh? Are there results so quickly? Zhang Huainan raised his eyebrows slightly, pressed the call button, and answered the phone.
----
...
After receiving Lu Yibei's call and hearing about the areas potentially affected by the urban legend behind the Secret Society, Zhang Huainan held the old man's phone, furrowed his brow slightly, and calmly said, "Anything else?"
A Power born from humanity's negative attitude towards "things" could potentially find a breeding ground in at least half of humanity.
Even if the scope of harm caused by such urban legend were wider, it would still be within his psychological tolerance.
"That's it!" Lu Yibei on the other end of the phone exclaimed in surprise, "What? Isn't that enough? A full seven areas, involving more than a dozen organizations, big and small!"
"Wow, I see, Old man... you're afraid the world isn't chaotic enough, aren't you?"
"You brat, what nonsense are you talking?!" Zhang Huainan on the other end of the phone snapped back to his senses and cursed in a low voice, "Alright, this old man already knows the situation. I'll get started on handling it."
He paused mid-sentence and added another instruction, "Oh, and don't forget what you promised this old man before, you brat!"
Just don't run off if things look bad... Zhang Huainan added in his heart.
Lu Yibei, "..."
Is he worried I'll desert at the last minute?
Why would he misunderstand me like this?
Tsk, it's probably that bastard Li Xuan who spoke ill of me behind my back, right?
"Don't worry, Old man, I won't run. I'm still waiting to watch you put on a show and eat some melon!"
"..." In the silence, Zhang Huainan's face darkened, and he hung up the phone indifferently.
Putting away his phone, he stood up and walked towards Qingxia Zi, who was waiting nearby, calling softly, "Qingxia Zi..."
"I am here!" Qingxia Zi responded.
"I'll leave the matters here to you for now. If there's anything you can't handle, go find Master Bixuzi. This old man needs to make a trip to Prosperity Beijing and will be back within three days," Zhang Huainan said seriously.
Although he appeared calm and collected while talking to Lu Yibei, handling the actual situation was not that easy.
Although Zhang Huainan was one of the top Psychic in the world, with a great reputation, when it came to Spiritual Energy organizations outside of Z Country, he couldn't easily intervene unless absolutely necessary.
This kind of thing is like knowing the neighbor's child is going to court death in your home; you can warn and dissuade him, but it's not convenient to overstep and take out "Seven Wolves" (a brand of cigarette, often used metaphorically for a beating) to beat him up on behalf of his father.
The priests of Pashupatinath Temple, the Guji of Kasuga Grand Shrine, and the principal of Matiola Academy were all his old acquaintances. He could personally coordinate and negotiate, but for the other locations, he would have to ask other Guardians for help.
Among them, there were two areas where civilian Psychic organizations were active. He could let Lord Bing be responsible. When he was young, he had a period of traveling and studying, during which he met many friends "in the jianghu."
There was also a financial center where he could ask Caishen (God of Wealth) to step in. Even if negotiations were unsuccessful, he could use the special nature of his Power to exert pressure through financial means.
The only one that was relatively difficult to handle was the Tulip Club.
That was a stronghold of a gang-like Spiritual Energy organization entrenched in Amsterdam. Zhang Huainan knew very little about the background of their godfather, Bruce Ma.
He only knew that Bruce Ma had strength close to the Calamity level, and it was suspected that behind him there was a terrifying urban legend born from legends passed down by medieval pirates, originating from the deep sea.
Although the relationship between such a Spiritual Energy organization and the Night Watch was not exactly hostile, there was absolutely no trust between them.
It was even harder to get them to listen to the Night Watch's opinions and take effective action against the urban legend behind the Secret Society.
How to get the Tulip Club to take action could only be decided after arriving in Prosperity Beijing, inviting the various Guardians over, pooling their wisdom, and then making plans... Zhang Huainan thought.
Hearing Zhang Huainan say he was going to Prosperity Beijing, Qingxia Zi was momentarily stunned, but quickly realized that he was going to the Si Ye Hui Headquarters. She responded seriously, "Please rest assured, Martial Uncle!"
----
Bu Ye Street, inside a certain Electric Competition Hall.
After telling Zhang Huainan in detail about the areas that the Pink Fluffy Rabbit could potentially harm, Lu Yibei sighed silently.
In her opinion, her mission was completely finished after bringing the information to Zhang Huainan. The rest was beyond her capabilities.
The areas Chatterbox Girl mentioned involved more than a dozen Spiritual Energy organizations, big and small, righteous or evil. That Old man, Zhang Huainan, might not even be able to handle them all. What could she do?
Like a greenhorn, run up to people's doors and tell them, "A great disaster is about to befall you!"?
That would probably get him kicked out and beaten to death with sticks, then hung at the city gate for three days as a public display!
This kind of thing is like saying, "This child will definitely die eventually!" at a baby's °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° hundred-day banquet. Although it's the absolute truth, no one would ever want to hear it.
Thinking this, Lu Yibei composed herself, stood up and left the private room, walking briskly towards the Electric Competition Hall counter. After a simple negotiation with the internet cafe manager, she successfully got an iced cola.
"Please add more cola and more ice, yes, yes, add a bit more, don't be stingy!"
The internet cafe manager, who was putting ice cubes into the cup, heard this, glanced at Lu Yibei behind him out of the corner of his eye, and his mouth twitched, "How about I just give you the 2.5L bottle directly and fill it with ice?"
"Oh, that would be too embarrassing!"
You know how to be embarrassed? The internet cafe manager curled his lip.
"1.5L is fine," Lu Yibei said seriously.
...
The internet cafe manager's face darkened. He opened his mouth, about to say something, but then heard Lu Yibei's next words and silently closed his mouth again.
"If you drink less cola, people... are prone to sudden death!"
Internet cafe manager, "..."
---
After a moment, Lu Yibei returned to her private room in the Electric Competition Hall, holding the bottle of 1.5L cola filled with ice, under the strange gazes of the customers.
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"Phew—! Comfortable~!"
After a hearty drink, Lu Yibei couldn't help but let out a sound of pleasure.
Cola can bring happiness, and iced cola can double that happiness.
If this iced cola was also obtained for free, then you can get triple the happiness.
After getting triple the happiness, going to visit the Ancestor will make the happiness super multiplied!
In fact, Lu Yibei was quite happy every time she saw Qingji, after all, he was one of the few relatives she could see at any time, and presumably Qingji felt the same way.
I am so happy to see the Ancestor, I expect the Ancestor to be the same when he sees me!
Thinking this, Lu Yibei retracted her hand into her sleeve and gently stroked the broken sword inside.
The time on the computer screen stopped, and a second felt as if it was stretched infinitely long.
Then...
When time started ticking again, familiar darkness enveloped Lu Yibei's vision.
----
It felt as if she had fallen into water, the surroundings were completely dark, and her consciousness drifted downstream, sinking continuously until her toes touched the ground.
Cold wind wrapped in snowflakes, like countless tiny blades, brushed across her cheeks. The biting cold made Lu Yibei shiver involuntarily. She suddenly opened her eyes, saw the scene before her, was startled for a moment, and then frowned.
The scene before her changed from Peony Street of a hundred years ago back to the city ruins with a layout similar to Hua City.
The sky was filled with unsettling dark clouds, as if being pulled by some force, twisting into a vortex shape. Accompanied by thunder, heart-stopping electric arcs poured down from the sky, wildly scattering on the ground, leaving behind scorched ravines.
The earth trembled slightly, and a low rumble echoed through the city. The steel frames, like the skeletons of giant beasts, swayed, as if they would rise from the ground at any moment.
In the distance, a dark tornado, like a stumbling giant, moved through the dilapidated and decaying city.
Goose feather-like heavy snow fell from the sky. Blown by the fierce wind from afar, it was like raising a white sandstorm, with the dust reaching dozens of meters high. The snowflakes fell on the ground, instantly melted into water, and then gathered together, forming a turbulent torrent.
Further away, where the sky and earth met, raging fires spread across the outline of the undulating mountains, dyeing the horizon crimson.
Thunderstorms, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, mountain fires... all kinds of natural disasters, like a chaotic stew, appeared simultaneously over these city ruins.
Such a scene, as if heaven and earth were enraged, wanting to plunge this place into despair.
What the heck? What's going on? Is this a new skin again? Lu Yibei scratched the back of her head, full of confusion, looked around, and called out softly.
"Ancestor, I'm here to see you! Ance..."
Suddenly seeing the black figure behind her, holding a long sword and with eyes flickering with crimson light, slowly walking towards her with an extremely strong sense of oppression, Lu Yibei's heart tightened, and her voice stopped abruptly.
That figure, just by looking at him, made one feel that his combat power was at least several million! freeweɓnovel.cѳm
As he slowly approached, he kept moving his body, as if warming up. Accompanied by bursts of crisp joint sounds like thunder, terrifying Spiritual Energy fluctuations erupted from that body. The entire person was like an evil god, with his disheveled long hair fluttering behind him.
On the rooftop, the wind howled, but it couldn't cover up his heartbeats that sounded like drums. The muscles all over his body twitched violently, constantly contracting, emitting fine rustling sounds as if ropes were being tightened.
When she first saw the figure, the wind and snow obscured his face. Lu Yibei didn't know his origin and was on high alert, her nerves tense. When the figure got a little closer, she saw his face clearly and immediately relaxed.
"It's the Ancestor? You scared me!"
Before Lu Yibei finished speaking, she saw Qingji twist his neck, slightly lower his body, and assume a posture ready to charge towards the unsuspecting Lu Yibei.
Lu Yibei frowned, "You are..."
Qingji suddenly moved. As his figure, which had turned into a blur, rapidly approached, a fierce wind blew towards her. Immediately after, the long sword in his hand sent out an earth-shattering strike, and a roar erupted.
Terrifying sword energy, dragging a silver-white trajectory, swept across the entire city ruins. Fierce winds, falling snow, and even the lightning in the sky were disturbed, showing signs of distortion.
The moment she was struck by the arc light raised by the sword blade, Lu Yibei felt a terrifying power pour into her body, filling her limbs and bones. The violent force crushed every bone, every piece of flesh, and even every cell in her body...
With one sword thrust, it felt as if her physical body was completely shredded, leaving only her soul. Lu Yibei lost all sensation in her body, and illusions appeared before her eyes.
The earth trembled, the sky tore open, and meteorites like a downpour fell from the torn rift, plunging into the deep sea. Towering waves rose, and all things in the world returned to a silent cycle.
Her body showed no damage. Lu Yibei just stood there stiffly, like a statue, without any signs of life.
Then, blown by the wind, she turned into tiny black particles, merging into the swirling snowflakes, correcting the wind's flight to the distance, bravely venturing to the ends of the earth.
----
Floating in an endless darkness, waiting to reappear on that rooftop, recalling Qingji's sword strike just now, Lu Yibei felt as if phantom pain still lingered on her body.
What the heck, did the Ancestor turn evil?
Even the disciplinary ruler could break, so it's not impossible for the broken sword to be eroded?
Lu Yibei pondered, and upon careful thought, felt something was wrong.
The poem says: "Three thousand guests drunk with flowers fill the hall, one sword's frost chills fourteen states."
Lu Yibei originally thought that was the use of exaggerated rhetoric by ancient poets, but having witnessed Qingji's sword strike today, she suddenly felt that perhaps it was a realistic depiction.
From that astonishing sword strike, she vaguely captured something different.
When Qingji unleashed his sword just now, it seemed like an ordinary thrust, but it subtly carried a sword technique.
That was a sword technique Lu Yibei had never seen before.
...
I understand, I completely understand. That's a new move, the Ancestor is showing me a new move!
Wasn't it always this routine when learning new moves before?
Although this time was more intense than before, I am also much stronger than before, so it is reasonable for the Ancestor to apply appropriate pressure!
The more Lu Yibei thought about it, the more excited she became. She secretly prepared herself, ready to seriously "listen" to the Ancestor's teachings the moment she reappeared on the rooftop.
----
"Hmph! You scoundrel!"
Watching Lu Yibei's figure dissipate, Qingji coldly snorted, gently shook the long sword in his hand, and flicked off a piece of white snow.
That sword strike just now was indeed a new move, as Lu Yibei thought. It was a sword technique he created in his later years, incorporating the destructive method of Spiritual Energy fluctuations from the Hundred-Armed Giant Power.
Previously, due to the incomplete Lingtai Pure Karma, he had no memories of his later years. Recently, perhaps the broken sword came into contact with the disciplinary ruler and resonated, and he consequently remembered many things.
That sword technique was one of them.
Standing in the wind and snow, Qingji held his long sword, quietly waiting for Lu Yibei to reappear.
Although he had many questions to ask Lu Yibei, before that, he wouldn't be appeased unless he killed her hundreds or thousands of times.
However, perhaps because the power of that sword strike just now was too great, the time it took for Lu Yibei to reappear this time seemed much longer than usual.
Did I go a bit too hard? Qingji thought with a touch of softness.
After waiting for a long time, just as Qingji began to suspect that Lu Yibei had fled out of fear of punishment, taking advantage of the interval while her body was reconstituting, a fierce wind suddenly struck from behind him.
Immediately after, he felt a chill down his back, and a familiar voice also sounded by his ear.
"Ancestor, you... you were careless!"
Qingji looked down and saw a broken sword piercing through his body from the back, and then it was twisted forcefully.
Qingji, "???"
At this moment, a very subtle emotion quietly arose in his heart, and his anger gradually deepened.
That feeling was like "Not only did the enemy not surrender, but he also dared to fight back!"
You scoundrel, you've rebelled against the heavens!
That sword strike just now was just the beginning. There's a lot more I've remembered recently!
Today, I will absolutely not let you off easily! Qingji thought fiercely.
And so, the torment was super super multiplied...
