I will be stronger after the remake

"There are plenty of people in the world who live off their wives, why can't you be one of them? Have confidence in yourself!"

Tang Ping glanced sideways and said, "So, the director also thinks this is like living off a woman."

“Uh…” Hu Ze realized he had misspoke and quickly tried to make amends, “Don’t care about other people’s opinions. As long as you live happily and clearly, that’s enough. Having such a strong fan as your girlfriend will greatly benefit your spiritual development. When you advance to the third rank, people will only envy you, and there will be no criticism.”

Tang Ping nodded and said, "I don't object to being a kept man."

What nonsense are you talking about not resisting?!

Hu Ze inwardly scoffed, but outwardly smiled and said, "So you agree?"

"You can't just agree to something like this. Besides, I just rejected her yesterday, and if I change my mind and say I agree today, she probably won't believe me. Once she gets suspicious, it's like planting a landmine that could explode at any time."

Hu Ze tried to understand: "In short, you're not against dating her, right?"

"She's beautiful and not a particularly wicked person, just a little eccentric. But I know plenty of eccentric people around me. From our first meeting yesterday, Gu Linglong doesn't seem difficult to get along with. I can't think of any reason to be resistant to her."

"That's fine then. The organization doesn't expect you two to fall head over heels in love the moment you meet. As long as there's interest, that's enough. Handsome men and beautiful women will definitely develop feelings for each other over time if they spend more time together." Hu Ze waved his hand, seemingly deciding to report this to his superiors.

Tang Ping keenly sensed something was wrong; she had only said she wasn't opposed to it, not that she was interested.

Before he could correct him, Hu Ze changed the subject, saying, "By the way, Ma Yiming called me last night. His spiritual transformation is completely complete, and he's ready to strike while the iron is hot and advance to the second stage tonight. I've decided that everyone will go to the Illusionary Realm to protect him, consider it overtime."

"Promoting from the first to the second job advancement is quite easy, isn't it? When I was promoted, it was a breeze. And you guys also said that the success rate of promoting from the first to the second job advancement is very high. The few cases of failure are all due to external factors such as being attacked or being interfered with unexpectedly. It's rare for someone to have problems on their own."

"Your popularity was so high back then, and your performance was beyond expectations, so it was easy for you to get promoted. It's hard to say for others. The high success rate of the second promotion is a result-oriented approach. It's like a pregnant woman giving birth. With the current level of medical technology, the mortality rate is negligible, even lower than the mortality rate of construction workers. But if your wife were giving birth, would you dare not take it seriously?"

"This metaphor is rather unfamiliar to me; I haven't experienced it firsthand and it lacks a sense of reality. However, I understand what the director means—it's just about protecting the law, so I have no objection."

"Then go back and prepare. It's best to get some sleep before evening. Advancement of the Netherworld Spiritual Rank is usually done during the Chou hour when the Yin energy is heaviest, which is between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. So don't doze off at that time."

After saying that, Hu Ze kicked Tang Ping out of the office.

"I feel like I've been fooled."

Tang Ping shook his head. In any case, he still had to take his good brother's promotion seriously.

……

Late at night, in the realm of illusion.

All members of the Public Security Section were present. Hu Ze, Tang Ping, and Yuan Ji all looked tired and struggling to stay awake, while Ma Feiyan and Yu Shujiang remained calm and composed.

Hu Ze yawned for the third time that day and couldn't help but ask the two newcomers, "Why are you two still so energetic?"

Yu Shujiang said, "It's quite normal to stay up late when you're so focused on playing games that you lose track of time."

Ma Feiyan said, "There was a slight accident during the live broadcast, so the broadcast was delayed. After that, I brushed my teeth and took a shower. By the time I got to bed, it was almost one or two o'clock."

Yuan Ji sighed, "Unexpectedly, it's the people who go to bed on time every day who have it the hardest."

Tang Ping said, "I used to be able to stay up quite well, and going to bed at one o'clock was a regular thing. Recently, you've been dragging me to go for morning runs, and I've developed the habit of going to bed early and getting up early. I never thought I would suffer because of this."

Ma Feiyan glanced at Ma Yiming, who was sitting cross-legged in the center of the altar, eyes closed and motionless, and asked with some concern, "Is my brother alright?"

Tang Ping repeated what he had said about the high success rate of the second promotion, then glanced at the clock next to him and said, "It will be 1-3 AM in ten minutes, everyone be alert."

Yuan Ji slapped her face hard with both hands, her eyes quickly becoming sharp. With her physical condition, she could go three days and three nights without sleep without any problem, but going against her biological clock would be annoying.

After adjusting herself to battle mode, she suddenly noticed something unusual: "The yin energy is a bit too strong."

Hu Ze disagreed: "It's normal for those who have advanced in the Netherworld psychic realm to have heavy Yin energy."

"Even so, it's still a bit too heavy. I've seen some Netherworld Psionicists advance in the Armed Forces Department. Their Yin Qi concentration is only about 70% of what it is now, and it's still increasing. I have a bad feeling. Everyone, be prepared."

Yuan Ji's intuition had already proven its value, and Hu Ze and Tang Ping immediately became alert. Ma Feiyan and Yu Shujiang also became tense upon seeing this.

Before long, the earth suddenly shook violently, and dark cracks appeared in the ground around the altar, from which came the sound of rolling thunder.

At the same time, countless pale arms suddenly stretched out from the surrounding rock walls, all pointing towards Ma Yiming in the center of the altar. The arms trembled violently, as if trying to climb out of the rock walls.

Not far away, hungry ghosts emerged from the darkness, their hunched bodies revealing their ribs, greenish saliva dripping from their mouths. Hanged ghosts, with their three-foot-long scarlet tongues, swung closer like swings among the jagged rocks, and a stench wafted through the air.

"When!" Yuan Ji exclaimed in surprise, "I didn't even notice!"

Ma Feiyan and Yu Shujiang were experiencing this for the first time, so they didn't find it particularly strange. Although there were many ghosts, their individual strength was very weak. They were like newborn calves unafraid of tigers, and they felt that they could fight against a thousand of them.

Tang Ping's expression turned serious. Compared to her situation when she was promoted, the current situation was undoubtedly much more serious. However, she still maintained her cheerful disposition and said to Hu Ze, "Director, would you consider this a difficult birth?"

"Well, thankfully hospitals now have clear regulations so we don't need to worry about saving the mother or the baby; we can just focus on protecting the baby."

Hu Ze no longer waited. He stepped into the Big Dipper formation, formed hand seals, and unleashed a spiritual technique: "Heaven and Earth are boundless, Qiankun borrows the power to protect my true body, unleash the Dark Flame!"

A wall of purple flames rose from the ground, burning fiercely and turning the pale ghost hand into charcoal. The hungry ghosts and hanged ghosts that approached it let out mournful howls upon touching it, and no matter how much they rolled around, they could not extinguish it, and in the blink of an eye, their souls were scattered.

This is the Purple Yang Fire, specifically designed to subdue ghosts. As long as it is continuously supplied with spiritual energy to maintain its power, no matter how many ghosts there are, they will not be able to get through.

However, Tang Ping and the others did not let their guard down, because they felt that the yin energy around them had become even stronger, so strong that it seemed to drip water.

Suddenly, the rock strata cracked open with a spiderweb-like fissure, and a dark shadow seeped out along the crack. Wherever it passed, even the Purple Sun Fire was swallowed up into wisps of green smoke. A human figure emerged from the shadow, wearing a tattered black gauze hat and with nine skull bells jingling at his waist.

Tang Ping subconsciously used his Three-Eyed Spiritual Radiance to identify the visitor, which revealed that the visitor was a third-stage ghost king named "Xu Hao".

Chapter 109 The Unlucky Guy

[Ghost King: Waste of Energy]

[Psionic Abilities: Demon Clan Leader, Shifting Between Reality and Illusion, Stealing from Within, Turning Good Fortune into Misfortune]

[Demon Leader: As the king of demons, you can forcibly command demons of lower rank than yourself]

[Transformation between physical and spiritual states: Enables the body to rapidly switch between physical and spiritual forms]

[Stealing from Sight: Stealing from emptiness is like a game; one can steal any item that appears in sight, provided the weight of the item does not exceed one's own strength.]

[Turning good fortune into misfortune: It can turn joyous occasions into sorrow, and can turn good luck into bad luck, but it cannot turn bad luck into good luck.]

After Tang Ping obtained information about Ghost King Xu Hao through the Three-Eyed Spirit, he breathed a slight sigh of relief. Although it was a third-level demon, it was not the type that was good at fighting. Its formation looked impressive, but it was actually weak inside. In a one-on-one fight, Yuan Ji would probably be able to defeat it alone.

Perhaps that's why the other side bluffs, creating the illusion that they are very powerful and invincible, so as to instill fear in the enemy.

He thought for a moment and reminded everyone, "The other person's appearance reminds me of the ghost Xuhao from mythology. It is said that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang once dreamed of a little ghost stealing his jade flute and Yang Guifei's sachet. Xuanzong stopped the little ghost, and the ghost called out to him, saying that he liked to steal other people's property and could also steal other people's joy, making them depressed. Xuanzong was furious and was about to call for warriors to protect him when a big ghost appeared and tore Xuhao in half and ate it. This big ghost is Zhong Kui. The guy in front of us is likely the villain in the story of 'Zhong Kui Catching Ghosts'."

"Based on the story, the other party likely possesses the spiritual power to steal from a distance and bring misfortune. Everyone should keep an eye on what they have, especially Yuan Ji, be careful not to have your weapons stolen."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ji frowned slightly. She did not doubt Tang Ping's judgment. She glanced at the Azure Dragon Halberd in her hand, weighed it a couple of times, and simply threw it like a javelin.

Accompanied by a piercing sonic boom, the Azure Dragon Halberd, wrapped in a fierce wind, shot out like lightning. Xu Hao had no time to dodge, and could only quickly transform his body into a spirit. Even when he was pierced, he still felt excruciating pain. However, Yuan Ji had anticipated that pure physical attacks would be ineffective against ghosts, so he channeled spiritual power into the strong wind.

Even the Ghost King was injured, so the little ghosts behind him were even less able to resist. The entire row was shot to death, their souls scattered.

"Heh heh heh, so afraid you don't even dare to hold your weapons? With your courage and ability, do you think you can protect people in front of me?"

Xuhao endured the excruciating pain without revealing a trace, letting out a sinister, ear-scratching laugh. It did not react to Tang Ping's earlier guess, as if Tang Ping had completely misjudged its identity, so wrong that it was not even worth a laugh.

Tang Ping ignored the other party's words and actions and continued to analyze: "It seems that the other party cannot steal items that are moving at high speed. It is estimated that the stolen items will still retain their original state of motion. The kinetic energy has not disappeared and they will not become relatively stationary."

"When it first appeared, it would leave footprints on the ground and kick up dust when it stepped on the ground. Now it appears to be floating. It should be able to freely transform between physical and spiritual forms. When fighting it at close range, be careful that it may suddenly transform into physical form to launch a sneak attack, or transform into spiritual form to evade attacks."

"Furthermore, judging from the fact that the little devils around it were clearly terrified but dared not leave, it should have the ability to forcefully command them."

As he spoke, he put the Water Spirit Orb into his sleeve. After all, according to the description of spiritual energy, the Void Energy could only steal visible objects from a distance, and was powerless against things that were not visible.

At the same time, Hu Ze once again performed the ritual of arranging the stars and casting a spiritual spell: "Danzhu, mouth god, expel filth and dispel evil. Tongue god, Zheng Lun, connect life and nourish spirit. Luo Qian, teeth god, ward off evil and protect truth. Throat god, Hu Ben, Qi god, guide saliva. Heart god, Dan Yuan, enable me to reach truth. Thought god, refine elixir, the Dao Qi will always remain. Hurry, hurry, as the law commands!"

A halo spread out, and after touching the six people present, it left behind a faint protective purple light.

While regulating his breathing, Hu Ze explained, "This is the Cleansing Mouth Mantra, specifically designed to resist curses of misfortune."

He also trusted Tang Ping's judgment and used targeted spiritual techniques without hesitation.

"..."

Xu Hao was utterly speechless. He hadn't even made a move yet, and his underwear had already been stripped off.

I am shrouded in black mist, so that not even light can penetrate me. How could you possibly see what I look like?

Did I leave any footprints on the ground when I appeared? I didn't even notice them myself. How did you notice them?

Regardless, things have come to this point, and there's no point in continuing to bluff.

The black mist dissipated, revealing its true form. It wore a tattered black gauze hat and a red robe. It had a bull's nose on its face, an iron fan tucked into its waistband, and one foot was on the ground with a shoe on it. The other foot was suspended at its waist, and it hopped forward on one foot, which was quite eerie.

"You little rascal, you have a sharp eye."

Xu Hao stared intently at Tang Ping with a sinister gaze.

Tang Ping didn't care at all and chuckled, "Why did you stop laughing? Did you remember something sad? Tell us about it and make everyone happy."

"The more smug you are now, the more miserable your end will be. Don't think you can see through me. My supernatural powers are beyond your comprehension."

Xu Hao took the bell with nine small skulls wrapped around his waist, pointed at Ma Yiming and warned, "I only want to take this person's life. If you know what's good for you, get out of here now, or I'll put your souls into this bell and torture you for all eternity. You'll regret it then."

Tang Ping sensed the lie and assumed the other party was just bluffing, revealing their true nature of being all bark and no bite. However, when she glanced at the skull bell in the other party's hand, she was immediately startled.

【Nine Sons Netherworld Bell: A magical artifact crafted from the remains of nine dragon descendants. It can bind ghosts and refine them into pure Netherworld spiritual energy. It can consume this Netherworld spiritual energy to cast nine negative curses: bone decay, soul scattering, mind delusion, meridian severance, blindness, deafness, muteness, stunted gait, and heart burning. When the artifact is filled with more than 90% spiritual energy, it can form the Nine Netherworld Dragon Locking Array with itself as the array's core. Those trapped within will experience sensory derangement, as if falling into the deepest hell. It is effective against dragons.】

What level of magic weapon is this?!

It possesses four major functions: capturing ghosts, refining ghosts, cursing, and opening formations. It also has nine types of curses. Compared to it, the Water Spirit Pearl is simply innocent and cute. The difference between the two is like comparing a piece of tofu pudding with a nine-turn large intestine.

Tang Ping instantly understood the other party's scheme. Since their bluff had just been exposed, she decided to play along and, taking advantage of their habitual thinking, deliberately showed off her secret weapon to make them underestimate her.

Once they get close, they suddenly attack, trapping the people on the spot. The security department will be wiped out, if not completely wiped out, at least half of them will fall.

Seeing the opponent continue to approach, Tang Ping, unaware of the range of the Nine Nether Dragon Locking Formation, disregarded the need to conceal the secret and quickly told everyone, "Director, Shu Jiang, Fei Yan, all retreat and keep your distance. No matter what happens, do not get close. Only cast spells from a distance to clear out the little ghosts on the periphery. Leave this guy to me and Yuan Ji to deal with."

Formations are divided into two types: those that target the inside and those that target the outside. Encirclement formations are easy to break through from the outside, while defensive formations are easy to break through from the inside. As for formations that combine both, they are often mediocre on both sides.

As long as everyone is not trapped by the formation at once, one side can rescue the other.

As for the curse, everyone was protected by the Cleansing Mouth Mantra, which, if not exempt them, at least weakened its power.

Yu Shujiang and Ma Feiyan were puzzled, not understanding why Tang Ping suddenly gave the instruction. Before they could react, Hu Ze reached out and pulled them apart.

"..."

The fiend holding the skull bell froze.

What's up with this kid? I haven't even done anything yet!

"You possess insight-based psionic abilities?"

No matter how slow to realize it, waste has already come to its senses.

Tang Ping remained noncommittal, extending her hand to Yuan Ji while reminding him, "Be careful of the bell in its hand. Judging from its shape and the negative aura it exudes, it should be a magical artifact capable of releasing curses."

"Ah."

Yuan Ji reached out and touched it, then his figure vanished from the spot, leaving only a jet of air and a cloud of dust.

Yuan Ji's black ponytail was stretched straight in the gale, his tiger-striped sleeves fluttered in the wind, his right arm muscles were taut, and his fist, wrapped in light blue spiritual energy, cut through the air with a sharp whistling sound.

"A sneak attack, cunning humans."

Xu Hao's body swayed slightly, transforming into a spirit form. He reached out and shot out bone nails wrapped in poison gas. At the same time, seven white bone chains suddenly sprang up from the ground.

Yuan Ji moved with the lightness of a swallow, dodging and using the force of the blows to her advantage. She spun around and leaped into the air on the white bone chains. Half an inch of her hair at her temples was burned by the poisonous gas of the decaying bones. She could almost smell the sweet and pungent scent at the tip of her nose. She turned her fist into a blade, with spiraling wind blades wrapped around her palm. She struck the body of the ghost, and the spiritual wind shredded the ghost's body.

Xuhao grunted and retreated rapidly, transforming into a physical form and shaking the bell in his hand. The Nine Sons Nether Bell emitted a deadly, crisp sound, and the third, fifth, and sixth skulls trembled simultaneously.

Suddenly, Yuan Ji's vision went completely dark, and he heard the wailing of ten thousand ghosts. He had been struck by two great curses: blindness and deafness. The curse of bewitching his mind was blocked by the cleansing mouth spell.

But Tang Ping had warned her, so she was prepared for this. Trusting her intuition, she drew five runes in the air with her right hand. The originally ethereal wind suddenly solidified, and her fist, wrapped in spiritual power, smashed into the Ghost King's chest with a whistling sound.

Xu Hao hadn't expected that the other party, despite being under a curse, could act as if nothing had happened. He was hit squarely, and his body exploded on the spot, turning into hundreds of ghostly faces that scattered in all directions.

Most of the demon masks lunged at Yuan Ji, while a few attacked Ma Yiming, who was sitting still and had reached the crucial moment.

Yuan Ji activated his spiritual energy "Dandan Tiger's Gaze" to break through the curse of blindness and regain his sight. When she glared at him, all the ghost faces froze.

She clapped her hands together, and a violent current of energy gathered in front of her. She took a deep breath, and a phantom image of a spirit appeared behind her, followed by a furious roar.

The sound, amplified several times by the wind, spread out a torrent of malevolent energy. The nearest dozens of ghost faces were instantly annihilated by the roar, while the remaining ghost faces were scattered like plastic bags in a hurricane.

On the other side, Tang Ping stood guard in front of Ma Yiming, activating the water spirit orb in his sleeve to summon a water wall and a water shield. The former blocked the frontal impact of the ghost mask, while the latter protected Ma Yiming, giving the enemy no opportunity to take advantage.

Outside the altar, Yu Shujiang and Ma Feiyan awkwardly used their spiritual arts to eliminate the little ghosts, but their movements became more and more skillful, and they improved rapidly in actual combat.

Hu Ze first cast a protective light shield on the three of them to ward off the ghosts, then aimed at the ghost face in the altar and cast the Golden Light Spell.

"All gods pay homage, and thunder is at their command. Demons and monsters tremble in fear, and spirits vanish in terror!"

A bolt of lightning struck from above, hitting the demon mask that was trying to break through the water wall. The lightning exploded and instantly annihilated most of it.

Seeing no chance of success, the remaining ghost face reassembled, transforming back into the Void Ghost King, though its aura was much weaker than before.