Forge a path to success

Smoke billowed in the center of the magic circle, solidifying into a blurry disc whose shape was indistinct. The old man picked up the smoke disc and examined it closely.

“Fire is the wrathful, destructive god,” said Granny Sangja. “Beware, darling of the trend, for crows should not have burning hearts.”

Chu Hengkong listened quietly, then smiled at the old man to indicate that he understood. The old man also smiled and placed the smoke disc in Chu Hengkong's hand: "The diviner's pursuit only goes this far; it needs to be washed away with seawater to decipher the longing."

"Thank you for your help." Chu Hengkong nodded and instructed, "I will follow up on the investigation and take good care of my mother-in-law."

Before his brothers could reply, he had already headed towards headquarters. On the way, he activated the communication crystal and had a brief conversation with Ji Huaisu.

"Oh my god," Ji Huaisu said. "Although I don't quite understand it, I have a bad feeling."

Chu Hengkong effortlessly ignored his partner's antics: "Grandma Sangjia cares a lot about fire. Is that so special?"

“Have you ever seen anyone else in the city use fire?” Ji Huaisu said. “Fire is a very advanced power, the strongest destructive force below the First Abyss. Those who can use it freely are at least ‘Pure Fire,’ which is the third point of my path.”

Even with Ji Huaisu's strength, he's only at the level of a 2-point particle; there's no reason he could fight a 3-point particle to a standstill. Thinking about it this way, Kaning must have used some underhanded methods to obtain high-level power before his transformation.

This place is tainted by light poison, possessed by demons, and blessed by the dark moon. Obtaining power is a simple matter, it just depends on what price you are willing to pay... and the workshop owner is undoubtedly a crazy person.

What are your chances of winning if it really comes to a fight?

"I'm sure I'll win every time, okay? I still have some super powerful moves you haven't seen yet to use." Ji Huaisu said confidently.

"to be honest."

"To be honest, it's fucking tough," Ji Huaisu said dejectedly. "But there are plenty of tough things out there, one more won't make a difference."

"really."

Chu Hengkong put away the communicator and examined the blurry smoke disc in his hand. Kanin indeed had ulterior motives, but he probably didn't expect his whereabouts to be exposed.

He decided to investigate this lead himself. This was crucial intelligence; obtaining it early might give him a head start in the upcoming operations.

Chapter 58 The Crow and the Golden Bird

Sky Island, Anza Workshop.

Noon had passed, and the sky was overcast. The sun was still nowhere to be seen. The salvage workers stood beneath the oppressive, gurgling water, chanting as they moved the belongings. They were all exhausted. The workshop had been operating at full capacity recently, with shifts increasing from eight to twelve hours. Even with the generous overtime pay, the strain was too much for them.

No matter how the war turns out, work has to stop for a few days, Mrs. Ansa thought. She shifted her gaze from the newly made equipment to the disc formed by condensed smoke.

“I tried to authenticate it with a book on the way, but there was no writing,” Chu Hengkong said.

"It's not surprising. This isn't a keepsake with sentimental value; it's just a small fragment of an image 'cut' out of the smoke..." Mrs. Ansa took out a magnifying glass and examined it carefully. "Do you know what amber is?"

"I've seen it."

“This thing is like a tiny insect inside amber. You have to break the resin to get it out.” Mrs. Ansa turned around and started rummaging through the resin. “To untangle it, you can just rinse it with seawater, but it will take a while. You can take your light armor first, and I’ll call you when you’re done.”

"to make."

Chu Hengkong browsed around the shop but didn't find anything interesting, so he went out. Mrs. Ansa submerged the smoke disc into the swirling water and carefully sculpted it with a high-pressure water jet. This was delicate work; the water flow of the Sea of ​​Illusions would carry away most of the thoughts, so it had to be carefully controlled to break through the smoke without damaging the contents.

"I hope I haven't forgotten how to do this; it's been over ten years since I last did this," Mrs. Ansa muttered. "Let me see what's hidden here..."

Time passed second by second, and the smoke faded under the washing of the water, gradually forming an outline that resembled a mirror.

·

Chu Heng put on the repaired light armor and felt a little more at ease.

This light armor was severely damaged in the battle at the club; Du Muyan's slash nearly destroyed it completely. It was only thanks to the workshop's preservation of the blueprints and materials that it was repaired after working overtime. He walked to the edge of the small sky island and looked out, seeing a black watchtower guarding another island in the distance. That island also had a workshop, but the salvage workers were all dressed in black and appeared extremely somber while working.

The floating islands under the jurisdiction of the Black Workshop were all like this, cold and impersonal like an arms factory. Chu Hengkong estimated the distance by sight; there was enough space between the two dust islands to fit at least two residential complexes, and jumping across by leg strength was definitely out of the question. Currently, the team did not have any flying vehicles. If they wanted to launch an attack, they would either have to use a glider to land from the top of the giant tree, or sneak down to the bottom of the floating island by using the branches as a makeshift bridge.

They were all sitting ducks; a single machine gun shot would find them all. He understood why the resurrection forces hadn't attacked the black workshops for so long. Unlike the treacherous swamp, the guys on the sky islands were truly difficult to deal with.

Chu Hengkong refocused his thoughts, intending to discuss the offensive issue in detail at the subsequent meeting. He glanced at several dark figures on the edge of Ansa Sky Island; they were the "Ravens" of the Black Workshop, and these gloomy shadows could be found on every sky island.

In the past, the crows and the Anza workshop kept to themselves, but today the situation seemed different: a tall, thin man in black walked toward him, empty-handed and unarmed, wearing a black bird-beak mask, looking exactly like a human-shaped bird.

When they were three meters apart, the crow stopped on its own initiative: "Detective Chu Hengkong."

Chu Hengkong nodded: "What brings you here?"

"The workshop owner would like to have a chat with you." The crow spoke slowly, as if struggling to carry a note like someone with intellectual disabilities. "It's not a trap. Just a chat."

Seeing his reaction, Chu Hengkong had no intention of making things difficult for him. He simply smiled and said, "Tell your boss that if you want to talk, come to my territory yourself. Don't play these insincere tricks."

“Okay. Okay,” the crow repeated blankly. He raised his hand and took off his mask, revealing the handsome face of a blond man.

“I will always come in person,” Kanin said cheerfully. “Now let’s talk?”

Chu Hengkong stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly raised his voice and shouted, "Tell Mrs. Ansa, everyone leave work and clear the area! I need to have a good talk with the workshop owner!"

·

The small island was much quieter than usual because the salvage crew had all run away after Chu Hengkong's shout. The negotiation took place at the Black Stone Tower, a hundred meters away. The two men each held a fishing rod that looked like a transparent water pipe, fishing with thin lines into the water curtain while chatting.

“I was just about to praise your courage when I realized you’re a coward,” Chu Hengkong said.

Kanin was ready to attack when he removed his mask, but the face beneath was smooth and white, like porcelain. There was no point in fighting the puppet, so he decided to talk to him instead.

"You can't have a proper conversation without being timid. Can you hold back from making a move?" Kanin retorted.

I will twist your head off.

“Me too, so puppets are still more convenient.” Kanin sighed sadly. “You see, our business is so dangerous that even face-to-face conversations have become a problem!”

He cast his fishing rod, reeling a disc-like relic from the current and casually placing it beside him. The "fishing rods" they used were the same ones used to scam tourists years ago, supposedly offering a chance to catch relics from the water's surface—the actual success rate was akin to winning the lottery. Chu Heng sat there for a long time without catching a single relic, while Kanin's spoils piled up like a small mountain. This man's fishing skills were phenomenal; he could catch a relic in less than two minutes, making one wonder just how much effort he had put in.

“This is my cooking skill,” Kanin said enthusiastically. “Our city is a wonderful place where even a person with no power, no connections, and no one to rely on can find a way to make a living. Fabrics, shoes, hats, knives—as long as you learn to reach for the sky, even a pauper can become a millionaire.”

“You made your fortune through salvage,” Chu Hengkong said.

“We all made our fortunes through salvage,” Kanin corrected. “That old man Adari was incredibly unpopular. If he hadn’t jumped on the bandwagon, where would he have gotten his poison skills and walking stick? If we hadn’t retrieved the old man’s portrait from the water curtain, Maivia would have remained a scavenger for life. And Alex, if he hadn’t retrieved that book, how would you be where you are today?”

Chu Hengkong raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected the other party to know his background. But upon reflection, it wasn't surprising. Alex had held the ceremony inside the giant tree, a place within the territory of the Resurrection Force. Only the Black Workshop could send fanatics into the tree.

“You originally planned to have Alex scout ahead,” he pointed out. “You were just waiting for him to summon a powerful enough demon to destroy the water curtain before launching a coordinated attack on the city lord’s mansion.”

Kanin neither admitted nor denied it, only revealing an elegant smile. He caught another relic, a beautiful little silver fish. As he reeled in the line, he raised the rod slightly, and Chu Hengkong saw some copper-rust-like fragments in the waterline.

“Salvage is like fishing; you need some ‘bait’ to get the artifacts on the hook,” he said. “Whether you put out the bait or the prey takes it, that’s the difference between the prey and the hunter.”

"In this fair city, we always start as prey, avoiding the hooks, taking the bait, and growing in the cracks of danger. Until you finally become strong, you have the right to be the hunter. Living in the shadows for a long time makes your feathers as black as a raven, and the wealth you can obtain is enough to clothe you in golden feathers."

"With that layer of golden power, even a crow can transform into a golden-winged bird soaring through the sky."

Kanin turned his head and looked directly into Chu Hengkong's eyes. His eyes gleamed with a blinding light, both childlike innocence and wildly greedy. It was the fire of ambition; an inextinguishable flame burned within him, a thirst for status, wealth, and power, like a bird yearning for the sky. That utterly simple ambition had driven him from a salvage worker to a workshop owner, and now it led him to extend his reach towards the city beneath the water curtain.

"The three major wars in twenty years are because a huge secret is hidden in Huilong City," Kanin said softly. "Don't you want to see it? That secret that even the heretics covet!"

Chu Heng thought to himself that what this person said might be true. A person capable of fighting a major battle with the city lord would look down on the small fry in the city. The only reason such a person would be willing to wait outside the isolated city for ten years in a row could be attributed to the enormous profits that would come from conquering the city. And Kanin wanted to get a share of the spoils in this chaos.

Of course, any ambitious person would do the same. When the city falls, everyone will die. If the city lord wins, the Black Workshop will have no chance of survival. It's better to burn one's bridges and take the risk.

"Have you heard the story of the Golden-Winged Bird?" Chu Hengkong suddenly asked.

Kanin blinked: "...No."

“In the myths of my hometown, the Golden-winged Bird is a divine bird with an astonishing appetite, eating a Naga King and five hundred dragons a day,” he said. “But the Golden-winged Bird was in great pain before its death because it had eaten too much dragon meat. The poison in the dragon meat accumulated, causing it to struggle and fly up and down. In the end, it could only burn itself on the mountain, leaving only a blue heart.”

"That's certainly a legendary ending," Kanin said without changing his expression. Chu Hengkong admired this man even more; like any good boss, he didn't get angry easily.

“You have a good speaking ability and you’re a nice person. If it were your first day in the city, I would consider going with you.” Chu Hengkong put away his fishing rod and stood up. “But to live more comfortably, you should eat less bait.”

Kanin watched him jump off the Black Stone Tower, then shook his head regretfully. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Hey! Won't you reconsider? The pay is very good!"

"I'm not changing jobs."

“Well, well, what a stubborn killer,” Kanin sighed.

He snapped his fingers, and a blinding flash of light rose from the distance, like a comet streaking across the sky, falling towards the giant tree in the city center. As the spark landed, the tree's surface glowed with a dark red light. The massive elevators inside immediately stopped, and a deafening roar, like an earthquake, echoed throughout the city. Lava cascaded down the tree's bark, turning the Anza workshop closest to the tree into a sea of ​​fire!

Almost at the same moment the fingers snapped, the tentacle pierced through Kanin's skull. The mangled skull glowed blue and emitted a mad laugh that was muffled and indistinct due to its damage.

"Then negotiations have failed, assassin. War has begun!"

From among the many distant floating islands, a beam of black light rose straight to the sky. With unstoppable momentum, the light shattered the water curtain and drilled a hole-like opening in the sky above the city.

The swirling water curtain was instantly damaged, with nearly a tenth of it coming to a standstill. The dissipating currents turned into rain, falling along with countless relics. However, within the black pillar of light, there was a stream of blue flames. These flames seized the opportunity to seep into the water curtain, using the water as fuel to grow rapidly.

Countless fiery stars fell from the sky, and torrential rain burned over the city!

Chapter 59 The Rain Is Burning

Nearly a quarter of the sky turned from jet black to dark blue, brighter than ever before, even on a clear day.

Whether in the workshop, the marshland, or the courtyard, people paused in their work, gazing blankly upwards. The twinkling stars were falling, their color a pure sky blue, yet carrying a fiery, intense heat.

The toddlers excitedly reached out towards the stars, while the older youths shielded them, still bewildered as to what was happening. Stories they'd heard in their childhood flashed through their minds, but they dismissed the idea as absurd. Then the voices of the elderly rang out, trembling with panic and despair.

"The water curtain has broken." The old people's eyes were glazed over. "They're coming...they're coming!!"

The desperate cries of the people were drowned out by the deafening roar. The first bursts of fire pierced through the building and landed on the ground, igniting an inextinguishable blue flame in the courtyard. Wails, screams, terror, and bewilderment filled the air. Social order was instantly shattered by the raging fire, and people scrambled to escape to safety.

But what fell from the sky was not only rain and belongings, but also something far more dangerous: demons lurking in the shadows, transparent and fleeting phantoms, blocking the path of the terrified crowd and reaching out their evil hands to claim their lives.

The feast of non-human beings has begun; they have waited far too long!

·

"The water curtain is 8.7% damaged. It is estimated that the high-level barrier effect will not be able to be maintained after thirty minutes."

"Enemy relic output increased! Predicted time revised to nineteen minutes!"

"A large number of heretical intrusions have been detected. Various types of natural disasters, including Fireflies, Slaughtering Ghosts, and Three Demons, as well as multiple demonic phantoms, have been identified... Demonic reactions are concentrated in the workshop area! It is speculated that the Flesh Demon has descended!!"

Ji Qiufeng sat in the center of the water-sphere-like room, a quarter of the surrounding water curtain tinged with blue. A filthy rainbow light lurked in the shadows, using blue flames as a wedge to pry open a breach. Eyeballs, symbolizing demons, spread out densely, drilling into the wounds in the water curtain.

Anxious reports echoed throughout the room, and the technicians responsible for maintaining the water curtain were in a state of frantic disarray. These men, though lacking combat skills, were crucial to the city and had therefore remained hidden within the headquarters building, never venturing out. Most of them had experienced past battles and knew just how dire the current situation was.

"Youyou, I'm counting on you," Ji Qiufeng said.

The little white snake rushed into the water curtain in the room, releasing a clear, divine light. At the same time, a long, resonant roar echoed throughout the city; the dragon's roar carried majestic divine power, suppressing and annihilating the large number of invading heretics.

Inside the water-curtain room, Ji Qiufeng formed a hand seal and whispered along with the dragon's roar. Their words carried genuine power; almost every building in the city opened its doors, and a gust of wind carried crowds into them. Then, the buildings sank like building blocks, the courtyard floor rose up, and hundreds of hardwood fortresses and dragon-head-shaped turrets emerged. These, along with the already completed Divine Vision Tower, formed a defensive line protecting the headquarters building.

A bright yellow light converged beneath Ji Qiufeng's seat, forming an aerial view of Huilong City. The scene in the image moved according to the city lord's will, and the buildings in reality were also subtly adjusted accordingly. He moved the positions of fortresses and towers one by one, reinforcing the city's defenses. As the real-world defenses rapidly took shape, Ji Qiufeng felt pressure pressing in from all directions, almost wanting to close his eyes.

He clenched his fist, exhaled, and made sure everyone at headquarters could hear him.

"From this moment forward, Huilong City is under wartime alert. All units must remain steadfast in their duties and hold out until the very last moment!"

·

"Everyone, take up the nearest watchtowers and fortresses within your jurisdiction. Slaughter any outsiders!" At the first line of defense outside the headquarters building, Jie An gripped his communicator and roared, "Don't scare yourselves! Lord Huilong will hold off the high-quality enemies. Your mission is to protect the civilians from these small fry!"

"Old Jie, you're just talking nonsense!" the squad leader of the Hongyong area cursed over the comms. "This little shrimp is taller than my house!"

"What's wrong, scared?" Jie An shouted.

"Who's afraid of who's a coward!" The squad leader's angry curses were mixed with the sound of gunfire. "Watch out, all of you, those bastards from the black workshop are here too! Damn it!"

Then came the sound of explosions and a piercing noise, and communications were lost. Jie An opened the sunroof of the police car and saw numerous black specks of light mixed in with the rain of fire. The message from the tower told him that they were manned aircraft resembling discs, each carrying at least three fully armed "Crows," and judging from their trajectory, the target was the headquarters building.

The Black Workshop launched its second attack during the height of the chaos. Now, with Huilong busy maintaining the water curtain, they had to rely on them to hold it off. The defending side activated their towers and fortresses, unleashing water bombs to create a dense network of fire. But the war had begun too quickly; the first aircraft to land had already brushed past Jie'an's head and were approaching the rear defense line.

At that moment, a golden light rose from behind, and a hurled light hammer smashed through the flying disc. Then, a shadow blade flashed out, cleaving the crows in half. Ji Huaisu leaped and charged to the front lines, grabbing a delighted Jie An: "Did you prepare any medicine?!"

"What medicine?" Jie An asked blankly. The broken corpses of the crows fell to the ground, and a sense of tension gripped Jie An's heart like an invisible hand. He saw the cross-section of the corpses emitting a golden light.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! Fireflies!!" Jie An cursed, while at the same time being glad that he had made preparations. "Attention everyone, the crows are all fireflies. Remember to switch to Blessing Water Bullets and maintain distance during the battle!"

Ji Huaisu shoved him against the hood of the car, a crimson claw grazing Jie An's scalp, leaving a chilling sound in the air. Jie An broke out in a cold sweat; if Ji Huaisu had been a fraction slower, his head would have been gone. He looked around, trying to find the enemy, but all he saw were gunshots and frantically running team members, their shadows distorted into eerie shapes by the flames.

He realized something was wrong; a person's shadow shouldn't have taken on an almost acute angle shape. Just as Jie An noticed the anomaly, the shadow boiled over, and the demon's claws leaped out. The same attack came from behind him—two demons lurking in the shadows launched a sudden attack!

Ji Huaisu brandished his hands, unleashing a simultaneous strike of light hammer and shadow blade, forcing the two demons back. They stepped from the shadows into the light, revealing their sinister and ominous forms. The demons in the shadows walked on six legs, their bodies riddled with irregularly protruding claws, teeth, and blades, resembling wolves stitched together by countless sharp objects from the shadows. The outlines of their heads constantly shifted, like heavily twisted acute-angled triangles, their bodies illuminated by the firelight, yet no shadow was cast upon them.

Outer Path Point 2, Calamity Species - Slaughtering Demon.

"I'm going to give it my all." Ji Huaisu shouldered his greatsword. "The command is yours. Be careful!"

She ran with the light shield on her back, two demonic creatures following closely behind, like sharks that had caught the scent of blood. They were demons born of light, who loved to devour light and heat. The light shield couldn't withstand the demonic creatures' claws and teeth, so she could only fight them with the sword of her shadow.

Jie An leaned against the police car, his mind in turmoil. Everything had happened so suddenly. When he was giving the orders, he even felt like he was acting, while the real him was still squatting in the kitchen, pondering what to make for dinner.

He heard his teammates report from the fortress, and he saw crows on the aircraft fire, killing a lookout on a distant tower before being shot down by concentrated water bullets. Standing amidst the hail of bullets, he realized his mission was complete, and there was nothing more he could do in this battle.

Jie An climbed into the car, pounding his forehead and forcing himself to think. There was clearly something amiss in this battle. How did the workshop master control so many fireflies? Unless he himself was a high-ranking Calamity, but someone with that ability would have wiped out the entire resurrection force long ago. His target was headquarters, meaning he had intelligence on Dragon City. The Central Plains front could barely hold, so where else…?

The elevator. The large elevator in the center of the ancient tree leads directly to headquarters; the enemy can move freely using the elevator shaft. He realized this in an instant, grabbed his communicator, and roared, "Who's in the workshop area?! The Black Workshop is attacking the Ancient Tree!!"