Forge a path to success

"mouse."

“A rat enhanced by the talisman,” Wu He said approvingly. “When we landed, I released a scout rat, which can infect its own kind to increase our intelligence. Two hours have passed since the rat was released, and I think we will receive good news soon.”

“Very thoughtful,” Shakes said, “but you still contacted me.”

“That’s a sacred tree, and countless people in this city want it.” Wu He picked up his wine cup again. “The next patrol boat should arrive in two weeks, but in reality, the possibility of delays due to changes in the tides is never low. We may have to wait three weeks or even a month. Even if the treasure hunt goes smoothly, we will have to stay here for a long time.”

Finding the divine tree wasn't difficult; the real challenge was keeping it intact. Wu He had already anticipated this. While others were still focused on tracking their prey, he had already devised a defensive strategy. Therefore, he spared no expense in using precious relics to create a protective barrier and hired snipers for escort. Even in Shaks' eyes, this was a reasonable plan.

It seems reasonable on the surface.

Wu He suddenly gripped his wine glass tightly, a flash of anger crossing his handsome face. Shaks, observing everything, remained calm: "A rat has died."

"Frozen to death. I'll locate the target in two minutes—"

“North, 516 meters, park exit.” Shakes picked up the black pill. “Your rat got accidentally injured. 30 seconds left.”

Wu He suddenly turned his head and saw a frozen mountain peak that pierced the sky.

Chapter 107 The atmosphere in the city was extremely lively.

"Shax, you stay here! It's not worth revealing information so early on. I'll take care of things here!"

Wu He hurriedly took off his coat and ran out the door. He pressed the barrel of his sniper rifle, signaling the gunman not to make any rash moves. This action slightly displeased Shakes. He carried his gun up the stairs to the roof and heard the scraping sound of the elevator going down.

“Still taking the elevator…” He lit a cigarette for himself. “What’s there to hide?”

Inside the elevator, Wu He anxiously pressed the button for the first floor. Jumping directly from the building would have been a more efficient option, but the current situation—his identity as a "talisman master"—prevented him from doing so. If he had arrived half an hour earlier, he would have decisively chosen to retreat, but the enemy had chosen to attack right when the magic circle was completed.

The core "Blood Seal Talisman" wasn't something that could be easily moved, nor could its materials be taken at will. He didn't want to lose a level-three talisman on the very first day of the operation!

*Ding-dong.* Before the elevator doors even opened, he felt a bone-chilling cold. The moment the iron doors separated, shards of ice flew in, the frozen ice blooming like flowers. Wu He flung out a burning talisman; the intense heat from the burning vaporized the ice into mist. He rolled away to dodge the pursuing ice fragments, and through the swirling white mist, a disheveled, blue-skinned man stood in the center of the lobby.

"Sadness...tears are streaming down my face..." the man slurred. "Before we could even talk, life slipped away so easily. I wanted to feel the warmth of people, but it was all washed away by cold tears...Oh...why...why...!!!"

He frantically scratched his scalp, his fingernails leaving bloody marks on his face, the blood turning into crimson ice flowers as soon as it flowed out. In his left hand, he clutched a frozen rat, the poor thing already crushed in two by his excessive grip. He pressed the gruesome corpse against his face, not striking it for a moment, but instead weeping hysterically like a child.

A typical Supreme Path psychopath, and coincidentally, the most sensitive one at that, Turbid Tears. Wu He clicked his tongue inwardly, but outwardly raised his hands in a reassuring manner: "Visitor. I don't know why you've come here, but we have no grudges against each other, and there are civilians living around here. You are also a dignified Turbid Tears of Point 3, there's no reason for you to start a war here!"

"Enmity? You mean enmity?" The frozen man sobbed repeatedly. "Ah, whose fault is this misfortune? I had everything under control, I could have rested, but then warmth came to my side—your rat! Your eyes and ears! And then another life was lost! Dead!"

He scratched himself harder and harder, blood freezing on his face: "Why! Why provoke me with such a fragile life!! Why make me feel sad!!"

A constant buzzing sound, like an electrical malfunction, spread throughout the room. Wu He's face was even more ashen than his tears. He clutched a talisman in his palm: "I apologize for the interference from the reconnaissance equipment—"

"It's all your fault..." the frozen man suddenly looked up and roared, "It's your fault!!!"

Frost crystals assaulted the field of vision, climbing along the walls and up to the ceiling, erupting like mountains with the man's roar! Dozens of ice peaks suddenly formed, like the teeth of an ice monster, destroying the entire hall. The chill expanded with the movement of the ice peaks, freezing everything torn apart into ice.

In an instant, the hotel lobby vanished, leaving only jagged ice crystals extending along the corridors and stairwells, attempting to encase the entire building in ice. The ice figure, trembling, pointed a finger at Wu He, frozen within a massive block of ice: "See? Dead. It's your fault. Why did you hurt me? Why—"

boom!

Crimson flames surged from the ground, the intense heat from which melted the ice into murky water. Wu He stepped out of the puddles; his physique was more robust than he appeared, showing no signs of frostbite even after being encased in ice at -70 degrees Celsius. He crushed the talisman in his hand, its graphite-like color spreading from his palm to the center, covering his somber face.

"Go back to the sewers and cry, you piece of trashy giant baby!"

The steel-enhanced punch crushed the Iceman's nose, and Wu He's punch sent the Iceman flying, smashing through three buildings and heading towards the center of Golden Leaf City!

·

A small coffee shop in downtown Jinye.

The freshly baked apple pie emitted an enticing aroma. Vansalal thanked the waiter and began to carefully cut it with a knife and fork. The waitress smiled in return and served each of the three guests a hot coffee, black tea, and a blueberry milkshake.

This table had the strangest customers the shop had served in recent years. The man eating apple pie was enthusiastic and humorous, but he had sharp teeth and a long tongue, making him look like a monster. The priest drinking coffee looked very upright, but his face looked like a bitter gourd. The boy ordering milkshake was elegant and dressed in a well-fitting suit, looking exactly like an immature nobleman.

The mere sight of these three together seemed odd. The waitress guessed that the priest might be the child's godfather, forced to look after the young master who was hanging out with his cronies.

"Hehe!" Vansalal let out a wailing laugh. "Want to know what that little girl is thinking, Olek?"

The little boy Olek—a spirit clone of a certain important person who had been specially summoned—frowned as he drank his milkshake.

“I’ll tell you what I’m thinking,” he said. “I’m thinking about how you would react if I wiped out this entire Dust Island.”

“I would say you have no class, you little piece of trash.” Vansalar raised his middle finger.

“Not you.” Olek shook his finger. “I asked this young monk. What do you think, Bernfar? Isn’t it interesting to sit at the same table as the Great Demon and the Nightmare King?”

“Servants of the gods find no pleasure,” Bernfar said solemnly. “Unless guided by fate, we do not interfere with the actions of the living in principle. Whether you choose to kill or stand by makes no difference to us.”

“Utterly boring.” Olek yawned. “Wow, I haven’t met anyone more boring than Vansalal in ages. You’ll definitely get promoted soon. When you become a deacon, give me a heads-up, and I’ll send you a demon to help you out.”

Please allow me to decline your kind offer.

Vansalal tapped his plate with his fork, his face full of impatience: "You came here just to associate with your trashy kind?"

"Don't be in such a hurry, the show you've been waiting for is about to begin..." Olek stuck a finger into his ear. "Comedy? Tragedy?"

"The atmosphere is too dull, let's liven things up!"

"as you wish."

The little boy, Olek, pulled a gray chain from his ear. He slowly moved his fingers, pulling out the iron chain, which was stained with brains, blood, and bone fragments, like a prison guard preparing the prisoner's shackles.

The scene was certainly bizarre, but no one in the café noticed anything unusual. It wasn't until the iron chain hit the ground with a loud thud that the other customers began to look around in surprise.

Vansalar was overjoyed, and Olek held the chains in his palm.

"Please enjoy, an unfortunate chain."

·

TTT Convenience Hotel, East of Kinyo City.

Chu Hengkong rubbed the back of his neck and looked towards the hotel entrance. Only Ji Huaisu was looking at a travel brochure by the revolving door. She turned her head warily: "You couldn't hold back after only a short while? Need my help?"

"..."

Everyone in the lobby, from the receptionist to the doorman, cast strange glances at him. Chu Hengkong sighed deeply and put down a bead: "It's not what you think... I'd appreciate a double room."

"Oh, a double room, right?" The receptionist blushed slightly.

"Twin room, by the window."

The young woman's eyes grew even more enigmatic, revealing a genuine curiosity that seemed to ask, "What kind of fun are they going to try?" She forcefully suppressed her probing instincts, relying on her professional ethics, and handed over the room key: "Thank you for checking in. We wish you a pleasant vacation... Ah!"

She gasped softly, then awkwardly pulled the room key back, saying, "I'm so sorry! The city's security situation has been poor lately, so please go through security first..."

Seeing the security guard approach, Chu Hengkong nodded: "Okay. What happened?"

"To be honest... the city's police department turned into an iceberg yesterday..." The young woman looked utterly desperate, as if she were saying, "Why did I have to do this damn job?" "This morning, the city government delivered detection equipment, requiring guests to have dangerous items checked before checking in..."

She glanced at the conspicuous white gun and said weakly, "You... it's fine if you don't want to..."

"It's okay, I'll go first."

"The equipment is quite large, please come this way."

The younger sister breathed a sigh of relief and led Chu Hengkong down the corridor. They entered through an iron gate in the middle of the corridor and passed through a storage room that was clearly cleaned up that morning. The hotel staff were very polite.

"Have we arrived yet?" "Please wait a moment."

At the far end of the storage room was another small door, leading to a corridor. On the wall hung a promotional poster for Golden Leaf City, depicting magical scholars building a city on a wasteland haunted by countless ghosts. The poster looked freshly arrived, a testament to the host's diligence and responsibility.

"Have we arrived yet?" "Please wait a moment."

At the end of the corridor was another door, leading directly to a small alley behind the hotel. A faint smell of trash lingered in the air, but there were no garbage bags; the staff had cleaned it up beforehand—a commendable display of professionalism.

"Walk a little further?" Chu Hengkong shook his head. "I'm so sorry, we've arrived." The younger sister apologized repeatedly. There was nothing at the end of the alley. She stopped and turned her back to Chu Hengkong.

This is your death trap!

Light danced like threads, grazing the assassin's vision. Two slender fingers plunged straight for Chu Hengkong's eyes, their tips emitting a light like an incandescent bulb. Chu Hengkong tilted his head slightly, dodging the thrust. The gun barrel on his back spun, the blade reversing to block the dark, night-like blade.

He flicked his finger, and an invisible energy blast shot towards the receptionist's back, only piercing her clothes. She then swiftly removed her waitress disguise, the torn pink fabric scattering like cherry blossoms, revealing a girl wielding two swords standing atop the wall!

"You mere heretics, daring to disguise yourselves as humans!" The twin-sword-wielding girl's killing intent was palpable. "Questions are useless; heretics, be slain!"

Chapter 108: The Demon Kills the Girl (Part 1)

Beneath the flowing waitress's uniform was a pale yellow outfit, and a long, jet-black scarf covered half her face, revealing only her fluorescent green eyes. She was undoubtedly a beauty in the making; her age, around the time of her senior year of high school, gave her face a touch of youthful innocence, yet also a unique vitality that, along with her shapely figure, her face hinted at a bright future.

She was none other than the Heartless One, Guang Shi Qingye, a visitor who had come to this dusty island to slay demons. This heretic's aura was extremely complex; at first glance, his tentacles seemed those of an ordinary demon possessor, but his eyes held a coldness reminiscent of an imperial creation. Such creations, a mixture of multiple heretical powers, were the most troublesome. He might very well be a creation of some great demon, or even an escaped imperial experimental subject…

If he possesses the Imperial Beacon, then the Ultimate Mech could descend at any moment. We must act swiftly and kill him immediately!

Chu Hengkong admired the scene for a moment, then released a wisp of smoke-like energy, which resembled an invisible snake biting at the girl's brow. The girl in yellow frowned, and with lightning speed, she unleashed a slash of energy that sliced ​​the snake down like a sharp blade.

The lingering aura from slaying the snake touched Chu Hengkong's cheek, and the slight pain brought a smile to his face. He lowered the spear, his index finger lightly scraping the back of the white spear.

"Aren't you going to give your name?"

"There's no need," Qingye said coldly. "Those who follow heretics must be killed without mercy!"

Chu Hengkong's smile deepened. The tip of his spear, which had been hanging low, fell straight to the ground, then suddenly snapped back up, like a dragon rising into the sky! The gleaming spear light almost formed a straight line as Qing Ye spun around, wielding her blade and striking past the spear light. A dark, flame-like hue appeared on her short sword, strengthening the blade and thus protecting it from the bursting spear intent.

The moment her toes touched the ground, she had already taken control of the situation. The blade was only two fists' distance from her target, a distance so close that the enemy wouldn't have time to withdraw his weapon and defend. With a flick of her wrist, she thrust out the short knife, the blade aimed directly at Chu Hengkong's brow. Her five fingers, gripping the knife, flashed in succession, conjuring up five identical sharp blades that thrust forth.

The Illusion Blade Technique, the foundation of the "Flash Finger" remnant, is a remnant technique that creates illusory blades using light and shadow at different frequencies. Although it seems like a trivial trick, it can be surprisingly effective in actual combat. It takes only a moment to distinguish the real from the fake, and that moment can determine life or death.

She was prepared to change her tactics, this move was only to probe the enemy's strength, but the next turn of events exceeded her expectations. Chu Hengkong took the initiative to step forward and smash his head into the blade. His skull was incredibly hard, and the short sword's thrust only left a shallow bloodstain! At the same time, a flash of silver light appeared at the edge of her vision, and that tentacle-like left arm shot out, taking the opportunity to wrap around her left wrist!

The tentacles coiled and tightened, their immense strength, incongruous with their appearance, reminding the girl of a hunting python. A sharp pain assaulted her nerves, and the thought of her wrist shattering flashed through her mind. Despite the agony, Qingye's expression remained unchanged. She tossed the dagger aside and caught it in her mouth; five beams of light extended backward from her fingertips, making her left hand shimmer like a luminous object. She endured the pain and gripped the tentacles tightly, the acrid smell of burning flesh instantly filling the air.

The Blazing Hand, a basic technique of the Flashing Finger, can kill enemies with the intense heat generated by strong light; a skilled Flashing Finger can melt steel with a single palm strike. This Heart-Binding Technique is precisely the counter to the wet, slimy tentacles; the part grasped dries up at a visible speed.

A look of approval flashed in Chu Hengkong's eyes as he swept his spear horizontally in his right hand. Qingye leaped high to dodge the attack, using the walls of the alley to create distance. Her spear shone brightly, aiming to burn the tentacles in one fell swoop. Chu Hengkong steadied himself, swung his arm, and slammed the taut tentacles, dragging the girl to the ground. A white spear beam shot out simultaneously, aiming to pierce her skull.

In a moment of desperation, Qingye decisively changed her move, slashing at the tentacle with her right-hand longsword. A dark aura surged across the blade, as if coated with a layer of chilling oil. Chu Hengkong released the tentacle to dodge the attack, and with a light flick of his right spear, slashed a deep, bone-revealing gash in the enemy's right arm. Her blood was clearly different from ordinary blood; its striking crimson contained a deep, dark tinge, as if soaked in shadow.

Could that be the black blood of the Fallen? Is this girl a chosen one of the First Abyss? Not at all! With the dynamic vision of a martial arts cultivator, one can discern the truth: the blackness originates from beneath the wound, and supporting that arm is actually black jade-like bone. This is precisely the characteristic of a Point 2 Remnant Heart: Sinful Bones.

A shadow-like power seeped from the bones, merging with the blood splattering in the air. Blood droplets swirled and exploded, forming projectiles the same color as the night. Those were the signature techniques of the Heartbreakers, the Shadow Shuriken that had severed countless heads on the battlefield!

"watch out!"

Despite the pain, Qingye swung her arm, sending four shadow shurikens flying in a whirlwind. An electric shock-like sensation crept up her spine, her spinal response warning her of the technique's danger. Chu Hengkong deftly deflected all four shurikens with his spear, taking extra care to prevent them from touching his shadow.

His response was flawless. The shuriken that was knocked away pierced the ground and the wall. However, the falling girl formed a hand seal with one hand, and a dangerous aura emanated from her side!

"Extremely Heavy Crime Technique!"

Beneath her soft, jade-like skin, the dark color of her sinful bones deepened abruptly. A black skull flickered in and out of view beneath her beautiful appearance, like a demon lurking within her body. The four shurikens that had been knocked away cast long, linear shadows that intertwined, instantly slowing Chu Hengkong's movements to an unbearable degree. An indescribable weight pressed down on his back, as heavy as an entire mountain!

The Super Heavy Sin Technique is a profound and rare technique, even among those at the higher level of the Secret Soul Remnant Heart Masters, few can master it. Its principle is to use the yin energy of the Reverse Shadow to influence the ghostly body, transforming the enemy's sins into real weight. The more people the victim kills, the stronger the technique becomes. The suppression Chu Hengkong is currently experiencing is enough to crush an ordinary point mass into dust! Incidentally, if Ji Huaisu were to be affected, the effect would be several times stronger!

The girl with the broken heart vanished from her spot and reappeared in the shadows to Chu Hengkong's side. She simultaneously unleashed her long and short swords, which, imbued with the power of light and shadow, pierced towards his brain and heart!

The Way of the Broken Heart Sword. The Way of the Unthinking Reverse Heart - Reverse Yang.

Creating an opportunity with an overwhelmingly powerful technique, combined with a devastating, explosive strike of reversed yang energy to defeat the enemy, this was an absolute first-time kill. This heretic was as strong as a monster; there would never be a better second chance. Therefore, she held nothing back when she drew her sword, killing intent etched onto the blade, her inner energy surging to its peak.

But her gaze suddenly froze. From this angle, she saw the rear half of the spear, where there were three circular grooves, and a transparent bead was held between the fingers gripping the spear. She recalled her opponent's strange action before the battle, the pointless scraping of the spear.

Mystic weapon… He took off the mystic bead on his own initiative… That means…!

Qingye's blade slowed for a moment, and in that instant, a golden light flashed behind Chu Hengkong, and the Annihilation Force Field negated the Super Heavy Sin Technique. The white spear shaft slammed backward, passing through the blade and smashing into the girl's abdomen, sending her flying backward.

She performed three consecutive backflips to slow down, barely maintaining her balance. She groaned and cried out in pain, "You—"

"Why not cut it off?"

The man's voice was as cold as ice.

"Because I held back? Because I didn't go all out?"

Chu Hengkong turned his head expressionlessly, and the girl froze on the spot for a moment. Killing intent, fighting spirit, and rage—an extremely condensed aura burst forth from his body, almost tangible. The man's aura surged irrationally, far exceeding her worst expectations. She saw a hideous slash mark in his eyes, crimson as blood!

"You dare hesitate to fight against heretics..." he suddenly roared, as if struck by a thunderbolt, "Are you looking for death, little girl!"

In that instant, as the remnant spirit, Shiki, sank into the night, memories deeply ingrained from her childhood within her large family surfaced. The figures of her family elders, who flew into a rage, the strict instructors in the dojo, and the head of the martial arts troupe—figures that had etched profound memories into her mind—overlapped with the image of this enraged heretic, causing her to act instinctively!

Sheathed her twin swords immediately! Stand upright with her hands together! Then bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle with utmost respect!

"You're right, I'm so sorry! I, Guang Shi Qingye, will definitely keep today's lesson deep in my heart!"

"..."

"..."

The air froze for a full five seconds, and Miss Qingye's scarf fluttered weakly twice. Miss Canxin, who was bowing deeply, had a face that was red all the way from the tip of her chin covered by the scarf to her forehead.

She suddenly stood up, pointing a single finger at the tentacle-wielding man, a mysterious, shimmering liquid glistening in the corner of her eye: "You...you...!"