The Three Corrupted Sequence Abilities

At the thought, Su Yang's heart surged with excitement and hot blood. He even wanted to rush up to Zhao Shengshen and have him help him awaken his Sequence Ability at once.

"Director, how can I awaken a Sequence Ability?"

"Once I've awakened a Sequence Ability, will I be able to find out where my parents are?"

Su Yang's face was slightly flushed, showing how unsettled he was.

Zhao Shengshen pushed up his glasses. When he looked at Su Yang again, there was a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"Of course. Your parents belonged to the mysterious world, so naturally, only those who join it are qualified to search for them."

"At midnight tonight, I'll wait for you outside your house and take you to awaken your Sequence Ability!"

"Midnight tonight? Why midnight? Can't we do it now?"

Su Yang was stunned. Why did he have to go out in the dead of night again? The last time, the Dead Man's Book had also sent him to meet Gai Fengyan at midnight.

Are those people from the Soul-Reaping Bureau nocturnal animals?

Right, what's the deal with the Dead Man's Book? Should I tell Zhao Shengshen about it? And that strange murmuring...

The Dead Man's Book and the strange murmuring had always been Su Yang's greatest secrets!

For the past five years, Su Yang had kept those secrets buried deep in his heart. Not even his grandmother knew.

Last time, Gai Fengyan had left in too much of a hurry to give Su Yang a chance to ask. Now Zhao Shengshen was right beside him...

"Pfft!"

As Su Yang hesitated over whether to ask Zhao Shengshen about the Dead Man's Book and the eerie murmuring, Zhao Shengshen burst out laughing.

His hearty laughter echoed through the conference room.

"Hahaha! Of course we can't do it now. You'll find out when the time comes!"

At that, Zhao Shengshen gave Su Yang a rare lift of his eyebrows, an ambiguous smile on his face.

"Tonight will definitely be one of the most unforgettable nights of your life! Everyone who joins the Soul-Reaping Bureau has a night like that!"

What's going on? What's with that expression?

Looking at Zhao Shengshen's uncharacteristic expression, Su Yang had an ominous feeling.

Zhao Shengshen isn't going to take me to that kind of place, is he? I've heard that powerful, high-ranking people like him are always going in and out of places like that...

While Su Yang's imagination ran wild, Zhao Shengshen stood up and patted down his suit.

"All right, Su Yang, do you have any other questions? If not, I'll see you tonight!"

If Su Yang had no other questions, he was going to leave.

But Su Yang had far more than a few questions.

Besides the Dead Man's Book and the eerie murmuring, Su Yang was also puzzled about many things concerning the seven gods and the seven wondrous Sequence Abilities.

When Zhao Shengshen had introduced the gods and Sequence Abilities of the mysterious world to him, his explanation had been very disorganized.

As a result, Su Yang was still lost in the clouds about many things.

Su Yang set the Dead Man's Book and the eerie murmuring in his dreams aside for the moment and first asked about the seven Sequence Abilities.

"Yes! Director, I have another question, about the seven great Sequence Abilities you just mentioned!"

"Oh? About the seven great Sequence Abilities? Go ahead!"

Su Yang pondered for a moment, roughly recalling what Zhao Shengshen had just said and organizing his thoughts.

"Director, you just said that the seven great Sequence Abilities all came from authorities divided up by the gods.

People divided them into seven Sequence Abilities according to the characteristics of those authorities, right?"

Zhao Shengshen shrugged. "That's right."

Su Yang continued, following his train of thought.

"I remember you mentioned four characteristics of Sequence Abilities just now, Director: destruction, amplification, domain, and restoration."

"In other words, the first Sequence Ability is destruction-type, the second is amplification-type, the third is domain-type, and the fourth is restoration-type. Is that right?"

Zhao Shengshen nodded again, indicating that Su Yang's understanding was correct.

"That classification is a bit like the periodic table!

The periodic table has main-group elements too, and the elements in each sequence also have similar but distinct properties..."

"What about the Sequence Abilities after those? Aren't there supposed to be seven? What are the characteristics of the other three? Why didn't you finish explaining them, Director?"

Su Yang frowned. Logically speaking, the seven gods had divided up their authorities, corresponding to seven Sequence Abilities.

So Zhao Shengshen should have explained them all at once. There was no need to be secretive about it.

Su Yang looked up at Zhao Shengshen, only to find him stroking his chin and muttering to himself.

"The periodic table? The abilities in the same sequence have similar but distinct properties?

Hmm... that's a very good analogy! As expected of the top student in Muyang Middle School's grade."

Zhao Shengshen praised Su Yang, then abruptly changed the subject, an indescribable dejection in his voice.

"As for the other three Sequence Abilities... sigh! It's a long story."

Su Yang frowned. What was wrong? Were the other three Sequence Abilities different from the first four?

Zhao Shengshen let out a long sigh and sat back down after having already risen.

He lowered his head between his legs. After a long while, he pulled a pack of cigarettes from the breast pocket of his suit and lit one.

"Su Yang, do you smoke?"

Zhao Shengshen held the cigarettes out to Su Yang.

"Sorry, I don't smoke."

"Oh, right! I forgot you're still a student... A lot of people in the Soul-Reaping Bureau smoke, so I'm used to offering cigarettes around."

Zhao Shengshen smiled gently at Su Yang.

But Su Yang could tell that Zhao Shengshen's smile was heavy.

"Sorry, Director, did I ask something I shouldn't have...?"

Zhao Shengshen had been fine before Su Yang asked about the other three Sequence Abilities.

"It's all right. You'd have learned about this sooner or later anyway, and it's something you'll have to face."

Zhao Shengshen took a hard drag on his cigarette, and the nicotine eased his expression considerably.

Amid the smoke he inhaled and exhaled, Zhao Shengshen spoke.

"The other three sequences have been corrupted. Every holder of those three sequences has turned into a monster that's neither human nor ghost."

"Nowadays, the main task of the sword wielders and sword guardians is to kill those mutated compatriots."

Zhao Shengshen's words made Su Yang's expression change.

"Turned into monsters? What happened?"

Zhao Shengshen shook his head. His expression grew heavier still, and the smile vanished from his face without a trace.

"We've been doing everything we can to investigate, but we've found nothing."

"All we know is that the first mutation happened two hundred years ago... It was a nightmare for us Sequence Ability holders!"

"Since that mutation two hundred years ago, every holder of the last three Sequence Abilities has mutated before the age of fifty, turning into a monster that knows only slaughter."

"Most importantly, without the sixth Sequence Ability, we're like blind men in this mysterious world, unable to take a single step! We can no longer receive divine revelations!"

"Because the sixth Sequence Ability is called Omniscience!"