Growth in Strength

The anomalies Tang Qi had encountered so far—such as the Bronx Dog-Faced Man and the Ghoul Nightingale—were crazed, mindless monsters. But there were also beings like the Dugong Sea Demon and the Desire Slave Painter that could still think, proving that anomalies were not necessarily impossible to communicate with.

Naturally, they could also feel fear.

Otherwise, the Dual-Blade Man could not have occupied the top position in the Predation Order.

And at this moment, the fear Tang Qi inspired in them had surpassed even that of the Therand Dual-Blade Man. It was not because Tang Qi had turned the tables and killed the Dual-Blade Man, but because, at the very end, Tang Qi had extended those palms filled with Golden Flame.

Instinctive fear swept forth from the depths of their hearts.

Tang Qi even heard shrieks coming from the surrounding shadows. If the Misfortune Mark could still emit its tempting magic, perhaps some of the crazed anomalies would have stayed behind. But now, the mark had shut down.

The tempting "light" was gone, but terrifying heat came rushing in.

The anomalies scattered and fled.

Fortunately, Tang Qi had no time to concern himself with them.

He was being struck by a flood of golden motes that had suddenly surged into his mind.

Within his Mental Space, the golden motes poured like a mountain flood into the gray, hazy space inside Tang Qi's head.

Boom!

It was as though a slowly burning furnace had suddenly been doused with a whole basin of gasoline, producing an explosive commotion.

At that moment, Tang Qi even felt as though his head were about to burst open.

Did I just add a huge pile of fuel to my own furnace?

What a pleasant surprise!

Watching the Dual-Blade Man's resentful soul turn into Green Smoke and dissipate, Tang Qi murmured.

At the same time, enduring the swelling pain in his head, he opened his golden-glimmering eyes and swept his gaze across the darkness around him.

The anomalies drawn in by Misfortune Magic had all dispersed.

The crisis had passed—unfortunate, yet fortunate.

If Tang Qi had not extinguished the Misfortune Mark in time, then even if he had killed the Therand Dual-Blade Man in a reversal, he might not have been able to intimidate the remaining anomalies.

If he had guessed correctly, the monsters that had hidden in the shadows just now were all mixed into the Newton District.

They might not even have been all the anomalies in the entire district.

If it had lasted a little longer, the things at the top of the order pyramid would have appeared one after another.

Then would come the neighboring Bronx District, the other districts, and finally the entire city of Messer.

As for whether the range could continue expanding, that depended on Tang Qi's control over the mark.

Dangerous bait. I need to be more cautious when using it next time.

After saying that, Tang Qi glanced at the alley, which was now too gruesome to look at.

In an artsy district like Newton, even a small alley was expected to be clean and tidy.

But at this moment, one would probably not find anything comparable to the scene before him even after searching the entire Bronx District.

There was almost no clean paving stone left, and the walls were smeared with blood and bits of flesh.

Tang Qi had neither the desire nor the obligation to clean it up, but he did not leave immediately.

His spoils of war were still waiting to be collected.

Moving quickly, Tang Qi ignored the bloody sludge on the ground and rummaged through the shattered corpses. With the cheating advantage of his Special Ability, he did not need to distinguish things carefully. He only had to pick them up and take them away.

A few seconds later, Tang Qi darted out of the alley.

His coat was turned inside out, concealing the bloodstains well. His figure swiftly blended into the shadows of the street as he left the "crime scene" at top speed.

The first person to discover that alley would probably have nightmares for several months straight.

The lottery prize they had been expecting might be gone as well.

After all, the Desire Slave Painter who had committed that major crime no longer even had a human shape. Even the most skilled forensic reconstruction expert could never piece him back together.

The place was practically a "Gore Hell."

After leaving the scene, Tang Qi did not immediately return to the Brick House. Instead, he forcibly suppressed the "disturbance" within his body and circled through street after street. Only after confirming that no anomaly was following him did he return to Thorn High School along the route he had already mapped out.

Bang!

As soon as he returned to the house, Tang Qi immediately locked the doors.

Without any delay, he rushed to the second floor. Before he even had time to put away his spoils, he collapsed onto the Moon-Patterned Carpet.

With a buzz, he entered a meditative state.

At this moment, his body truly resembled a furnace.

Golden flames seemed on the verge of overflowing from within him.

His once-clear mind swelled with pain as if it were about to explode. All kinds of chaotic thoughts emerged, and some negative impulses, like venomous snakes and creeping vines, tried to occupy his heart. This was a sign of Demonic Deviation.

Fortunately, at that moment, he activated a skill.

If someone else were cultivating the Golden Furnace Meditation Method, they might need a long period of mental visualization before entering a meditative state.

But Tang Qi did not need to.

With only a thought, that Golden Sun swiftly appeared and helped Tang Qi tame the golden motes pouring into his mind, which represented the essence of resentful soul power.

Time flowed rapidly.

As the light and heat gradually became gentler, all the chaos and negativity in Tang Qi's mind vanished.

Hoo...

He opened his eyes again and instinctively looked at the clock on the wall.

Three hours. A single meditation session had rarely lasted three hours, and Tang Qi had not adjusted himself even once during that time.

And now, he felt... better than ever before.

He glanced around his bedroom, and the moment he did, he immediately sensed the difference.

His vision seemed clearer, sharper.

Things that had once seemed blurry now appeared incomparably distinct.

He seemed able to see the fine dust in the air, the delicate grain of the desk, the tiny serial number in the corner of a book cover, and even the distortion of the hazy pale-purple moonlight as it passed through the curtains. Everything was so clear.

Though those images vanished as swiftly as illusions.

The next moment, Tang Qi looked at himself.

The interface visible only through his Special Ability, which had undergone considerable changes once again, appeared before him.

The first thing he looked at was the Skill Bar.

There were still only three subcategories displayed there.

Yet every one of them had changed.

Golden Furnace Meditation Method: An incomparably ancient Meditation Method... Mastery Level: Beginner; Progress: 1%.

At the very first entry, Tang Qi could not help raising his brows. If he remembered correctly, the Meditation Method's previous progress had only been 0.33%. Yet now it had increased threefold, directly reaching one percent.

The leap in progress brought about the result that the Mental Power entrenched in Tang Qi's mind was now far more expanded and abundant than before—several times greater, in fact.

If it had been increased through normal meditation, Tang Qi did not know how long it would have taken to reach this point.

A month?

Or a year?

Though the latter two had not increased as dramatically as the Meditation Method, they still brought a pleased expression to Tang Qi's face.

Furnace Eyes: Derived skill, activated through the eyes. Possesses intimidation and Calm Spirit effects. Can continue improving. Mastery Level: Beginner; Progress: 0.3%.

Chaga Combat Technique: A primitive and ancient combat technique. Mastery Level: Beginner; Progress: 0.2%.

After examining himself, Tang Qi did not immediately rise. Instead, he remained seated cross-legged, slowly closed his eyes, and silently felt and adapted to the changes in his body—the transformation from mind to flesh. He also kept replaying the battle that had just ended in his mind.

That dark and perilous alley, that terrifying enemy—he placed himself back into the scene and simulated it again and again.

Buzz—hoo.

A moment later, Tang Qi opened his eyes again and rose to his feet.

The fierce, powerful aura around him had now faded away, and he returned to normal.