Second Life Simulation Begins

In the year 423 of the Hundred Alliance Calendar, June, Shanniu Village, an affiliate of Anning Town, vanished overnight. Villagers and buildings alike disappeared, leaving behind a plain where the village once stood. The truth remains undiscovered.

In the year 423 of the Hundred Alliance Calendar, July, a wealthy merchant's home south of Haiyuan City inexplicably began to echo with the sounds of opera singers. The city yamen's investigation yielded no results. The merchant hired martial artists and monks from Anhong Temple to perform an exorcism. The next day, the entire merchant family, along with the martial artists and monks, were found reduced to white bones.

In the year 423 of the Hundred Alliance Calendar, September, a farmer in Nanan Village rescued a young girl and took her in as his daughter-in-law. At midnight, the house shook, and the girl transformed into a blue-skinned monster and left. The farmer's son had vanished.

In the year 424 of the Hundred Alliance Calendar, March, all the night watchmen in Xin'an Town disappeared. By dawn, the streets were covered in blood, and no one dared to take up the post of night watchman again.

In the year 425 of the Ten Thousand Alliance Calendar, December, Haiquan Town was plagued by zombies that attacked anyone they encountered. Those bitten by the zombies would also transform into zombies. A large portion of Haiquan Town fell, until powerful individuals from Haiyun City were dispatched to forcefully eliminate the zombies. Haiquan Town was saved, but severely weakened, becoming a third-rate town...

It was only upon reaching this point that Jiang Yuan saw a supernatural incident resolved by humans. However, this was an anomaly; most cases were without leads or conclusions.

As Jiang Yuan flipped through the case files, his scalp tingled, and an inexplicable chill crept into his heart.

At this moment, a gentle voice sounded beside his ear.

"Xiao Yuan, do you find these things frightening?"

Jiang Yuan looked over and saw Wenzhao standing tall and elegant by the door, his deep eyes fixed on Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan subconsciously nodded.

"Xiao Yuan, you must understand that fear stems from the unknown and insufficient strength. When we comprehend the essence of something and possess the power to confront it, we will no longer be afraid."

Wenzhao spoke calmly, much like a tutor in a private school enlightening his students.

"To ordinary folk, these are unknown specters. But to us martial artists, while these ghostly things are bizarre, they still follow certain patterns."

"The martial path is the best weapon people have against these ghostly entities. This is why your uncle supports you learning martial arts."

"Martial artists fight against men, against heaven, and against ghosts!"

For some reason, Jiang Yuan felt a faint pressure emanating from Wenzhao at that moment, like that of an unconquerable lion.

Wenzhao, who was usually refined, now exuded a powerful aura.

Is this what a martial artist is?

Wait! What is that! Jiang Yuan's pupils contracted to pinpricks.

Just as Jiang Yuan was marveling at Wenzhao's imposing presence, he noticed a figure in white appear behind Wenzhao.

Two hands, whiter than a corpse left for three days, reached forward slightly, as if to cover Wenzhao's eyes.

Wenzhao showed no reaction whatsoever. Even as the hands extended right before his eyes, Wenzhao remained oblivious, as if he were blind.

In the empty yamen, only the two lamps lit in the archives by Jiang Yuan to browse the files cast a dim glow. Further away was pitch blackness.

Jiang Yuan felt as if a piece of sandpaper was stuck in his throat. He wanted to warn Wenzhao, but only a choked sound came out.

Jiang Yuan's heart raced. Disregarding everything, he unleashed Ten Directions Fist, while desperately stimulating his Exotic Bone with his vital energy.

Jiang Yuan's Exotic Bone was fire-attributed. Perhaps the Exotic Bone had a restraining effect on ghosts.

This was Jiang Yuan's current thought.

A searing sensation emanated faintly from his chest.

The next second, Jiang Yuan felt his fist being gently grasped. Yes, gently grasped. His immense strength seemed to sink into a mire, vanishing without a trace.

Uncle!

Jiang Yuan hadn't expected Wenzhao to stop him. But when he looked up.

He saw that Wenzhao's face held no trace of confusion, but rather, admiration.

Looking at Wenzhao's expression, Jiang Yuan's tense heart immediately relaxed.

"Xiao Yuan, you did very well. You faced the bizarre without fear."

Jiang Yuan felt a wave of relief.

Of course. Wenzhao is a renowned expert. In this mid-level martial world, such an expert should be considered a master. How could he...

Huh?

Jiang Yuan's mouth fell open.

He saw semi-transparent, dark red, blood-like tentacles, as if possessing life, emerge from Wenzhao's body. The tentacles coiled around the white-clad ghost.

And then...

Ate... ate it?

At this moment, Jiang Yuan could only describe it as "eating." The dark red tentacles enveloped the white-clad ghost. The next second, the white-clad ghost struggled violently, and under the membrane formed by the dark red tentacles, it began to shrink.

It was as if...

It was being digested!

The dark red tentacles retracted back into Wenzhao's body, and Wenzhao acted as if nothing had happened.

This moment was deeply etched into Jiang Yuan's mind.

He felt a daze, returning to the escort agency, with Wenzhao's words still echoing in his mind.

"Humans and ghosts are like beasts and mortals. Beasts can eat mortals, and mortals can eat beasts. Ghosts can devour humans, and humans can also devour ghosts."

Jiang Yuan gently pressed his temples, processing what had just happened.

Unlike the typical protagonists in novels from his past life who struggled to uncover the world's truths, Jiang Yuan, being a second-generation heir, had his uncle directly tear away the veil of this world.

The martial artists in this world were truly formidable.

It seemed martial arts were the primary means for humans in this world to combat the anomalies!

At this moment, Jiang Yuan held a book in his hand.

It was titled:

Record of Demons, Monsters, and Oddities

In this world, besides humans, there were also anomalies, which could be further divided into demons and monsters, and oddities.

Demons and monsters might disguise themselves as mortals, hiding among people to prey on them, or they might occupy a territory, wreaking havoc.

Oddities were divided into ghosts and ghouls, and strange phenomena.

Ghosts and ghouls could be killed, escaped from, or consumed, much like the spirits Jiang Yuan knew from his past life. Strange phenomena were different; each might not be inherently aggressive, but they all possessed their own domains.

These domains could alter certain rules within their range, making them incredibly bizarre and difficult for ordinary martial artists to deal with.

These oddities with peculiar domains were called strange phenomena by people, and they were elusive, making them hard to document.

It was also mentioned that strange phenomena constituted a small portion of oddities.

Besides these, there were also exotic beasts, powerful creatures completely separate from anomalies and not recorded in the Record of Demons, Monsters, and Oddities.

Compared to anomalies, exotic beasts posed very little threat, and humans could already utilize them.

For example, consuming exotic beast meat could aid in cultivation. The cultivation resources Jiang Yuan received monthly from the martial arts dojo included some exotic beast meat.

At this moment, Jiang Yuan suddenly thought of a point.

If the martial artists in this world had ways to deal with anomalies, then why could Wenzhao previously detect the white-clothed ghost but not the one on his person?

Furthermore, by all rights, with so many experts stationed at the escort agency, these powerful martial artists wouldn't allow anomalies to appear in their territory. Anomalies simply shouldn't exist within the escort agency.

Yet, he had indeed encountered that ghost, and one that even Wenzhao's formidable strength couldn't detect. Although he had smashed it with a single punch, Jiang Yuan suspected it had a lot to do with the exotic bone.

What exactly was going on? Could it be that the original owner was truly killed by that ghost?

A chill ran down Jiang Yuan's spine.

There are rebels trying to harm me!

"This world is truly dangerous..."

Jiang Yuan closed his eyes and murmured, flipping through the book in his hands. He suddenly opened his eyes.

"Fortunately, I have a cheat. Let's begin! Second Life Simulation!"

[Mundane World]!

[This simulated life journey begins]