Being Cautious Was the Way to Stay Alive, Qin Zi Cheng's Fate

Dawn was just breaking.

More than two hundred Black Armor Army warriors, along with a large force dispatched by the Patrol Department, surrounded Jinglin Neighborhood from all directions and sealed it off completely.

"Throw!"

A Black Armor Army Colonel built like a bear let out a thunderous roar.

Twenty warriors formed two rows, stepped forward in unison, swung up their right arms, and hurled the short spears in their hands.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The piercing whistles instantly tore through the sky.

Twenty short spears rapidly crossed nearly a hundred meters and struck a two-story building.

A thousand meters above the building, three Night Owls circled back and forth as though guiding the attack toward its target.

Boom! Boom!

Faint white light flashed across the surfaces of the short spears before they exploded violently.

The powerful shockwave from the blasts instantly blew the small building to pieces.

Then, without warning, a shocking change occurred.

Ink-black mist billowed out from the ruins, and dozens of bizarre, pitch-black Vines shot out of the mist, lashing wildly through the air.

An incomparably shrill howl swept past.

Some civilians living within two hundred meters immediately suffered an undeserved disaster.

Blood seeped from their mouths and noses, insane whispers rang through their minds, and their bodies began twitching uncontrollably.

Even the Black Armor Army warriors who had destroyed the building felt intense discomfort, with all sorts of terrifying Illusions appearing before their eyes.

"Freeze!"

A sharp shout rang out.

A huge mass of icy mist radiating extreme cold suddenly descended from the sky.

The ruins, along with the Black Mist creature within them, were instantly frozen into an iceberg.

Bone-chilling cold spread outward. The surrounding ground, flowers, grass, and the surfaces of nearby houses were immediately coated with a thin layer of frost.

The temperature had dropped so quickly that it defied ordinary comprehension.

"Shatter!"

A second voice shouted.

The iceberg seemed to have been struck by an immense force and instantly shattered into powder.

The Black Mist frozen within it vanished without a trace as well.

... Shanyi Neighborhood.

Cheng Han woke from a deep sleep. Just as he was about to get out of bed and head to the bathroom, a howl sounded beside his ears.

"Woo~"

It sounded very faint.

Yet Cheng Han's head buzzed, and his vision blurred for a moment.

The bedroom door twisted eerily, seeming to transform into a giant maw ready to devour him, while the wardrobe sprouted two claws as though it wanted to drag him inside.

At that moment.

Within the Sea of Spirit, a ball of soft white light spontaneously expanded.

It was the Fragmented Imprint of True Flame.

The Illusion vanished completely in an instant.

The bedroom door returned to normal, and the wardrobe regained its original form.

Cheng Han's heartbeat quickened slightly. "The Gold Coin I dug out of the drainage ditch last time contained the power of a Dark Believer, yet the Fragmented Imprint of True Flame easily destroyed it.

"Now, the Fragmented Imprint of True Flame has effortlessly suppressed this Illusion as well. It seems this imprint is naturally the nemesis of Heretical God power."

He checked his attributes and was delighted to discover that, perhaps due to the stimulation of the howl or perhaps because of previous accumulation, the upper limit of his Spirit Value had risen by another 0.1.

It had reached a new high of 14.7.

Thinking of the Illusion just now, Cheng Han came to a realization. "Could the Black Armor Army be hunting down Qin Zi Cheng? Was that howl his counterattack?"

Cheng Han decisively focused his mind and performed a Deduction.

If the howl really had been an attack launched by Qin Zi Cheng, then it was the best possible connection and could greatly increase the success rate.

The next moment, an Illusion slowly emerged.

Amid a field of broken walls and rubble, a badly injured figure leaned against a section of wall, breathing with great difficulty.

His face was extremely youthful. He looked only around ten years old, and his features were fairly well-defined.

Unfortunately, the blood staining his face and his tattered clothing greatly ruined his overall appearance.

The Black-Robed Man stepped closer and said coldly, "You little bastard, you hid yourself well."

"Pah!"

The Youth spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and cursed viciously, "The glory of the Sartre Clan will surely return! Blood and death are what you—"

Before he could finish, the Black-Robed Man cut him off. "Teach him a lesson!"

A Warrior strode over, silently raised a Longsword, and swiftly thrust it four times, leaving bloody holes in the Youth's hands and feet.

After delivering the final thrust, the Warrior did not pull out the Longsword. Instead, he forcefully drove it into the ground, pinning the Youth there.

"Ahh~"

The Youth howled in agony.

A moment later, the Illusion disappeared.

There was no doubt that this Youth was Qin Zi Cheng.

Cheng Han's eyelids twitched. "Brutal enough!"

He felt fortunate once more. "This place is nearly two kilometers from Qin Zi Cheng's home, yet I was still affected. It seems I greatly underestimated his strength.

"Thankfully, I didn't overestimate myself just because I possessed a little supernatural power and go investigate him. Otherwise, I'd probably have died without even leaving scraps behind."

It had to be said, being cautious was truly the way to stay alive! Cheng Han's thoughts wandered. "I originally thought Qin Zi Cheng had picked up some object and gained supernatural power from it, but judging by what the Black-Robed Man said, that doesn't seem to be the case.

"And what did Qin Zi Cheng mean by the 'Sartre Clan'? The textbooks seem never to have mentioned it. There seems to be something much deeper going on here."

He firmly memorized the term, intending to search for related information later.

Cheng Han opened the door and immediately found Black Cat lying weakly on the floor. It appeared to have been affected by the howl as well.

It turned its head toward its owner and let out a feeble cry. "Meow~"

Since it possessed no supernatural power, its condition seemed even worse.

Cheng Han quickly held down Black Cat, activated the Fragmented Imprint of True Flame with his mind, and let a thread of warm white light bloom from his palm. It instantly helped Black Cat dispel the negative effects.

Black Cat immediately came back to life, its eyes widening.

Clearly, it was utterly astonished by its owner's methods.

Cheng Han smiled. "Oh, right. I have good news for you. Qin Zi Cheng has already been caught by the Black Armor Army. That bastard probably won't live many more days."

Black Cat swished its tail, clearly delighted as well.

Cheng Han looked smug. "Qin Zi Cheng really was powerful, but this unknown nobody still managed to drag him out. He probably won't even know who brought him down before he dies."

"Meow~"

Black Cat rubbed its head against its owner.

Cheng Han gave Black Cat a rub, then hurried into the bathroom and relieved himself with great satisfaction.

This matter had finally come to an end, and he was in an excellent mood.

... The battlefield.

Qin Zi Cheng had already been taken away.

The Black Armor Army was busy cleaning up the aftermath and treating the injured civilians nearby.

Only two Mystic Adepts had nothing to do and were discussing matters quietly.

"The Mysterious Person actually possesses the ability to control flocks of Birds. Based on that, we may be able to uncover his true identity."

"I think the Mysterious Person deliberately exposed that ability. If we follow that lead, we'll most likely only find other Heretical God Believers."

"That makes sense! Judging from the Mysterious Person's methods, he is truly calculating. With just a small scheme, he led the authorities around by the nose and caused the Dark Believers severe losses."

"What do you think about the few prophetic verses left behind by the Mysterious Person?"

"When I was studying at the Profound Palace years ago, I read some ancient historical texts. Personally, I feel this style of language resembles that of the Ancient Sartre People."

"Weren't the Ancient Sartre People from tens of thousands of years ago? Just what is the Mysterious Person's background? How does he even know this?"

"One line of the verse says, 'The endless land is shrouded in shadow.' That ancient text recorded that, long, long ago, this world had an incomparably vast continent, and the Ancient Sartre People lived on it."

"How could such a huge continent possibly remain stable without the support of a Divine Tree? No wonder the Ancient Sartre People went extinct. It must have had something to do with them not living in trees."