Long Xuanye spoke as he stood up. "I'll go pack some things."
He turned and hid around the side of the thatched hut, out of Saint Cai'er's sight.
As soon as he stopped, a bitter sweetness rose in his throat.
"Pfft—"
He forcibly swallowed a mouthful of dark-red blood, but it seeped from the corner of his mouth and dripped onto the dirt.
His vision darkened in waves, and the world spun around him.
It felt as though a fire were burning in his mind, scorching every one of his nerves.
The aftereffects of overusing his Inner Spiritual Power had finally erupted.
The previous night, the system had issued another choice.
The same fixed pattern.
The reward for wiping out the Demon Race Squad was one point of Innate Dark Inner Spiritual Power. Naturally, the difficulty had risen accordingly.
To instantly kill a squad led by two fourth-tier demons, he had used three seconds of "Chaos Begins."
It had only been a brief moment, yet it had nearly drained all the Spiritual Power from his body and placed an immense strain on him.
He couldn't afford to get injured, and he especially couldn't let Cai'er find out.
Long Xuanye braced himself against the wall and retched violently for a while, until the churning sensation had eased somewhat.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, took a deep breath, and composed his expression before returning as though nothing had happened.
The fourth day.
The sun was already high in the sky when Long Xuanye finally woke.
It had been a long time since he'd gotten up this late.
His mind was groggy, his eyelids felt as heavy as lead, and his bones groaned under the strain.
"Xuan Ye, you're awake?"
A voice full of concern sounded beside him.
Saint Cai'er was holding a basin of clean water. The moment she saw him open his eyes, worry filled her face.
She reached out with her cool little hand and pressed it against his forehead.
"You're so hot... You have a fever."
Saint Cai'er furrowed her brows. "Lie down. No training today. Get some proper rest."
Long Xuanye was too weak to argue, so he let her press him back onto the makeshift bed of straw.
In a haze, he focused his thoughts and summoned the system panel that only he could see.
[Divine Choice completed] [Choice: Wipe out the invading Demon Race Squad] [Mission reward: Innate Dark Inner Spiritual Power +1, Inner Spiritual Power +2]
The reward was generous.
So generous... it weighed heavily on his heart.
Because last night's enemies had been stronger than any he'd faced before.
He instinctively checked his own condition. His Innate Dark Inner Spiritual Power had quietly reached 5 points.
Last night...
Long Xuanye tried to remember, but all that remained in his mind were scattered, blood-red fragments.
He only remembered that he had seemed to be driven by a beast's instincts, forcibly draining a fourth-tier demon's life force along with its demonic energy, then condensing them into a pure Dark Blade in his palm.
After that came a streak of black light cutting through the night sky, and several heads soaring into the air.
Everything that followed was a blank.
"Xuan Ye, let me wipe you down. You'll feel a little better."
Saint Cai'er's voice pulled him out of his bloody memories.
A warm towel gently brushed his cheeks and neck, her movements as soft as a feather.
After she finished wiping him down, Saint Cai'er didn't leave. She simply sat quietly beside the bed and held his hand.
Her hand was small, but warm.
In his hazy state, Long Xuanye felt at ease. For some reason, it was as if he hadn't transmigrated to the Sacred Demon Continent at all. Instead, he was lying at home, sick in bed, with someone sitting beside him in concern.
He opened his eyes and saw Cai'er tilt her head and press her face against his.
The girl's face was silky smooth and cool, so comfortable to the touch.
"Xuan Ye, it's all right."
"It's all right."
"I'll go to the nearby town and buy some fever medicine for you," Saint Cai'er said softly.
"Wait for Mom to come back, okay?"
"Everything will be all right."
Long Xuanye felt as though someone had hugged him. Then the sound of breathing gradually faded into the distance.
Saint Cai'er turned and left the hut, heading down the path through the woods.
Lying on the straw bed, Long Xuanye watched her leave until her slender figure disappeared completely among the trees.
In the thatched hut, silence fell. All that remained was the heavy, feverish sound of his own breathing.
Just then.
A cold mechanical voice exploded in his mind.
[Divine Choice triggered] [Choice One: Wipe out the invading Demon Race Squad. Reward: Innate Dark Inner Spiritual Power +2, Inner Spiritual Power +10] [Choice Two: Flee this place immediately. Reward: Inner Spiritual Power +3]
Long Xuanye's pupils abruptly shrank to pinpoints.
Two points of Innate Dark Inner Spiritual Power!
Ten points of Inner Spiritual Power!
The unprecedentedly generous reward was so great that it nearly froze the blood in his veins.
The greater the reward, the higher the difficulty!
That meant the approaching enemy would be overwhelmingly powerful—an absolute dead end, far beyond anything he'd faced before!
He fell silent.
Run?
His gaze instinctively fell on Choice Two.
But what about Cai'er?
If he fled now, what would happen to Cai'er, who had gone to town alone?
She would run straight into that group of... demons!
At the thought, Long Xuanye felt as though he'd been plunged into an icy abyss.
"Is there no other choice?"
He suddenly spoke, his hot breath scraping against his parched throat.
"Tell me which town Cai'er is going to! Speak!"
"Isn't there an option for me to take Cai'er and flee together?!"
As always, the system remained silent.
Only the two choices hung in the sea of his consciousness, isolated and still.
Long Xuanye's chest heaved violently.
Then, suddenly, he let out a laugh.
It was hoarse and dry, yet carried a reckless madness.
He propped up his weakened body with one arm. His bones groaned under the strain as he slowly, inch by inch, sat up.
Then he reached behind himself and took hold of the short blade by the bed.
"Clang—"
The blade slid free of its sheath, its cold arc flashing through the dim thatched hut.
He walked out of the hut.
The midday sun shone down on him, warm and gentle.
Long Xuanye thought he could hear Cai'er speaking again.
Everything will be all right.
On the wind came the sound of leaves being swiftly disturbed in the distance, dense and heavy—the noise of a large group charging at full speed.
Damn it!
Long Xuanye cursed inwardly.
A trace of regret welled up in his heart, impossible to suppress.
Maybe...
Maybe he shouldn't have brought Cai'er along from the very beginning.
If he had let her leave with that White-Robed Assassin, then with the resources of the Assassin's Sanctuary, she should have been safe and sound. She wouldn't have had to live with him here, never knowing what tomorrow would bring, constantly on edge and afraid.
"I choose the second option."
Elsewhere.
On the forest path leading to Odin Town.
Saint Cai'er quickened her pace, her little face full of worry.
Suddenly, she stopped.
Two figures had appeared on the road ahead without warning, silent as shadows.
They wore dark-gray fitted clothes and were concealed beneath the trees. Their presence blended into their surroundings so completely that an ordinary person would never have noticed them if they hadn't revealed themselves.
They were from the Assassin's Sanctuary.
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