Cai'er's Madness, Xuan Ye's Skyrocketing Strength

The atmosphere at the border between the Human Race and the Devil Race was equally heavy.

"My lord, your wounds..."

An assassin dressed in black supported the person before him, his words filled with concern.

The man wore a white robe, now stained with several dark patches of blood. His face was as pale as paper, his lips devoid of color; he was none other than Xia Yingyihao, who had been severely wounded by Long Xingyu.

"It is nothing."

The white-robed figure waved his hand gently, signaling the assassin not to worry.

His gaze passed through the simple room and landed on the small bed in the corner.

On the bed, Saint Cai'er lay quietly, her breathing even, as if she were merely asleep.

However, the thick bandages wrapped around her body and the lingering scent of blood mixed with herbs in the air silently spoke of the brutal battle she had just endured.

Ever since returning that day, Cai'er had seemed like a different person.

Silence was still silence, but beneath that silence lay a madness capable of burning everything to ash.

In the Trial Grounds, she no longer waited passively for missions; instead, she took the initiative.

She would go out alone to provoke Devil Beasts far beyond her current level, and even take the initiative to hunt down small squads of Devil Race scouts.

The speed at which her strength grew was alarming, but the price was that she returned from almost every mission covered in severe wounds, having been pulled back from the brink of death on several occasions.

"I was the one who carried her back just now."

The black-clad assassin's voice was hoarse.

"She collapsed in a pool of blood, still clutching the head of a Peak Third Tier Devil Wolf tightly in her arms."

The white-robed figure fell silent.

On the bed, as if sensing the two men's gaze, the sleeping girl moved unconsciously, a look of intertwined pain and longing appearing on her small face.

Her cherry-colored lips parted slightly, letting out a murmur that sounded like a dream.

"Xuan Ye... wait for me..."

The white-robed figure and the black-clad assassin looked at each other in silence.

This was perhaps the scene the upper echelons of the Temple desired most.

The Reincarnation Saintess was growing at an unprecedented speed; the future of humanity seemed to have gained another glimmer of hope.

But for those of them who lived with her day and night, watching her be carried back from pools of blood time and time again, they only felt a deep, heartfelt ache.

"Xuan Ye..."

The assassin in black softly repeated the name.

"What is that kid doing now?"

Upon hearing this, the white-robed figure slowly shook his head.

The assassin in black misunderstood the gesture and asked, "Does your lordship mean that he isn't... striving as desperately as Miss Cai'er?"

"No."

The white-robed figure denied it.

In his mind, the scene of the last time he saw that youth involuntarily surfaced.

On a silent night, the youth was gazing up at the vast expanse of stars.

He said he wanted to identify the stars.

Xia Yingyihao still did not understand what Xuan Ye meant by those words to this day.

But he remembered that Xuan Ye's tone had been calm.

Yet, beneath that calmness lay a madness that made even the white-robed figure feel a palpitation of the heart.

He was shaking his head now, not because he thought Xuan Ye wasn't working hard enough.

Quite the contrary.

He was afraid.

No matter how desperately Cai'er fought, she ultimately had the entire Assassin's Sanctuary as her backing, with people like them handling her logistics and tending to her wounds.

But what about Xuan Ye?

He was all alone, without any support.

The white-robed figure felt a profound sense of dread.

He feared that when Cai'er had finally exhausted everything to attain sufficient power, she would never again see the figure for whom she had been striving.

That would still be a better outcome; at least it would only mean his life or death was unknown, leaving a glimmer of hope.

What he feared even more was that what Cai'er would ultimately receive was the confirmed news of Xuan Ye's death!

Given that kid's personality, finding a place to hide and eke out a living would not be difficult.

But...

Would he make that choice?

The White-robed figure already had the answer in his heart.

Xuan Ye's choice would only be more extreme and more insane than Cai'er's.

Within the territory of the Devil Race, in a dark, dense forest.

"Swish!"

A black shadow darted through the woods at high speed, stirring up a rustling of leaves.

Xuan Ye's breathing was rapid and scorching; every heartbeat felt like a drum.

Several wounds, deep enough to reveal bone, were constantly oozing blood, staining his clothes a dark red.

His eyes were deep and black.

Within them burned exhaustion, pain, and a flicker of light.

Yet, his vision ahead was already gradually blurring.

The moment Xuan Ye's consciousness was about to be swallowed by the Dark Devour, scarlet text exploded before his eyes.

[System Choice Triggered]

[Choice One: With a severely wounded body, evade the two Fifth Tier Devil Race pursuers. Reward: Temporary Stealth buff (duration: 1 hour), Vengeance Evolution progress +0.2%]

[Choice Two: Counter-kill the two Fifth Tier Devil Race. Reward: Innate Dark Inner Spiritual Power +1, Vengeance Evolution progress +5%]

Xuan Ye clutched his bleeding chest tightly; the violent gasping tugged at his broken ribs, and a piercing pain nearly brought him to his knees.

He had just exhausted every ounce of his strength to slaughter a scout squad led by two Fifth Tier Devil Race.

The price was two broken ribs and less than thirty percent of his total spiritual power remaining.

Now, more were coming?

In this state, to go and counter-kill two more Devil Race of the same tier?

That wasn't a battle; that was suicide!

Reason told him he should choose the first option immediately and find a place to hide.

Yet, his body seemed to be controlled by an instinct carved deep into his soul.

[Choice Two]

The moment he confirmed it, the Chaos Spirit Furnace within his body suddenly grew scorching hot, a burning sense of craving spreading through his limbs and bones.

That was an extreme thirst for dark energy.

Xuan Ye's eyes remained completely ripple-free.

He knew it wasn't the Spirit Furnace that was craving it.

It was himself.

Forcing his body to hold on, he flashed into the hollow of an ancient tree that would take several people to encircle.

He sat cross-legged, pressed his palms together, and silently chanted obscure incantations.

A soft, emerald-green light lit up from his palms, slowly enveloping him.

Advanced Holy Healing!

A powerful healing divine art that only a fourth-tier priest could master.

Within the light, his fractured bones emitted faint "click-clack" sounds, reconnecting at a speed visible to the naked eye, while his torn muscles began to squirm and knit back together.

His injuries were improving rapidly, but his already bottomed-out spiritual power was now pouring out like a floodgate opening.

He silently opened his system panel.

[Name: Xuan Ye]

[Rank: Fourth-Tier Great Knight (Fifth-Tier Earth Knight progress: 58%)]

[Innate Inner Spiritual Power: Light 100, Dark 37]

[Inner Spiritual Power: 132/1207]

[External Spirit Power: 414]

[Spirit Furnace: Chaos Spirit Furnace]

[Equipment: Vengeance (Spirit-Magic Grade, evolution progress 98.7%)]

[Techniques (Knight):

Thrust (Mastery)

Pure White Blade (Mastery)

Light Slash Sword (Mastery)

Cross Slash (Mastery)]

Redemption (Mastery)

Sun Radiance Slash (Mastery, Tier 4): Condenses a blade of light resembling the scorching sun, dealing 180% base damage to enemies in a straight line, with an additional +50% damage against dark creatures.

Holy Sword (Mastery, Tier 4): Temporarily transforms the weapon into a "Light-attribute Holy Sword," with each attack inflicting "Divine Impact."

Technique (Priest):

Advanced Holy Healing (Mastery, Tier 4): Repairs bone-level injuries.

Secret Technique:

Instantaneous Movement Steps (Mastery): Movement distance increased to 8 meters, can be used 2 times consecutively.