Midnight Infant's Cry

Back in Room Bing-7, which reeked of mildew, Wang Quan slid the bolt shut and leaned against the cold wooden door, exhaling slowly. The fatigue from continuous combat still clung to his bones, but a stronger craving for power burned within him. He closed his eyes, sinking his consciousness into the void only he could perceive.

A few lines of faint text quietly materialized, cold and precise.

[Killed low-level Walking Corpses, gained Skill Points: 4]

[Killed three Spirit Awakening Realm Snake Demons, gained Skill Points: 12]

[Total available Skill Points: 16]

Sixteen points. A considerable haul. Wang Quan's mind raced, and without hesitation, he focused his attention on the Myriad Monster Blood Devouring Art, which had already reached the Minor Accomplishment stage.

"Upgrade Myriad Monster Blood Devouring Art to Major Accomplishment," he silently commanded in his mind.

[Consume 14 Skill Points to upgrade Myriad Monster Blood Devouring Art to Major Accomplishment Realm?]

"Yes."

The instant the command was given, a torrent of blood and qi, far more violent and scorching than any previous upgrade, erupted from the depths of his Dantian, surging into every inch of his limbs and body! This time, it wasn't just his skin, flesh, and bones groaning and trembling under the immense strain. Even his deepest organs felt as if they were being squeezed and refined by an invisible giant hand.

His bones cracked like popping beans, becoming denser and harder. Muscle fibers bulged and thickened, storing explosive power. His skin even took on a faint, dull luster, like the tough bark of an old tree. A formidable, savage, and predatory sense of power filled his entire body. He felt as though he could tear apart tigers and leopards with his bare hands, and shatter rocks with his fists! The strength, power, and recovery of his body had ascended to an entirely new level.

[Myriad Monster Blood Devouring Art upgraded to Major Accomplishment. Current physical strength assessment: Comparable to early Soul Sculpting Realm Demonic Creatures.]

Feeling the surging, roaring power within him, almost overflowing, Wang Quan slowly clenched his fist, his knuckles grinding with a sickening crunch. He tried stomping his foot lightly, and the hard packed earth beneath him sank slightly, leaving a clear footprint.

"The surge in power is too great; I need time to adapt and control it." He suppressed the tremor in his heart and looked at his other two Cultivation Methods.

Shadow Step was still marked as Uninitiated, rated by the system as a Mortal Body Foundation Establishment stage movement technique, focusing on stealth, unpredictability, and short-range bursts. [Upgrade to Initiate requires 3 Skill Points.] Wang Quan glanced at his remaining 2 Skill Points and shook his head. "Points are low again. Hunting must continue."

He forcefully suppressed the surging power within him, and the oppressive, malevolent aura retreated deep into his body. Externally, he still appeared as a taciturn young man in a worn-out Garrison uniform, but the depths of his eyes held a newfound gravity and a chilling coldness.

Just as he was about to go out and figure something out, Commander Chen called him over alone. "Wang Quan, you don't need to patrol the city for the next few days." Commander Chen's voice was hoarse. His gaze lingered on Wang Quan for a moment, a flicker of barely perceptible surprise flashing in his cloudy eyes before quickly vanishing. "There's been some strange business in the city. Go investigate."

"Strange business?" Wang Quan's heart stirred.

"Mm-hmm." Commander Chen pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment from his pocket and handed it over. "In the south of the city, several households have reported hearing children crying at night. It's a chilling cry, not like a normal infant's wail. Some of their children have fallen mysteriously ill because of it, unresponsive to any medicine. Go take a look, see if something unclean is at play. Remember, investigate discreetly, don't cause a city-wide panic."

"Yes, Commander Chen." Wang Quan took the note, on which the addresses and brief details of the reporting households were scrawled.

That night, Wang Quan didn't go out. Instead, he lay down clothed in a corner of the Garrison's communal barracks. He didn't truly sleep, but instead circulated the Turtle Snake Coiling Dragon Strength to regulate his breathing, his hearing amplified to its limit, casting an invisible net over the silent city, capturing any discordant sound.

Around just after midnight, when all was still. A piercing, shrill cry suddenly tore through the heavy night sky without warning!

That cry was unlike anything a normal infant could produce. The sound was elusive, sometimes seeming to leap lightly on the roof tiles just above, other times echoing from the depths of a distant, narrow alley. The malevolent energy contained within it pierced the night, drilling straight into one's skull.

Wang Quan's eyes snapped open, clear and cold. He silently rolled off the bed and, like a panther melting into the shadows, crept toward the direction from which the cry was clearest.

He raced along the rooftops and through the deep alleys, following the soul-stirring cry. Finally, as Wang Quan tracked it to the dilapidated low-income housing area in the south of the city, the crying abruptly stopped, vanishing without a trace.

The next morning, Wang Quan went to the south of the city alone to investigate. He quickly learned that several households had indeed been afflicted recently, their infants or young children falling mysteriously ill, baffling the doctors and temple priests they consulted.

Following the list, Wang Quan found the latest victim's family. The small earthen house was dim, filled with an atmosphere of despair. A young couple guarded their dying infant on a mat, their faces gaunt.

Wang Quan showed his Garrison waist token and asked questions. At first, the couple was evasive. It wasn't until Wang Quan mentioned the strange infant cry heard last night that the husband's face turned ashen. He knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face, and recounted a strange event: his elderly father had passed away half a month ago. The night his father's body was laid out, he had heard a strange noise from the roof. When he shouted, he distinctly heard a thin, childish voice crying softly, "Pain... so much pain... Father... I'm in pain..."

Wang Quan fell silent. He circulated the Blood Shadow Tracking Art and detected a trace of bone-chilling residual resentment around the sickbed.

Leaving that family, Wang Quan went directly to find Madman Xu and informed him of his findings.

Upon hearing this, Madman Xu's eyes lit up, and he rubbed his hands excitedly. "A stillborn! It's definitely a stillborn! Hehehe... these things are rare!"

He lowered his voice excitedly. "These things are not ordinary lonely ghosts! They are fetuses that died with immense resentment from the womb, or evil spirits formed by their lingering thoughts attaching to a newly deceased corpse! They specifically target infants with weak qi and blood and a blood connection, feeding on their life force!"

"The most sinister and poisonous thing," Madman Xu's eyes flashed with ferocity, "is that it harms people by starting with its own close relatives! It uses the pain and lives of its kin to strengthen its own resentment! The conditions for its formation are extremely strict; a stillborn with such heavy resentment is not common..."

"How to break it? How to track its origin?" Wang Quan pressed.

Madman Xu chuckled and took out a dirty small compass and a few talismans. "Ordinary swords are difficult to harm its incorporeal body; it requires pure yang items to suppress it. This thing has a special connection to its close bloodline and will definitely return to that house! Take this 'Grievance Plate'; its needle will move when you get close to it. When yin energy is at its peak at midnight, it will reveal itself! Find an opportunity, either scatter it with lightning-struck wood or black dog blood, or..." He glanced at Wang Quan. "Try your strange Cultivation Method and see if you can 'eat' its source of resentment?"

Wang Quan took the compass. A chill ran through him upon contact. He said no more and turned to leave.

That night, as midnight approached. Near the house with the pregnant woman in the south of the city, all was silent. Wang Quan concealed himself in the shadows of the opposite rooftop, his presence suppressed to the extreme, patiently waiting.

The moonlight was pale. The Grievance Plate in his arms remained still.

Just at the stroke of midnight, when yin energy was at its peak—

"Waaah—!"

A sharp infant cry, filled with extreme bitterness and malice, suddenly exploded from within the courtyard of that house! Simultaneously, the needle of the Grievance Plate spun wildly, pointing directly into the courtyard!

It's here!

A cold light flashed in Wang Quan's eyes. He lunged forward like lightning!