Killing Mechanism?

"This skill..."

Tang Luo's words made Sun Ang's rising anger suddenly stall.

Skill? Had Tang Luo noticed his skill?

How was that possible?!

Not only did his skill activate silently, but it was incredibly discreet.

He wasn't using a skill at all right now!

What was Tang Luo talking about?

"Could it be the legendary impotent rage?" Tang Luo continued. "I can read the anger on your face."

Mockery!

Utter, naked mockery!

It was like adding fuel to the fire. Rage surged through Sun Ang.

His mouth filled with a metallic taste. He couldn't tell whether he'd bitten his gums hard enough to draw blood or whether it was a consequence of that palm strike.

He forced his eyes wide, trying to make out the scene before him.

As long as he could see clearly, he'd have a chance to fight back.

Sun Ang had a skill called Third-Person Vision.

It could provide nearly perfect surveillance and reconnaissance. It was through this skill that he'd learned about Tang Luo.

Of course, the skill's target hadn't been Tang Luo, but Zhang Yuchou.

What the Merit Jade Lotus had dispelled was the "invisible eye" formed by Third-Person Vision.

Besides, Sun Ang had another skill called "Object Manipulation."

On its own, it wasn't exactly a divine skill.

But when used together with Third-Person Vision, it became an extremely terrifying invisible assassination technique.

To use Object Manipulation, he had to see the object he wanted to control with his own eyes.

The moment the object left his field of vision, he would lose control of it.

And while using the skill, he could barely move his body at all.

His mind had to be intensely focused, like when driving at high speed or playing a fiercely competitive game. He couldn't afford to lose focus for even an instant.

If he used Object Manipulation alone, his enemy would be a stationary target.

And so would he—a sitting duck, unable to move. He'd essentially be risking his life against his opponent.

He could see his opponent, and his opponent could naturally see him too. Surveillance footage couldn't provide the same effect as seeing something with your own eyes.

But Third-Person Vision could perfectly replicate the effect of "seeing with your own eyes."

It was enough to let Sun Ang kill someone from a thousand miles away without leaving a trace.

That was the truth behind the Plate Spirit case.

Of course, because of certain limitations of his skills, Sun Ang couldn't carry out a perfect assassination without leaving any clues.

But once he had the main elements in place, he could still make the case look like a "supernatural incident."

The police certainly wouldn't find any evidence against him.

They wouldn't even be able to figure out how he'd actually committed the crimes.

At most, they might think it was suspicious that Sun Ang had been in contact with several of the victims before they died.

But they'd all been involved in the same case. Wasn't it perfectly normal for them to have been in contact?

The Merit Jade Lotus had broken Third-Person Vision.

Because the power of merit scarcely harmed people, it hadn't inflicted any damage on Sun Ang.

But it had put his skill on cooldown.

He couldn't activate it.

But Sun Ang could still use Object Manipulation.

After all, the pain in his limbs was so bad he could barely lift them.

They were probably already broken.

Even with recovery beyond that of an ordinary person, he couldn't possibly get back on his feet in such a short time.

Object Manipulation didn't require Sun Ang to stand up.

As long as his vision returned, he could turn his head, find a suitable angle, and choose the right object.

Then he could launch a sneak attack and kill Tang Luo.

He'd make Tang Luo experience the taste of "having everything turn against you at the last moment."

And that taste would be the taste of Tang Luo's blood and death.

"How did you fake the Plate Spirit murders?" Tang Luo asked.

The black spots in Sun Ang's vision began to fade. His sight was starting to return.

"You think I'd tell you?" he said haltingly, his voice slurred.

He was only trying to buy time.

"Fine, I'll ask something else." Tang Luo was quite easygoing. He wouldn't press if Sun Ang didn't want to answer. "Zhang Yuchou won't be in danger from now on, will he?"

"Ha!"

Sun Ang burst out laughing. "I already planted something in him. If I die, he won't survive either!"

What a good God and Demon Walker, looking out for the safety of ordinary people.

"Mm, got it."

Tang Luo nodded. "Your acting is worse than Baby's."

An acting expert had just offered his criticism.

The forced smile vanished from Sun Ang's face, and at that moment, the flickering black spots in his vision disappeared completely.

But in their place was a dark shadow. Looking closely, it was the sole of a shoe.

He didn't have time to think about anything else.

Sun Ang immediately used Object Manipulation and locked onto the shoe as the object he wanted to control.

His consciousness surged wildly, turning into an invisible force that was about to take control of the shoe...

Sun Ang didn't have time to think about how to use the shoe to fight back. His most instinctive thought was simple.

Stop the shoe from coming down.

Tang Luo was a little surprised. An unknown force held up his foot.

It was resisting him, keeping him from bringing his foot down.

Pfft!

A palm strike from midair—a formless attack—turned Sun Ang into a headless corpse.

If he couldn't stomp on him, then so be it.

Master Xuanzang was skilled in all sorts of physical conversions. It was easy enough to use another method.

And it was a good chance to try out Empty Palm, the skill he used to pass himself off as the "Tathagata Palm."

Tang Luo was satisfied with the results.

How to put it?

At level one, its maximum range was ten meters, and its power diminished by 50%.

From now on, he could keep his distance and not worry about being splattered with his opponent's blood.

Having to use the Merit Jade Lotus to clean up after every fight was a little extravagant.

Besides, being drenched in blood didn't fit the image of an "enlightened Buddha" Tang Luo had built for himself.

He withdrew his foot. Just as Tang Luo was about to leave, a peculiar aura appeared above Sun Ang's headless corpse. It couldn't be seen or touched, but it could be felt.

"A skill?"

It felt like a skill to Tang Luo.

But before Tang Luo could reach out to test it, the aura circled briefly, then vanished without a trace.

"...Could killing a God and Demon Walker let you obtain one of their skills? Is it random which one you get?"

Tang Luo wondered to himself.

This wasn't exactly good news.

According to the information available so far, the God and Demon Game didn't allow people to form teams.

But it didn't encourage God and Demon Walkers to kill one another, either.

When they shared the same mission objective, it actually encouraged them to cooperate to some extent.

But if Tang Luo's guess was right, then God and Demon Walkers would start clashing over skills.

And conflicts sparked by coveting someone else's skills would be deadly.

Even equipment could be discarded to save your life.

But skills couldn't be discarded.

If it was yours, it was yours.

If I wanted it, you had to die.

"Interesting." Tang Luo had gained a new understanding of the world of the God and Demon Game.

Zhou Zhenguo had never mentioned this to him.

Either he'd kept it secret, or he didn't know about it either.

Tang Luo leaned toward the latter. After all, Zhou Zhenguo had even told Tang Luo which skill he'd just acquired.

If Zhou Zhenguo had been worried that Tang Luo would learn about the "kill to steal skills" mechanism and try to kill him, then he wouldn't have told Tang Luo about his newly acquired "Tide of Recovery" in the carriage.

Zhou Zhenguo probably didn't know.

Tang Luo believed that under normal circumstances, very few people would tell other God and Demon Walkers about this discovery.

This mechanism would only spread among relatively powerful God and Demon Walkers.

Newcomers couldn't possibly know about it.

It was only natural for someone like Zhou Zhenguo, who had just passed the novice stage and was only a fake veteran, to be unaware.

Telling someone would be like saying, "I have a hidden treasure. There's a decent chance you'll get it if you kill me!"

Wouldn't that be like handing out your address and asking people to mail you knives?

"What a strange sense of déjà vu..."

Tang Luo shook his head, then once again placed the Merit Jade Lotus above his head and entered an invisible state.

Killing Sun Ang had also earned him some power of merit.

It was enough to make up for everything he'd spent on this matter, with some left over.

It was like this: power of merit −333.

Power of merit obtained from Sun Ang +666.

This round of punishing evil and promoting good had definitely been worth it.

But honestly, even Tang Luo himself didn't understand how the dividing line between "good" and "evil" was determined when it came to punishing evil and promoting good.

He could only say that "every case had to be judged on its own merits."

But Sun Ang, who had killed several people, undoubtedly fell into the category of "evil."

Tang Luo was absolutely certain that killing him had earned him power of merit.

If he could guide Sun Ang toward goodness, help him atone for his sins, and successfully make him "lay down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot," he might even earn more merit.

Of course, Tang Luo wasn't the least bit interested in that.

His usual approach was "physical conversion."

Spiritual conversion?

Not a chance.

Tang Luo only fought violence with violence.

Back at the hotel, Tang Luo entered his "untouchable" state in an instant, "floated into" the room, and immediately ended it.

He absolutely couldn't let it last too long.

If he did, this trip would leave him at a loss.

After taking a quick shower, Tang Luo went to sleep.

Early the next morning, Tang Luo woke to the sound of his phone ringing.

It was the police, asking if they could speak with Tang Luo and hear his account.

"He just came in to talk with me about the case, then left." Tang Luo said that if he was lying, let the heavens strike him dead with five thunderbolts.

It didn't matter. They couldn't kill him with thunderbolts anyway, and what he'd said was true.

Hadn't they been talking about the case?

As someone under special protection, Sun Ang's death or disappearance would certainly draw attention.

The hotel front desk, lobby, corridors, and stairwells were all covered by surveillance cameras.

There was also the hotel receptionist as a witness.

There was no way to hide the fact that he'd met Tang Luo.

If nothing happened, the incident would be forgotten over time.

The Plate Spirit case would become a cold case too.

But if something did happen, Sun Ang's unexplained visit to the hotel to meet Tang Luo would inevitably become a major point of suspicion.

Sun Ang's body, Tang Luo didn't bother to deal with either.

As long as it didn't leave any clues, that was fine.

Besides, he had a perfect alibi. The surveillance footage could prove that Tang Luo hadn't left the hotel all night.

His room was on the fifth floor.

And most hotel windows could only be opened a crack. Adults couldn't squeeze through, let alone children.

It was a safety measure.

There was no second route that would let him avoid the cameras, evade notice, and leave without anyone knowing.

At most, Tang Luo would attract the police's attention.

And that little bit of attention wasn't enough to make Tang Luo spare Sun Ang.

To be honest, Tang Luo himself really didn't care.

If the Victorious Fighting Buddha acted timidly and hesitated over everything, would he still be the Victorious Fighting Buddha?

Being cautious and being timid were two different things.

And following one's heart wasn't the same as acting recklessly.

But thanks to Tang Luo, what was supposed to be a casual stroll had turned into a solo outing for him.

As the last survivor, Zhang Yuchou's role had shifted from covert protection to openly "keeping an eye on him."

Just to make sure nothing else happened.

Even after Tang Luo got home, Zhang Yuchou's assignment hadn't been called off.

It would probably last until the lease expired.

The day Tang Luo returned home, he also received the custom-made God and Demon Suit.