Evil Spirit

Midnight, Zhaoxian Street, Feng City.

The street lay in the outskirts of Feng City. With several construction sites nearby, it was usually bustling at this hour.

But tonight was different.

Perhaps because the Abyssal Void had been opened to the public, many vendors hadn't come out to set up their stalls.

The street seemed much quieter, with only a few scattered stalls still lit.

Jiang Ran stood in front of a malatang stall, watching the red oil bubble in the pot.

The vendor was a slightly plump man in his fifties. His face was expressionless as he mechanically skewered the ingredients, his movements a little sluggish.

"Extra spicy, and more sesame sauce."

Jiang Ran spoke softly.

The vendor grunted, scooped the cooked ingredients from the pot into a bowl, poured over some red oil, then ladled on a big spoonful of sesame sauce and handed it over.

Jiang Ran took the bowl and casually asked, "Business slow?"

The vendor gave a wry smile. "It's not that. Everyone's on edge."

He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. "They all say you can become an immortal in the Abyssal Void. Who'd still want to run a street stall? My boy pestered me all last night, insisting I pull strings and get him a spot to go in... Can you believe the fuss?"

He shook his head. "His mother and I have run this stall for most of our lives to put him through college. And now? He's quit studying and insists on throwing himself into that Abyssal Void."

Jiang Ran didn't reply. He just lowered his head and took a bite of lotus root.

The spicy flavor exploded on his tongue, followed by that familiar numbing tingle.

It was true. Ever since the Abyssal Void went public, society's rhythm had been quietly changing.

Ordinary people were frightened, curious, eager to try their luck. A crack had appeared in the order of their everyday lives.

There were countless families like this vendor's.

"Another bowl," Jiang Ran said.

The vendor looked surprised. "You can eat another?"

"Yeah."

The second bowl was ready soon, and Jiang Ran ate it slowly.

He was waiting for the right time.

He'd actually had a busy day.

After his Chinese class that morning, Jiang Ran had gone early to the Shooting Club.

This time, Li Xintong had dropped all pretense.

She'd not only had two Three-Stone Bows custom-made for training, but had even stopped hiding her supernatural ability from Jiang Ran.

It was a pair of eyes glowing with a clear blue light.

When she opened them, her pupils took on the pattern of cracked ice.

Jiang Ran wasn't sure exactly what they did.

But once she activated her ability, her strength increased dramatically.

The arrows from a Three-Stone Bow were powerful enough to pierce steel plates.

Yet Li Xintong could actually stop them.

Jiang Ran had to get serious.

He activated Prediction to its fullest.

In a near-simultaneous exchange of fire, Jiang Ran's arrow grazed the tail feathers of Li Xintong's arrow. Before the arrow she'd intercepted could fully change direction, his had already struck the bull's-eye.

[Congratulations! Your core skill "Prediction" has risen from Lv.3 to Lv.4 (2/400)]

[Congratulations! You have received 2 Profession Points]

Li Xintong lowered her bow, the blue light fading from her eyes.

She looked at Jiang Ran and fell silent for a few seconds before speaking softly. "You've gotten stronger again."

Jiang Ran smiled but didn't respond.

Blade Arts had been easier to level up.

Of course, that was for Jiang Ran.

For Old Chen... it might have been another story.

That afternoon, in the training room, Jiang Ran held an unsharpened Tang Dao.

Though it had no edge, the blade was made of solid steel and had plenty of heft.

Old Chen stood opposite him, his Vajra Indestructible Body pushed to the limit. A pale golden sheen covered him from head to toe, making him look like a bronze statue.

"Come on," Jiang Ran said.

Then he moved.

At first, Old Chen could just barely defend himself. But soon, Jiang Ran had him retreating again and again, leaving him to rely on his Vajra Indestructible Body to take the blows.

"Holy crap! You're actually going all out!?"

Old Chen shouted as he dodged in a sorry scramble.

Jiang Ran ignored him. He changed the angle of his strike and swung up from below, smacking the side of Old Chen's lower leg hard with the back of the blade.

Smack!

Old Chen stumbled and nearly fell.

[Blade Arts EXP +8]

[Blade Arts EXP +9]

[Congratulations! Your basic Profession skill "Blade Arts" has risen from Lv.7 to Lv.8 (12/800)]

[Congratulations! You have received 2 Profession Points]

Jiang Ran lowered his blade and looked at Old Chen sitting on the ground, rubbing his leg. He couldn't help laughing.

Old Chen glared at him. "What're you laughing at? I'm making sacrifices so my ability can improve!"

"Sure, sure." Jiang Ran nodded. "Boss Chen's making a huge sacrifice."

Jokes aside, Old Chen really had improved.

During this training session, he'd actually managed to counterattack once or twice. Jiang Ran still trounced him, but it was a lot better than before, when all he could do was take a beating.

Throughout the training, Jiang Ran had kept his strength at the Blood Sensing Realm.

It was training, after all.

They had to see themselves getting better.

That way, their experience...

Ahem. Their motivation would keep flowing.

It was valuable experience Jiang Ran had gained during the more than a year since he'd obtained the Profession Panel.

That evening, Jiang Ran also went to Lin Xiaorou's home.

During tutoring, he saw Jiang Xiaoyu and gave her a few reminders.

But Xiaoyu was... strangely well-behaved this time.

She agreed to everything Jiang Ran said.

It nearly left Jiang Ran at a loss.

But after realizing Xiaoyu wasn't lying, he didn't say anything more.

After finishing two bowls of malatang, Jiang Ran had just pulled out a tissue to wipe his mouth when his phone rang.

He took it out and saw a message from Wang Zhenguo.

After reading it, Jiang Ran put his phone away and scanned the payment QR code taped to the vendor's cart.

"Boss, I've sent the money."

"Thanks! Take care!"

Jiang Ran nodded and turned toward the nearby alley.

The moment he was cloaked in shadow,

the pure black Nuo Opera Mask appeared on his face.

The Hidden Mechanism skill activated, and Jiang Ran's presence quickly diminished until he seemed to blend into the night.

Then he headed for the unfinished construction building not far away.

Jiang Ran hadn't come here at midnight by chance.

It was entirely because of a message Wang Zhenguo had sent him that afternoon about the Old Nine Gates.

At first, even after Zhou Yuan's warning,

Jiang Ran hadn't taken the Old Nine Gates seriously.

After all, he wore a mask, and he was in the Abyssal Void. If they dared to come looking for him, he wasn't worried in the slightest.

So he'd only asked Wang Zhenguo to keep an eye on them.

He hadn't expected to get nowhere with inquiries in the Abyssal Void, only to find out about them in the real world...

The Old Nine Gates were coming to Feng City tonight.

They'd also announced that they would investigate the black-clad man in Feng City in the real world.

When Jiang Ran saw the message,

his first reaction was disbelief.

If it was true, they'd moved far too fast.

It hadn't even been a day since he'd come out of the Abyssal Void, and they'd already tracked him to Feng City to investigate. That was a terrifying level of efficiency.

So he'd asked Old Chen to look into it in more detail.

That was when he learned that the other party had another reason for coming to Feng City.

They were smuggling a batch of tickets for Abyssal Void entry.

But regardless...

It was true that they planned to investigate him in the real world.

So he'd come.

Soon, Jiang Ran reached the rooftop of the unfinished building at the construction site.

Wang Zhenguo was already waiting there.

He wore a dark tracksuit and stood at the edge of the roof, gazing at the distant street.

Hearing footsteps, he turned around. When he saw the pure black mask on Jiang Ran's face, he bowed respectfully and called out:

"President."

This was the first time they'd met in the real world.

But Wang Zhenguo remained just as respectful as he had been in the Abyssal Void.

Jiang Ran nodded, walked over beside him, and looked toward the distant street.

After watching for a while, he asked quietly, "What supernatural ability did you awaken?"

Wang Zhenguo was taken aback, then replied, "It's a close-combat ability called Bone Shaker. When activated, it concentrates my vital energy into my fists. On impact, it creates high-frequency vibrations that can break through heavy armor and protective energy."

Jiang Ran nodded when he heard this.

An offensive ability geared toward close combat. Not bad.

Then the two fell silent.

Wang Zhenguo stood respectfully beside him until Jiang Ran suddenly asked,

"You might have to kill someone later. Are you afraid?"

Wang Zhenguo looked startled. He was silent for a few seconds before replying softly,

"I don't think I could ever be more afraid than I was during those two days."

He meant the two days he'd been trapped on the top floor of the hotel, watching helplessly as monsters devoured people.

Jiang Ran nodded.

"Have your people withdraw. Keep watch yourself, and let me know when they're getting close."

Wang Zhenguo was taken aback, then immediately nodded. "Understood."

He turned and left.

He'd originally brought some people along to help tonight.

But Jiang Ran had already guessed that he'd brought them, and had told him to send them away. There was nothing more to say.

Wang Zhenguo obeyed him completely.

Just as he had the day Jiang Ran rescued him from the hotel.

After Wang Zhenguo left,

Jiang Ran sat down at the edge of the rooftop.

The night wind swept past.

Jiang Ran looked at the Profession Panel in front of him.

Compared with the Martial Monk panel, the Nuo Opera Master panel had one fewer slot at the bottom.

That meant the Profession had only two basic skills and one core skill.

So his four Profession Points were just enough.

Jiang Ran looked at the two gray skill icons and didn't hesitate.

[1 Profession Point consumed]

[Spirit Absorption Creation Lv.1 unlocked]

Jiang Ran didn't stop there. He spent another three Profession Points.

[3 Profession Points consumed]

[All-Aspects Rotation Lv.1 unlocked]

Only after seeing the skill unlock did Jiang Ran slowly let out a breath and look at the panel.

[Profession: Nuo Opera Master Lv.1 (0/100)]

[Basic Profession skill: Hidden Mechanism Lv.1 (0/100)]

[Spirit Absorption Creation Lv.1 (0/100)]

[Core Profession Skill: All-Aspects Rotation Lv. 1 (0/100)

Innate Nuo Opera Mask: "Ancestral Nuo: Faceless"

Rank 1: (Empty)]

The biggest difference between a Nuo Opera Master who had awakened through "Ancestral Nuo: Faceless" and other Nuo Opera Masters was this core skill: "All-Aspects Rotation."

"Ancestral Nuo is faceless, and so can contain all aspects..."

Jiang Ran murmured the maxim that had flooded into his mind when he unlocked the skill.

With a flicker of intent, the colorful "Martial God: Power" Nuo Opera Mask appeared in his hand once more.

He gazed at the golden-red sheen rippling across the mask.

"On a faceless foundation, I receive the power of the Martial God..."

As he recited softly, the skill activated.

The "Martial God: Power" mask in his palm abruptly lit up, turning into countless tiny golden-red points of light that surged toward the pure-black, faceless "Ancestral Nuo" mask on Jiang Ran's face.

The moment the points of light touched the black mask, they silently merged into it.

Then, the surface of "Ancestral Nuo: Faceless" began to change...

Fine golden-red lines emerged along the edges of its pure-black base, spreading and intertwining toward the center.

The mask's surface, originally smooth and featureless,

gradually took shape.

Its color shifted from pure black to a dignified design with a dark-gold base and curling crimson patterns.

In just a few breaths,

the pure-black mask on Jiang Ran's face had completely transformed into the appearance of "Martial God: Power."

The night wind swept past, stirring the loose hair over his forehead.

Behind the mask, where gold and red intertwined, a point of crimson quietly lit up in the darkness...

Like a demon.