The Curtain Falls

"What's going on? It's over already?" Zhao Tianyi muttered, still unable to process what had happened.

The Evil God Cultists had gone to such lengths to create such a massive spectacle, only for it to end so abruptly?

"Leave this place, now!" Chen Yu had already formed a vague guess.

Perhaps because he had absorbed quite a few Blood Lines, the Lust Apostle had ended up short at the very end, causing the ritual to fail.

But he definitely could not say that aloud. He could only urge everyone to leave quickly.

At the same time the Lust Apostle exploded, the force that had confined this space suddenly vanished.

The exit naturally reappeared.

Before they could even leave, a figure darted into the venue like a shadow.

"What speed!" Chen Yu's eyes narrowed at first, but he relaxed once he saw who it was.

It was Old Qin.

As Old Qin looked at the bloody scene before him, his usually composed face showed a rare trace of anxiety.

"Young Master, are you hurt?" Old Qin scooped Luo Ming up and checked him over from head to toe.

"Uncle Qin, I'm fine." Luo Ming's voice still carried lingering fear. He would never watch another Black Boxing Match again.

They could pay him, and he still would not go.

"Chen Yu deserves the credit this time. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable," Zhao Tianyi said gravely.

Then, as they headed out through the exit, they briefly explained what had just happened.

But the moment they left the building, people from the Enforcement Bureau stopped them.

"Please wait. We need several of you to remain and assist with the investigation," several Enforcement Bureau officers said sternly.

Old Qin frowned slightly, then took out an ID from his pocket, waved it around, and put it back.

"New Moon..." The officers' expressions changed slightly. Anything involving New Moon was beyond their authority.

Then, one of the lead officers forced himself to speak.

"Please spare us a few minutes. We only need you to briefly explain what happened inside."

This time, Old Qin did not refuse. He repeated the information he had just learned from Chen Yu and the others.

"There were actually Evil God Cultists gathered here, and they were trying to summon Evil God Kin?!" The Enforcement Bureau officers present were immediately shocked.

This was the center of Jiang City.

Even if a Lesser Evil God Kin had been summoned, it could have twisted the minds of hundreds of thousands of Jiang City residents in an instant!

The Enforcement Bureau knew full well that this matter was no longer something they could interfere in.

Normally, they only arrested isolated Evil God Cultists. But once Evil God Kin were involved, the matter became far more serious.

Only Martial Artists from the Faith Management Bureau were qualified to investigate such a case.

But that had nothing to do with Chen Yu and the others anymore.

After being examined and confirmed to be free of mental distortion or corruption, they were released.

Afterward, Chen Yu took the initiative to part ways with Luo Ming and the others.

"Night Owl, your plan has failed."

Several projections emerged from the darkness, their gazes all falling on Night Owl.

Night Owl herself looked bewildered as she muttered to herself.

"Something's wrong. The number and quality of the sacrifices were completely sufficient. How could the summoning have failed?"

She could not understand it.

She had planned this for nearly ten years. She was certain that every condition had been met, with plenty to spare. How could it have failed?

By all logic, the Lust Apostle should have been summoned by now, instantly transforming hundreds of thousands of Jiang City residents into their brothers and sisters.

Even if the Faith Management Bureau reacted and dispatched powerful Martial Artists to eliminate the Lust Apostle, the outcome would still have been irreversible.

"There couldn't have been any flaw in my plan. Something must have gone wrong in one of the steps," Night Owl argued.

"It no longer matters," the projections said. "The plan has failed. It is only a matter of time before your identity is exposed."

"We have arranged an escape route for you. Leave Jiang City immediately."

Night Owl opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She merely nodded heavily.

"Yes."

----------
Name: Chen Yu

Realm: Body Tempering Sixth Stage

Techniques: Star-Treading Stance, Thunder Extreme Saber (Proficient)

Talents: [Persistence], [Blade Technique Grandmaster (Purple)], [Martial Dao A-grade Bone (Green)], [Fortune's Blessing (Blue)], [Keen Perception (Blue)], [Gluttonous Factor (Blue)], [Exceptional Memory (Yellow)], [Thought Imprint (Yellow)]

Talent Forging: None

Expansion Functions: (Unlock condition: Copy three Green-Quality Talents, 0/3)

----------

"Not bad. I've reached Body Tempering Sixth Stage." Chen Yu glanced at the System Panel, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Although his Martial Dao talent was already quite strong, advancement became increasingly difficult the higher his realm rose.

Even for him, breaking through from Body Tempering Fifth Layer to the Sixth Stage would have taken some time.

This unexpected breakthrough had not only saved him time, but also quite a bit of money.

"This Evil God probably wasn't targeting me. At most, I was just unlucky... No, I should say I was extremely lucky!"

Chen Yu came to his senses. Although he had fallen into danger this time, he had also gained plenty of benefits.

As a Blue-Quality Talent, [Fortune's Blessing] had surely played a role in this incident.

"Looks like I underestimated the effect of luck."

Putting away the System Panel, Chen Yu swallowed a Body Tempering Elixir and prepared to cultivate.

If he could break through to Seventh-Level Body Tempering before the Martial Exam Warm-Up Tournament, he might have a chance at fighting for first place.

But the moment the Body Tempering Elixir entered his stomach, Chen Yu felt his internal organs suddenly kick into overdrive, rapidly digesting its nutrients.

A massive current of heat began flowing through every part of his body, wildly pouring into his flesh and producing visible improvements in his physical condition.

An entire Body Tempering Elixir was consumed in just a few minutes.

"This..." Chen Yu stared wide-eyed. An ordinary person would need at least three days to consume a Body Tempering Elixir!

[Gluttonous Factor (Blue)]: Perfect physical digestion and absorption rate. Can devour Gluttonous Faith.

"So this is what perfect absorption means?!" Chen Yu was utterly shocked.

That level of digestive efficiency was no longer human.

Of course, its effects were equally terrifying.

He immediately took out three or four days' worth—ten Body Tempering Elixirs—and gulped them down in one go.

The scorching heat flowed without end. Chen Yu did not waste any time and quickly began cultivating the Star-Treading Stance.

After one cultivation session, Chen Yu was drenched in sweat from head to toe.

"The effects are excellent."

"However, digesting too much in a short period seems to leave a large amount of medicinal toxins in my body. I'll need to wait for my body to recover for a while."

"I wonder if continuing to improve this talent will let me absorb the medicinal toxins too."

Every medicine carried some toxicity, and Body Tempering Elixirs were no exception.

It was just that most people had low absorption efficiency. One elixir would take three days to consume, allowing the medicinal toxins to gradually dissipate over time.

Few people would ever encounter Chen Yu's situation. Taking more than ten Body Tempering Elixirs in such a short time was simply inhuman.

"No matter what, the effect is obvious."

"Before the Martial Exam Warm-Up Tournament, I'll definitely reach Seventh-Level Body Tempering. I might even have a chance to break through to Body Tempering Eighth Level!"

Body Tempering Eighth Level!

That was practically the highest level in all of Jiang City.

If he could reach that point, then his participation in the Martial Exam Warm-Up Tournament would no longer just be about going through the motions.