Ark Simulator, Am I Not Without a Physical Body?

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Su Rui rolled to dodge, and the ground where he had been standing was instantly blasted into three large craters by the paintballs. He seized the opportunity to raise his hand to retaliate, and the dark bullets whistled out, but were blocked in mid-air by the ink-painting soldiers who suddenly appeared with their shields.

"Sister Xi!" Su Rui wailed, "Why did you bring bodyguards?!"

Xi's voice drifted from afar. "The rules don't say it's not allowed."

--Fifth minute.

The year has seen him completely let loose and be himself.

Carrying a rocket launcher-like device, she rampaged through the center of the battlefield, each shell scattering the ink-colored soldiers in all directions. But those ink-colored figures would quickly reform, even beginning to mimic her tactical movements.

"Hey! This is cheating!" Nian shouted as he retreated, "How can your soldiers evolve?!"

Xi stood atop the clock tower, a slight smile playing on her lips, "My works aren't static."

Taking advantage of the situation, Su Rui reached behind Nian and pressed the muzzle of her gun against her lower back. "Sister Nian, out of the game?"

Suddenly, Nian grinned and said, "How naive!"

She whirled around, a folding shield popping out from her sleeve, and simultaneously pulled out a flashbang with her other hand, hurling it at the ground.

"Boom!"

A blinding white light exploded, and Su Rui's vision went completely white. When his vision returned, Nian had vanished, and a dozen ink-wash soldiers were surrounding him.

"Sister Xi! You're being unfair!"

Xi's voice carried a hint of pleasure. "All's fair in war."

--Tenth minute.

The battlefield was in complete disarray.

Year's red hair was covered in colored powder, Xi's sleeve was scorched, and Su Rui looked like a little kitten—black and white stripes on her face, and smoke was still rising from the tip of her tail.

The three stood back to back in the center of the battlefield, surrounded by a massive, ever-advancing army of ink-wash painters.

"I said..." Nian gasped, "Don't you have a bit too many soldiers?"

Xi's breathing became rapid. "You said yourself that you wanted the truth."

Su Rui suddenly raised her hand. "I have an idea!"

Amidst their puzzled gazes, he abruptly pointed his gun at the ground and pulled the trigger—

"Bang!"

The moment the ink-black bullet struck, the entire Painted Realm suddenly trembled. The ground cracked, and countless silver-white wind blades burst forth from the cracks, shredding the surrounding ink-wash soldiers to shreds.

Xi looked at Su Rui in shock. "When did you...?"

"While we were hiding," Su Rui wagged her tail smugly, "I secretly infused the bullets with wind elemental power!"

Nian laughed heartily and put his arm around Su Rui's neck, "Well done! Now it's two against one—"

Before she could finish speaking, Xi's figure suddenly vanished like ink in a painting. The next second, two hands reached out from behind her and gently pinched the back of Nian and Su Rui's necks.

"Game over."

A cold voice rang in their ears, and the two realized that, without them noticing, Xi's true form was already standing behind them.

The entire battlefield within the Painted Realm is slowly collapsing under her will.

Back in the real world, Su Rui slumped into a chair, so exhausted she could barely lift her tail. "Sister Xi... you're too strong..."

Nian lay sprawled on the ground, still clutching the empty gun. "No... I need to make something even more exciting..."

Xi stood by the window, the afterglow of the setting sun gilding her profile. Looking at the two men, both disheveled and happy, a soft light flickered in her eyes.

"Tomorrow..." she suddenly said, "We can play another round."

Su Rui and Nian looked up at the same time, their eyes lighting up.

Xi turned and walked towards the door, her tail gently brushing against Su Rui's hair. "--If you can get up early."

(The moment the door closed, Nian and Su Rui high-fived and cheered.)

Just as dawn broke through the windowpane, Su Rui was startled awake by a rapid knocking at the door. He rubbed his eyes groggily, his tail still smeared with golden paintball dust from yesterday. Outside, Nian's voice, unusually tense, called out, "Little Su! Get up! Sister Shu is looking for us!"

Startled, Su Rui jumped out of bed, hastily threw on a coat, and rushed out. In the hallway, Xi was already standing there, her dark eyes slightly narrowed, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the lines of her cuffs. Her expression remained indifferent, but Su Rui keenly noticed that the tip of her tail was gently tapping the ground—a small gesture she made when uneasy.

"What happened?" Su Rui asked softly, instinctively moving closer to Xi.

Nian shrugged. "I don't know, but Sister Shu's complexion..." Before she could finish speaking, Ling's door suddenly opened. This usually drunken Qinglong was unusually sober at this moment, her blue eyes as dark as the sky before a storm. She clutched a wine pot in her hand, her knuckles white, and the cracks on the pot seemed even deeper than yesterday.

The four of them silently entered Shu's room. The room was filled with the scent of earth and herbs. Shu stood in front of the table, her fingertips pressing on a yellowed map. Her face was pale, her lips were taut, and even her usually gentle, flowing wheat-shaped hair ornaments looked dull and lifeless.

"There's a problem with the land," Shu said bluntly, his voice rough and abrasive. "Those... things buried underground are starting to awaken."

Su Rui felt Xi's tail suddenly wrap around his wrist, the force almost causing him pain. He looked down and saw that on the map that Shu was pointing to, several red circles marked with cinnabar were glowing eerily.

Volume 9, Chapter 583: I Still Have a Way

Su Rui suddenly felt a sharp pain in the corner of his eye. He covered his right eye, and golden light seeped through his fingers. "This is...?"

"Miasma." Xi's voice rang in his ear, her cool fingers gently pulling his wrist away. "Your Dragon Mark is warning you."

Nian leaned closer, sparks crackling in her red hair. "So those Demons your sister chopped down are coming back?" She rubbed her hands together, eager for a fight. "Perfect, let them taste my newly invented—"

"It's not that simple." Shu shook his head, taking a handful of wheat ears from his sleeve. The golden grains were visibly turning black and withering. "They're already entangled with the earth's veins. Forcibly digging them out will trigger a surge of spiritual energy, and the entire wheat field will..."

The room suddenly became eerily quiet. Su Rui saw Ling's hands trembling, and the spilled wine had formed a small puddle on the floor, reflecting her contorted face.

"Use the Painted Realm."

Xi suddenly spoke. She unfurled a Blank scroll, and ink blurred Shangshu's outline on the paper. "Solve the pollution by bringing the source of the pollution into the painting."

Shu's eyes lit up. "The Painted World is isolated from the real world..."

"Nian and I will go in," Ling suddenly said, his voice seeming to come from a great distance, "This is... my responsibility."

"I'll go too!" Su Rui blurted out. The instant Xi frowned, he raised his wrist, where the scales glowed faintly with gold. "My spiritual power can sense Miasma and help everyone locate their positions!"

Xi's tail clung tightly to his waist, but she stiffened slightly when she saw the boy's stubborn eyes. After a long silence, she suddenly took out a black jade pendant from her sleeve and hung it around Su Rui's neck. "Stay close to me."

Shu let out a long sigh, her fingertips tracing a winding route on the map. "The first place to erupt was the sealed point beneath the wheat field to the north. There..." She paused, "... lies the most brutal part of that battle from back then."

At the edge of the wheat field to the north, an unsettlingly sweet scent filled the air.

Su Rui wrinkled his nose; the smell reminded him of rotten fruit, yet it also had a pungent metallic odor.

His eyes began to throb again, and a golden light flickered uneasily beneath his skin.

"This is it." Shu stopped and pointed to a seemingly ordinary wheat field ahead. But Su Rui noticed that all the wheat ears there were bent in an unnatural way, as if they were bent over by an invisible weight.

Nian crouched down, a small flame igniting at her fingertips. The flame turned an eerie bluish-green the moment it touched the ground. "Wow," she whistled, "This concentration of Miasma is potent."

As Xi unfurled the scroll, inky spiritual energy traced intricate patterns in the air. "Stand back a bit," she said without looking up, but her tail remained tightly wrapped around Su Rui's waist, pulling him closer to her.

As Xi's spiritual power was infused, the ground began to tremble slightly. Black mist seeped from the cracks in the soil, twisting into various grotesque shapes in the air.

Su Rui's scales all bristled. He could sense something awakening underground, and the malevolent aura sent a jolt through his stomach.

"It's coming out!" Nian shouted, his hands quickly forming a hand seal, and a wall of fire rose from the ground, protecting everyone in the center.

Suddenly, a huge crack appeared in the ground, and a giant claw made of black mist shot out and slammed heavily onto the ground. Then came a second, a third... When the thing had completely crawled out of the ground, Su Rui almost stopped breathing.

It was a monster pieced together from countless fragments. It had a humanoid outline, but its body was covered with cracks, from which black mist constantly seeped out.

What's most terrifying is its head—there are no facial features, only a huge mouth that keeps opening and closing, filled with countless sharp teeth.

"This is..." Su Rui's voice trembled slightly.

"The remnants of Demons," Xi said calmly, the paintbrush in her hand transforming into a longsword. "Sealed for twenty years, it has merged with the resentment within the earth's veins."

But just as she was about to strike, the monster's body suddenly twisted violently. The fragments began to reform, and the black mist gradually condensed into a form that shocked everyone—

That was a smaller version of the order.

"This is impossible..." Nian gasped.

The newly formed "Ling" tilted its head, gazing at the crowd with blue eyes identical to its original form. It even mimicked Ling by raising its hand, a ball of black "liquid" condensing in its palm.

"It's mimicking us." Xi's voice carried an unusual seriousness. "These fragments... they're absorbing our memories and power."

Su Rui suddenly felt dizzy. His vision blurred for a moment, and when it cleared again, he was horrified to find that there was another black "Nian" next to the monster, grinning at them and revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth.

"We must finish this quickly." Shu swiftly formed hand seals, golden wheat patterns unfolding beneath her feet. "Before it can replicate more people!"

As dusk unfolded, the ink-colored spiritual energy surged forth like a tide, enveloping the entire wheat field. The world seemed to be covered by a watercolor filter, all colors losing their vibrancy, leaving only shades of black, white, and gray.

"Welcome to my domain," Xi said coldly, the longsword in her hand gleaming with a chilling light.

The monster seemed startled by the sudden change in environment. It looked around, and the black "Ling" and "Nian" also seemed confused. But soon, it adapted to the new environment, and its body began to twist and deform again.

"It's adapting to the rules of the Painted Realm!" Nian shouted, "Xi-mei, watch out for it--"

Before the words were finished, the monster suddenly split into three parts, each of which began to mimic a different object. One of the parts turned into a black "Xi," holding a longsword made of black mist.

"Interesting." Xi's lips curled into a cold smile. "Then let's see who the real artist is."

A three-on-three battle erupted instantly. The real Ling faced off against the black Ling, their moves almost identical, the cyan spiritual power colliding with the black mist; Nian engaged in a fire duel with his own clone, explosions ringing out incessantly; Xi and his black self engaged in a delicate swordsmanship contest.

Su Rui was stunned by the scene. His eyes were throbbing more and more, the golden light almost piercing his skin. Just then, he noticed a detail—whenever the monster used someone's ability, the corresponding part of its body would glow faintly.

"Sister Shu!" He turned sharply to Shu, who had been standing behind him, "I saw it! Those fragments are absorbing our spiritual energy!"

A flicker of surprise crossed Shu's eyes, then he suddenly realized, "So that's how it is... They're not simply imitating, but establishing a spiritual link!"

She swiftly formed hand seals, and the golden wheat-ear patterns suddenly transformed, turning into countless tiny chains that coiled around the monster. "Su Rui, use your Dragon Mark!" she shouted, "Sever their links!"

Although Su Rui didn't understand exactly what to do, he instinctively covered his right eye. Golden light burst from between his fingers, transforming into a beam that shot straight towards the black "Xi". The moment the golden light touched the black mist, the monster let out a piercing scream, and its body trembled violently.

"It works!" Nian cheered, seizing the opportunity to knock back the clone with a fiery punch.

Xi seized the opportunity, thrusting her longsword out like a dragon, aiming straight for the monster's core. But just as the sword tip was about to strike, the monster suddenly disintegrated, turning into countless black fragments that scattered and fled.

"Trying to run?" Ling snorted, and the liquid in the wine cup suddenly boiled, turning into a large blue net that covered the fragments.

Most of the fragments were caught in the net, but a few still managed to escape towards the edge of the Painted Realm. Worse still, Su Rui noticed that the captured fragments were corroding the blue net and were about to break free.

"They're trying to escape back to reality!" Nian shouted anxiously.

A resolute glint flashed in Xi's eyes. She suddenly sheathed her longsword, her hands forming a complex hand seal in front of her chest. "Since that's the case..." her voice was low and firm, "Let's destroy this Painted Realm along with it."

"Wait!" Shu suddenly shouted, "Su Rui's Dragon Mark! Let him try to purify it!"

Volume 9, Chapter 584: Su Rui: I don't know.

All eyes turned to Su Rui. The boy was stunned for a moment, then understood what Shu meant. He took a deep breath and placed his hands on the ground. The golden light in the corner of his eye suddenly intensified, flowing down his arm and into the ground of the Painted Realm.

Golden patterns spread rapidly like a spiderweb, and wherever they went, the black mist sizzled as if being burned. The monster let out a shrill howl, and the fragments began to smoke and melt under the golden light.

"This is..." Ling stared in shock at the scene.

"The aura of age," Shu said softly, a complex light flickering in his eyes, "Su Rui's Dragon Mark contain the power of age."

Xi's expression became extremely complicated. She looked at Su Rui, who was kneeling on the ground and enveloped in golden light, and her tail involuntarily tightened.

As the last wisp of black mist was purified, the entire Painted Realm suddenly trembled violently. Xi quickly withdrew the destructive seal and began to stabilize the space. "Hold on tight!" she shouted to everyone, "The Painted Realm is collapsing!"

When everyone returned to the real world, the wheat field to the north had returned to calm. The bent ears of wheat had straightened up again, and the unsettlingly sweet smell in the air had disappeared.

But nobody was happy about it.

Su Rui slumped to the ground, panting heavily. Traces of gold still lingered at the corners of his eyes, but the light had faded. To his bewilderment, everyone was looking at him with complicated expressions.

"So..." Nian broke the silence, "Little Su possesses the power of the Sui Beast?"

Shu nodded slightly. "Although it's very faint, it is indeed the aura of Sui. This explains why his spiritual power can purify the Miasma."

Ling's gaze darted back and forth between Su Rui and Xi: "You knew all along?"

Xi did not answer, but her tail remained tightly wrapped around Su Rui's waist, as if asserting her dominance.

Su Rui looked at everyone in confusion. "Sui Beast? What's that? What does it have to do with me?"

Shu sighed, about to explain, when Xi suddenly spoke up, "Enough." Her voice was as cold as ice. "This is not the time to discuss this. There are other sealing points that need to be dealt with."

Ling stared at Xi for a long time, then suddenly chuckled softly, "Yes, let's deal with the immediate problem first." She turned to Su Rui, her tone unusually gentle, "You did a good job, little one."

Nian's gaze swept over the group, then she suddenly grinned. "Alright, alright, now that we've found a way to purify them, the rest of the work will be much easier!" She grabbed Su Rui's arm, "Come on, little hero, I'll treat you to barbecue!"