Everyone awakened

Black Mountain Town,

Inside the town's only clinic.

Little White Tiger, Old Ninth, Hi Dog, Xiao Feng, Bone, and Earthworm lay neatly in a row on the beds.

Their clothes were in tatters, and their bodies were blackened all over.

Strangely, their life force was growing rapidly, already far beyond that of ordinary people.

Leaning against a bedside, Xiao Fei cursed in frustration. "I should never have let those two chase after the Awakened."

No one knew what had happened to Little White Tiger and the others. After Xiao Fei dealt with the Three Suns Society's Awakened, the sky had suddenly changed.

When Xiao Fei arrived, he caught sight of the lightning tribulation.

"What's going on?"

The Old Man, Black Mountain Town's true leader, hurried into the room with his walking stick.

"Heavenly lightning tempered their bodies."

Xiao Fei forced himself to answer.

Heavenly lightning was ferocious. It was already a miracle that Little White Tiger and the others hadn't been blasted to ashes.

The Old Man stared at Earthworm's blackened face, his heart giving a jolt.

"Xiao Fei, check whether they have qi."

Qi was a form of energy unique to the Awakened. Both martial techniques and supernatural abilities required it to function.

It could be understood as the internal energy of ancient martial heroes, another distinctive form of energy.

The two Awakened, one old and one young, stared intently at Earthworm. After checking repeatedly, they both sucked in a sharp breath.

"It's qi. Earthworm... awakened?"

"No way! The annual Awakening Ceremony hasn't even started yet."

They looked at each other. Qi surrounded every one of the boys before them.

Even these two seasoned veterans couldn't make sense of this baffling sight.

"What's going on?" Xiao Fei nudged Earthworm's head. "How did he awaken without an Awakening Ceremony?"

After hesitating for a long time, the Old Man offered a possibility.

"Awakening is really just stimulating the potential within the human body. The Awakening Ceremony uses the Sky Dome to gather energy, temper the body, and unlock that potential. When the heavenly lightning struck them... perhaps it unlocked their potential by accident."

The two exchanged a glance. They couldn't think of any other explanation.

The energy gathered by the Sky Dome was as violent as heavenly lightning. No, heavenly lightning contained far more energy than the Sky Dome.

The Sky Dome had been created by the Human Race, first to shield them from the Blood Moon's rays, and second to absorb sunlight and gather it into energy that could unlock human potential.

"They... really have luck on their side," the Old Man marveled. "An ordinary person wouldn't have survived that even with a hundred lives."

Bzz... bzz.

As they spoke, more than a dozen blue masses of energy drifted out of Earthworm's body.

The translucent masses rose slowly like balloons.

Boom!

The instant the energy touched the ceiling, a violent explosion blew the entire roof off.

"What the fuck?"

Xiao Fei hurriedly ordered his men to carry Little White Tiger and the others out of the room.

The moment one of his men touched Hi Dog, he let out a strange yelp. His palm burned fiercely.

Eerie flames enveloped Hi Dog's entire body.

Elemental type-fire.

But his flames were blue-green, looking very unusual.

"Fuck, these little brats."

With an enormous effort, Xiao Fei dumped them all into the snow outside the door, his emotions a tangled mess.

All these boys had become Awakened at once. The odds of awakening were only one percent; a collective awakening like this was unheard of.

"What the hell? Look..." One of his men pointed in horror at the boys on the ground.

Before everyone's eyes, the boys' figures began to fade.

Within a few breaths, they vanished.

"They... they're gone..."

"It's a ghost!"

Xiao Fei and the Old Man looked grave.

It was normal for ordinary people not to see them, but Xiao Fei and the other Awakened could clearly see a wisp of strange energy spreading from Old Ninth's body throughout the courtyard.

A thin, grayish-white mist covered everyone's eyes.

"An illusion."

The corner of Xiao Fei's mouth twitched.

"The little brat's unconscious, and he can still instinctively control an illusion to protect his brothers. Fucking monster," the Old Man grumbled.

This was Old Ninth's self-defense mechanism. What surprised Xiao Fei and the others, however, was that Old Ninth was already an Awakened.

Moreover, Old Ninth should have been an enhancement type or a summoning type, but illusions were a mental-type ability.

After turning it over in their minds, the two reached the only conclusion they could.

Old Ninth had fucking awakened another ability.

Dual awakening.

A genius the Human Race might not see in a century.

"Recall everyone who's out of town. Put the entire town under lockdown. From this moment on, Black Mountain Town is closed to outsiders."

The Old Man decisively issued orders to his men.

If word of the dual awakening got out, the people in the city would likely stop at nothing to kill him.

Throughout the Human Race's history, dual awakenings had been exceedingly rare. Without exception, those who survived long enough to reach maturity had risen to the very pinnacle of the Human Race.

"It looks like our Black Mountain Town... is riding the crest of the wave now." The Old Man gripped his walking stick tightly and laughed with excitement.

Old Ninth and Little White Tiger valued loyalty. Black Mountain Town was already something of an ally to them. Once they rose to prominence... everyone connected to them would rise along with them.

Laughter and cheerful voices filled Black Mountain Town.

Every so often, someone fired a gun in place of firecrackers. Xiao Fei's men gathered in the mayor's courtyard.

Flower Boss had called, offering to exchange Old Ding for his son. This stage of the conflict was effectively over.

All that remained was for Mr. Li to negotiate with the city's five overlords, and the matter would essentially be settled.

"I'm hungry. Get me something to eat."

In the backyard, Young Master Hua grew smug again after learning that Flower Boss and Xiao Fei had struck a deal.

In a good mood, Xiao Fei personally carried a bowl of dog food into the little woodshed in the backyard.

"Must be nice to have a good father. Without him, you'd have a hard time getting back to the city."

"Some people are born into wealth," Xiao Fei sighed. "Others have never had a full meal in their lives."

In the past, Xiao Fei would never have let Young Master Hua go. But for Little White Tiger and Old Ninth's sake, he had no choice but to compromise.

The two would surely be building their futures in the city. Flower Boss's willingness to compromise for his son was already the best outcome they could hope for.

If they killed Young Master Hua, their feud with Flower Boss would never end until one side was dead. For Little White Tiger, who had yet to grow into his strength, it wasn't worth the cost.

Young Master Hua smugly raised his chin. "This isn't over. Just you wait."

"So you don't want to go back to the city?" Xiao Fei's expression turned cold. He kicked the bowl out of Young Master Hua's hands. "Even your father wouldn't dare say that to me. Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Heh-heh." Young Master Hua gave a sly laugh. "I mean the Three Suns Society. If they find out you stole their goods, you're in for it."

"You needn't worry about that."

With his hands in his pockets, Xiao Fei strolled out of the woodshed.

Young Master Hua lay smugly on the pile of firewood, fantasizing about finding a few gorgeous women to shake off his bad luck once he returned to the city tomorrow.

The door opened again, letting in a gust of cold wind.

Young Master Hua tucked his neck in. With his eyes closed, he laughed arrogantly. "Why don't you beg me? Maybe I could put in a good word for you with the Three Suns Society."

A figure blocked the light above Young Master Hua's head.

When no answer came, Young Master Hua slowly opened his eyes.

A middle-aged man with side-parted hair completely covering one eye stared down at him gloomily.

"Na... Nalan Xiao... Uncle Nalan."

Young Master Hua swallowed and instinctively shrank back.

"Are you... are you here to save me?"

Young Master Hua forced a smile.

Relations between the Nalan and Hua Families had soured badly after Flower Boss refused to leave the city to avenge the Nalan Family. Young Master Hua didn't believe he had come to rescue him.

Nalan Xiao stared at Young Master Hua with a faint, ambiguous smile, his eyes full of bitter resentment. "Why did my nephew have to die outside the city, while you get to go back?"

"No... that's not... Uncle."

Young Master Hua opened his mouth wide toward the doorway in terror. "Help me!"

Early the next morning,

A severed head was thrown into the Hua Family's residence.

A furious roar rang through Ice Prefecture.