In Joyful Water World, within the Joyous World amusement park, most attractions had closed for the night, so hardly any visitors were wandering around.

As footsteps neared the Surfing attraction, the calm, dark river suddenly surged with towering white ice. Under the neon lights, five ice pillars shot like venomous dragons toward the source of the footsteps!

CRACK—

The sound of shattering ice was incessant as the fiercely attacking ice pillars finally transformed into a massive Ice Tomb, sealing off all life within.

Bai Ji, who had his hands pressed against the ground in the distance, stood up and stomped his feet. Ice spread out before him, paving a frosty path that allowed him to glide effortlessly and rapidly across the ground, swiftly approaching the Ice Tomb.

Suddenly, boiling white fog burst forth from the Ice Tomb, and a bald man engulfed in Black Flame broke out, striding towards Bai Ji.

To secure a sliver of life in the Ice Tomb, he had no choice but to set himself ablaze, burning away all his clothes, makeup, and hair!

Bai Ji could see that this man, who had attempted to harm civilians and had violently fled after failing, was quite ordinary—of average build, with strong limbs, likely accustomed to physical labor. His eyes were small, squinted even in battle, indicating he was either nearsighted now or had been in the past; those who wore glasses often developed such 'slit' eyes.

His appearance wasn't notable, just average. He was probably over thirty years old, but likely single.

This wasn't just because he had an inexperienced look about him, but also because Bai Ji felt a man with a family wouldn't commit such acts of arson and murder.

Of course, if his Desire to slaughter had already consumed him and turned him into a Demon, then Bai Ji's guess was meaningless. Once overcome by Demonic Possession, whether one was a super-rich tycoon or the War King of the Flower Capital, they would still resort to violence.

But this man's actions—whether fleeing, enduring, or erupting—were all filled with rational judgment. He was certainly not a deranged Demonized Person.

"But... when you came here, you had already lost," Bai Ji extended his right hand towards the river and clenched it fiercely!

The nearby river water suddenly exploded, and countless ice spikes burst forth from the surface, assaulting the bald man!

Although the Black Flame could burn the ice spikes, despite the dense attack, a few still managed to strike the bald man.

He cried out in pain and stumbled, nearly falling, but he quickly steadied himself. Suddenly, his right foot exploded. Although it splattered flesh and blood, the blast also gave him immense kinetic energy, propelling him rapidly closer to Bai Ji.

"Admirable Courage."

Bai Ji knew few Spells. Indeed, while he knew a bit about other types of Spells, he had mastered none and found them hard to use in battle.

But that, by no means, was a disadvantage for him.

Cultivator combat has six main aspects: Attack, Defense, Move, Scouting, Healing, and Support. Since he had left the Yellow River and Yangtze River Troops, he had no need for Scouting. Ren Suo handled Healing, and Support was merely icing on the cake—dispensable.

However, in Attack, Defense, and Move, Bai Ji's dedicated study of his awakened spells alone was enough for him to reach the pinnacle of a Third-turn Cultivator!

An imposing Ice Wall suddenly appeared in front of the bald man. He roared and broke through it, but instead of finding Bai Ji behind the ice, there was yet another Ice Wall!

He crashed into the Ice Wall, halting his momentum, causing the wall to melt.

Turning around, he saw Bai Ji gliding with graceful steps, casually walking behind him, his hand pressed against the massive Ice Tomb.

"In Joyous World, there's too much water everywhere."

Bai Ji gently breathed out a puff of cold air, and the surrounding atmosphere seemed to freeze as well. "Surrender."

Countless Weapons, poised for release, appeared in the Ice Tomb. An Ice Wall rose from the nearby river, dense with ice spikes enough to make anyone with a fear of dense clusters faint.

The ground, unnoticed, had also been thoroughly soaked and turned into a smooth ice surface. Walls of ice rose from it. While they couldn't completely block the bald man's path, they were enough to delay him for a few seconds.

And a few seconds were enough for him to be pierced by a thousand arrows.

Moreover, the bald man's right foot, blown apart in the explosion, was now a gory mess, incapable of supporting any further escape.

Noticing the bald man's silence, Bai Ji became even more convinced he was not a Demonized Person and tried to persuade him, "Stop. If you continue like this, isn't there anyone who would cry for you?"

"No."

The bald man's voice had a distinct, rust-like quality—harsh and grating, with a strange tone, as if he rarely spoke to anyone.

"If someone cried for me, that would mean I'm still worth something. Otherwise, I'm not." The bald man said this very calmly, without any sorrow over his personal history, more like a conclusion he had drawn over his thirty-some years.

Bai Ji, intensifying the formation of Ice Walls, suddenly felt even colder.

The loneliness hidden within this man had accumulated over more than thirty years of ordinariness, like a desert formed by sand covering a grassland for over three decades. The vitality bestowed by the sun was buried by the sand, and the Tides granted by the moon were suppressed. Eventually, the grassland completely transformed into a desert, even forming sand dunes as sharp as blades, as if wanting to lash out at the world.

Bai Ji asked, "So why do these things? Revenge against society?"

The bald man shifted his weight onto his uninjured left foot and shook his head gently. "I'm not that bored."

"Then what exactly is your purpose?" Bai Ji's tone became a bit more serious as a thought struck him. "Could it be because of your... Ability?"

"You're partially correct," the bald man said, assuming a posture as if ready to spring forward. "But more than that, it's to please that person."

"Who?"

"The Demon King, who granted me a new life, endowed me with Courage, and ignited my passion!"

「 」

When Yu Kuangtu and Li Dan emerged from the helicopter, Ren Suo still hadn't quite snapped back to reality.

"Country bumpkins will be country bumpkins. You've never ridden in a helicopter, have you?" Yu Kuangtu walked over very smugly and patted Ren Suo on the shoulder. "No use looking at me. You won't get to ride it on the way back either; just run back on your own."

Zhao Huo saw Li Dan behind Yu Kuangtu holding a black snakeskin bag and asked curiously, "What's in there?"

"Something the Deputy Director just vomited," Li Dan said calmly.

Everyone gave Yu Kuangtu a pointed look. Ren Suo brushed off Yu Kuangtu's hand and said, "Forget it. I'll take a car back. At least I won't vomit."

Yu Kuangtu snorted, thinking Ren Suo was just suffering from sour grapes. However, he looked at Ren Suo seriously and then turned to Li Dan. "Ren Suo is already Third-turn. What about you?"

Li Dan promptly smashed the snakeskin bag at him and turned toward the helicopter, saying, "I'm going back to request a month's leave for Cultivation. You can take your time with your work, old man."

"Hey!? Me!? Wait, Brother Dan!"

Yu Kuangtu, scrambling to catch his bag of vomit, immediately tried to appease Li Dan, who wanted to go back, drawing frustrated stares from everyone.

After some chaos, Yu Kuangtu got into work mode. "The Holy Spirit Priest was here, healed someone, and then disappeared? And Bai Ji chased after that criminal, while you all treated other casualties here?"

"Yes," Ren Suo pointed toward a huge Ice Pillar illuminated by neon lights in the distance. "I don't know if they're done fighting yet."

Li Dan, with his panda eyes, glanced in the direction of the Ice Pillars and said, "There's no movement over there. Either they've moved the battlefield, or the fight is over. If the fight has ended, there are two possible outcomes: Bai Ji won, or he lost.

Based on what you've said, that criminal only exhibited strength and fire abilities. These should be counteracted by Bai Ji, so he was probably subdued by him."

At that moment, Yu Kuangtu seemed to want to say something, but Li Dan immediately cut him off. "I know your flames are formidable, but there are sounds of water flow over there. Ice System Spells combined with a Water System environment—are you sure you could counter Bai Ji on that battlefield?"

"Of course, I can!" Yu Kuangtu said defiantly. It seemed he often compared himself to Bai Ji—as the two strongest combatants in Lotus River, and ironically one used fire and the other ice, Yu Kuangtu naturally believed he could overpower Bai Ji.

Now that the Tactical Bureau staff had arrived and the tourists had been safely evacuated by the park staff, Ren Suo and the others followed Yu Kuangtu to find Bai Ji.

When they reached the location of the Ice Pillars, Bai Ji was sitting on a bench to the side, his head bowed as if pondering something.

The ground was very wet and slippery. As Ren Suo and the others approached, Bai Ji also came to his senses and smiled at them.

Yu Kuangtu glanced at a skeleton still burning with Black Flame not far away. "He's dead?"

"He killed himself," Bai Ji replied, his tone complex.

Without needing Yu Kuangtu's instruction, Li Dan, along with the Tactical Cultivators, went to retrieve the body.

Yu Kuangtu looked around the battle scene: huge Ice Pillars and Ice Walls were everywhere, and melting ice made the ground sodden. The relative humidity in the air was so high it was uncomfortable. When fighting this guy, I'll need to evaporate all nearby moisture immediately, he thought.

"Just briefly describe the process," Yu Kuangtu said, pulling out a recording pen.

Actually, there wasn't much to say. Bai Ji had chased the fugitive here and used the water in the environment to block his escape. The fugitive then made a desperate last stand, realized he couldn't defeat Bai Ji at all, and finally chose to die on the spot.

"But that fugitive said some very strange things..." Bai Ji chose his words very carefully. "His Ability seemed..."

"Deputy Director."

Li Dan walked over with a serious expression, handing an instrument resembling a pen to Yu Kuangtu. Yu Kuangtu glanced at the instrument's display, and his expression changed immediately. "Bai Ji... Did that bastard really kill himself?"

"Yes."

Noticing the change in atmosphere, Ren Suo asked, "What happened?"

Yu Kuangtu furrowed his brows and said, "Bai Ji can't leave for now. What follows is confidential... Ren Suo, Zhao Huo, it's getting late. You two should head home first."

Little Jiu came over and asked loudly, "Why can't Little Bai leave?"

This was also the first time Yu Kuangtu had seen Little Jiu, and his expression immediately softened. He kindly explained, "Because he needs to be registered and go through some procedures… Don't worry. Bai Ji acted heroically and in self-defense. He just needs to cooperate with our ongoing investigation."

Although Ren Suo knew Yu Kuangtu was probably making things up, Yu Kuangtu wasn't the type to harm others. There likely really were some confidential matters that couldn't be made public. Thus, he followed Yu Kuangtu's suggestion and said, "Then we'll head back first. Bai Ji, if everything is fine, let us know you're safe."

Bai Ji smiled. "Don't worry, I definitely won't make you worry about me."

...

The journey home was quiet. Although Bai Ji wasn't there and Ren Suo didn't drive, fortunately, Ren Xingmei had gotten her driver's license over the summer break, so everyone returned home safely.

Perhaps because the day's experiences had been too stimulating, everyone was very tired. After briefly parting ways, they each went home to rest.

Even Little Jiu went to bed early after showering, playing with her phone for less than three minutes before it fell on her face as she drifted off to sleep.

However, Ren Suo found himself somewhat unable to sleep.

The night's events were sudden but not uncommon. Ordinary people acquiring Supernatural Abilities and then committing evil acts—this wasn't hard to understand; such is human nature.

What truly surprised Ren Suo was the appearance of a Source of Disaster in the fire caused by the car explosion. Although he had heard that after the 'Destiny' live broadcast, Sources of Disaster had begun to appear more frequently, encountering one in real life was still a first for him.

This Source of Disaster phenomenon had its pros and cons. The good side: if you could quickly eliminate the Source of Disaster, the catastrophe itself would vanish. The bad side: if you couldn't eliminate it, the Source of Disaster could potentially cause even greater losses. This information came from official investigations by the Mysterious Country, and it was still unknown if Sources of Disaster had other effects on calamities.

However, this particular Fire Source of Disaster was spotted by Zhao Zili just as it began to take shape. He destroyed it instantly with a Holy Water Bullet, extinguishing it before it could even fully form.

Feeling that he was unlikely to fall asleep anytime soon, Ren Suo turned on his Mini-World Game Console, planning to completely beat "Fifth Day of Escape."

In the game, there weren't many attractions left to visit on the fifth night. Ren Suo had only stopped playing because he needed to wake Little Jiu up that morning.

Ren Suo quickly found the correct plot trigger point for the fifth night—the White Tower Building.

After an enjoyable gameplay session, the two characters encountered a witness with Traces at the highest point of the White Tower Building. After a conversation, the overall clue percentage increased to—49.9%!

Seeing this made Ren Suo frown; he felt that 50% would definitely trigger a new plot. Now missing by 0.1%, it felt like wasting an extra turn.

However, when Ren Suo ended the "Fifth Day of Escape" and entered the "Sixth Day of Escape," he knew that this 0.1% clue percentage probably required some in-game assistance—

"Early on the morning of the sixth day, Lingyin woke Young Master Mu and Maid Xiao Suo, anxiously informing Young Master Mu that he was now wanted by the Six Major Factions!"

"The wanted poster didn't specify Young Master Mu's crime. Lingyin seemed to believe that Young Master Mu was wanted by the Six Major Factions because he had killed that man to save her that night."

"Young Master Mu had anticipated this, but when he looked over the wanted poster, his mood was still greatly affected…"

The screen displayed a wanted poster. Besides Young Master Mu's appearance, name, age, and features, there were also several lines of blood-red remarks:

"This fugitive is extremely dangerous and possesses peerless Martial Arts. Anyone who spots him must immediately inform the local Official Residence…"

"Anyone who kills this person will receive a bounty…"

"This person's Martial Arts are very unique; whoever kills him will directly inherit the foundation of his peerless Martial Arts…"

"The killer will be offered a lucrative position by the Six Major Factions…"

Ren Suo quickly identified the most important content in the remarks: 'This person's Martial Arts are very unique; whoever kills him will directly inherit the foundation of his peerless Martial Arts'.

The killer… could directly inherit Young Master Mu's Demon Technique!?

「 」

In the basement of the Tactical Bureau, Bai Ji silently looked at the three squawking roosters in front of him, remaining speechless.

"Does it have to be… barehanded?" Bai Ji asked, somewhat reluctantly.

Beside him, Li Dan nodded. "And their heads must be facing you. You need to let them see the face of the chicken killer."

Noticing Bai Ji seemed somewhat helpless, Yu Kuangtu, sitting opposite him, comforted him, "Don't worry, you can kill them however you like. These three chickens are lame, or have eaten too much feed, or won't eat their feed. They were going to be slaughtered anyway. You're just giving them a little help ahead of time."

Although Bai Ji, who had a slight obsession with cleanliness, was extremely reluctant, he still rolled up his sleeves. One by one, he twisted off the heads of the three tightly bound roosters. The scene was exceptionally bloody, with chicken blood splattering everywhere. The foul smell of the blood forced everyone to involuntarily activate their Clothing-System spells to filter the air.

"Alright, let's draw some blood," Li Dan said, taking out a syringe.

After a simple blood draw and test, Li Dan immediately announced the result, "There's no contamination reaction in his blood. That person's awakened spells haven't transferred to him."

Yu Kuangtu also breathed a sigh of relief. "That's fortunate… Otherwise, if Bai Ji were transferred to Sky Capital, I might have to go teach at Heavenly Lotus Academy. Wait, that actually sounds..."

Since there was chicken blood on the chair, Bai Ji, who had been standing all along, asked, "Can you now tell me why we had to conduct such a… bizarre blood test?"

Yu Kuangtu, who was pondering the pros and cons of becoming a teacher and the feasibility of teacher-student romances, said, "This is a confidential matter. You're not supposed to know."

"I'm the person involved," Bai Ji stated.

Yu Kuangtu considered for a moment. "A teacher at Heavenly Lotus Academy… the person involved… Okay, fine. But you absolutely cannot tell anyone about this. No one."

"Of course."

"There are many types of Awakening Spellbooks in this world, as you know," Yu Kuangtu said, clasping his hands together. "Most awakened spells only concern the individual. This means the Awakener must research, cultivate, reflect, and strengthen themselves on their own…"

"But some awakened spells are different. Besides self-enhancement, these Spells can also be strengthened through certain external actions…"

Yu Kuangtu continued, "Some of these external actions are harmless to others. For example, growing stronger by earning more money, or by achieving more in life… I'm just spitballing here. I don't even know if such Abilities exist, since these harmless enhancement methods are very hard to detect.

However, among these types of Abilities, the only one I know of, or rather, the only one Mysterious Country is researching, is of a single kind."

He pointed at the three beheaded roosters still twitching on the table. "An awakened spell that can be enhanced by killing Living Beings."

Bai Ji looked puzzled. "So, you had me kill these three roosters to… check if I have this type of awakened spell?"

Yu Kuangtu nodded. "The research institute discovered that these awakened spells, which are enhanced by killing Living Beings, cause the Awakener's body to become tainted with the 'Corrupted Spiritual Energy' of their victims. Ordinary killings don't have this effect. Only this type of damage-enhancing awakened spell, when drawing Energy from the suffering of other Living Beings, will invisibly contaminate the Awakener."

"Perhaps this Corrupted Spiritual Energy is the victims' final revenge. This contamination is currently incurable, and it's an important method for us to identify such Awakeners—we can check if you've been contaminated through a blood test."

"However, I've heard the Federation has apparently developed props that can detect this contamination without a blood test. I wonder when we'll get to use them…"

Bai Ji's brow remained furrowed. "But why test me? ...Ah, so that person was a Slaughter Spell Awakener? But what does that have to do with me?"

Yu Kuangtu tapped the table. "Have you ever heard the saying, 'He who kills will himself be killed'?"

Bai Ji replied, "Does it mean that a murderer will eventually be murdered?"

"Exactly," Yu Kuangtu said. "The research institute discovered that when these Slaughter Spell Awakeners are killed, the person who kills them will directly inherit their Slaughter Spells. It spreads just like a curse, endlessly."

Bai Ji looked incredulous. "How can such an awakened spell exist…"

"It just does," Yu Kuangtu shrugged. "So now you understand why this is a confidential matter, right? If anyone—be they Slaughter Spell Awakeners or ordinary people—knew about the existence of Slaughter Spells and their 'inheritability,' what do you think would happen?"

Bai Ji thought for a moment. "People without an Awakening… might want to kill Slaughter Spell Awakeners? And other Cultivators would also try their best to hunt down this Slaughter Spell Awakener to acquire his Slaughter Spells?"

Yu Kuangtu nodded. "Even a kindhearted Slaughter Spell Awakener, upon learning that exposure means being coveted and hunted by countless people, forced to live in constant fear, might suffer an emotional breakdown and go on a killing spree.

...Alright, you can leave now. Remember to keep this confidential. As for the one pulling the strings, whom he called the 'Demon King,' we will continue to investigate."

The smell of chicken blood in the basement grew stronger. Hearing this, Bai Ji quickly headed for the door, but before leaving, he turned back and asked, "What if I hadn't caught up with that fugitive and he had escaped? What would you have done?"

"What would we do? Issue a warrant for his arrest, of course," Yu Kuangtu, also preparing to leave the reeking basement, answered gruffly, following Bai Ji.

As Bai Ji walked down the corridor, he asked, "He's so dangerous. Won't you release his information and mobilize the public to capture him quickly? If people knew his awakened spell could be 'inherited,' they'd surely pay more attention, right?"

"Dangerous?" Yu Kuangtu laughed. "He doesn't qualify. The state has no need to release his information. Relying on the Tactical System and the Public Security System alone is enough to capture him."

"But your suggestion is interesting," Yu Kuangtu stroked his chin. "If there really were a Slaughter Spell Awakener who required releasing classified information and mobilizing the masses to apprehend... just how powerful would that Awakener have to be, and what terrible crimes must they have committed, for the state to hunt them down at any cost?"

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