It was eleven o'clock at night at an abandoned construction site in the West District of Yangcheng.
Bai Yuwen held the mask, his face filled with curiosity. “Is this mask a supernatural item? I wonder what kind of power I'll get if I put it on.”
Zhao Jin's actions and sudden disappearance had left him deeply shaken, making him incredibly curious about the mask he had been given.
Tap, tap, tap!
Just as he was waiting, footsteps echoed from outside.
He looked up to see a rugged-looking middle-aged man wearing a navy blue martial arts uniform walking in.
The middle-aged man glared at Bai Yuwen with an unfriendly look. “Are you the kid who sent a challenge letter to my martial arts school?”
Putting away the mask, Bai Yuwen sneered. “The Lu Family Fist has always enjoyed a great reputation in the martial arts world. I wonder how it compares to my Shangliu Blade Style?”
With that, he reached behind his back and drew a half-meter-long cleaver. “I asked you out here to fight to the death. The martial arts world doesn't need so many masters.”
Opposite him, Lu Si's face paled dramatically. “You're that fucking lunatic! The one who challenges bare-handed martial arts masters to a duel and then hacks them to death with a blade!”
He spun around and bolted. This guy was a total lunatic. He was armed to the teeth yet demanded his opponents fight bare-handed, all while claiming to be Yangcheng's number one martial artist.
“Hmph, trying to run?” Bai Yuwen chased after him, cleaver in hand.
He was extremely fast. To prevent his opponents from escaping, he had specifically trained in explosive speed techniques.
“Fuck, help! Murder!” Lu Si shrieked as he ran.
Behind him, Bai Yuwen wasn't worried at all. He had handpicked this location; at this hour of the night, there was absolutely no one around.
Slash!
He caught up quickly, his cleaver slashing viciously across Lu Si's back, leaving a bloody gash.
“Ah!” The searing pain in his back made Lu Si scream. He spun around abruptly and threw a punch, hoping to catch his pursuer off guard.
Slash!
A flash of blade light, and a severed arm flew into the air. Lu Si's pupils contracted in horror.
Before he could react, the blade reversed its trajectory and swept across his throat.
Spurt!
Fresh blood sprayed from his severed arm and his throat. Lu Si clutched his neck with his remaining hand.
He stumbled back in despair, his windpipe severed, unable to even let out a scream.
Thud!
A minute later, Lu Si's body collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Looking at the corpse, Bai Yuwen pulled a small booklet from his coat.
It was filled with thousands of names. He crossed one off the list. “So this is a so-called martial arts master? He couldn't even block a single strike of my blade, yet he opened a school to swindle people. Just a fraud. It's better that he's dead.”
Right then, the shadow of the deceased Lu Si suddenly came alive and lunged toward Bai Yuwen.
Bai Yuwen's expression shifted slightly. “What the hell is that?!”
Whoosh!
The shadow dived into his chest. He quickly pulled open his clothes to check the black mask, only to see its dark surface ripple slightly before returning to normal.
Staring at the mask, he thought with curiosity, It didn't absorb the shadows of any of the random people I passed by earlier, but it absorbed Lu Si's shadow right after I killed him. It seems this is how it works.
He looked at the mask, then glanced around to confirm there was no one else in the vicinity.
He couldn't resist putting the mask on.
Buzz!
The moment the mask touched his face, a chilling sensation spread through Bai Yuwen's body, and his muscles began to swell.
His height shot up from about 1.8 meters to 1.9 meters, his clothes straining against his bulging muscles.
So strong! Is this what true power feels like? Beneath the mask, a grin spread across Bai Yuwen's face.
More importantly, he glanced at his own shadow and focused his mind.
Buzz! Two dark spots appeared and expanded, morphing into two solid, humanoid black shadows. One was his own shadow, and the other was Lu Si's.
Both shadows moved according to his will. Lu Si's shadow even retained a portion of his Lu Family Fist.
Swish!
Lu Si's shadow darted across the construction site, instantly appearing in front of a wall.
Bang!
The shadow punched the wall, leaving a crater over ten centimeters deep in the concrete.
Witnessing the shadow's incredible speed, Bai Yuwen was ecstatic. Excellent! With this kind of power, forget Yangcheng—I will become the greatest martial artist under the heavens!
He reached up to remove the mask and turned to leave the construction site. Now that he had this ability, he needed to challenge more martial arts masters.
As for what Zhao Jin's motives were in giving him this power, he didn't care to think about it. With Zhao Jin's strength, killing him would take nothing more than a thought anyway. What was the point of overthinking?
While he was still contemplating his future...
Somewhere in the Nanming Kingdom, a chubby, bespectacled man turned on his computer with a sleazy grin. “Hehehe, I downloaded Teacher's latest masterpiece yesterday. Time to show some support today.”
Ding!
The moment the computer booted up, the largest online forum in the Nanming Kingdom, Qiandu Forum, automatically popped up and opened.
Seeing this, the fat man was furious. “What kind of garbage software is this? It opened itself before I even clicked it!”
He tried to close it, but no matter how many times he clicked, there was no response. His expression soured. “Did I get a virus?”
Flash!
A post suddenly popped up, forcing itself onto the screen as the forum opened.
【Yangcheng: The closest ordinary people will ever get to the supernatural!】
Below it were only two photos: one of a man and a woman, and another of a bizarre, pitch-black mask.
Beneath the photos was a single line of small text.
‘Whoever gathers the seven fragments of the Lord of Evil's power scattered across the world shall be granted one wish by the Lord of Evil!’
Poster: Destiny
A flood of comments was already appearing below the post.
Uncle Pigeon: This forum is infected. My phone automatically opened and forced me to look at this post.
Ah Diu at Night: WTF, what kind of post is this? Out of nowhere!
Heaven Rewards Diligence: Lord of Evil? Seven powers? Are we gathering the seven Dragon Balls now? The forum forced this garbage down my throat in the middle of the night. I'm going to file a complaint!
Solo Kid: Destiny? Supernatural? Is this going to be another supernatural incident like the one in Ningcheng?
Within a short time, the comment thread exploded with millions of replies, most of them venting their anger at the bizarre, forced pop-up.
A few comments that actually guessed the truth were mixed in, but they were quickly drowned out by the wave of angry rants.
Staring at this baffling post, the fat man was utterly confused. “What the hell is Qiandu Forum doing? I'm filing a complaint right now.”
Inside the headquarters of Qiandu Forum, the frantic clacking of keyboards filled the room as dozens of technicians worked.
A balding programmer stared with wide eyes, turning back in disbelief. “Boss, we can't delete it! It's like this post doesn't even exist on our software!”
Standing behind him was a white-haired, middle-aged man in his forties.
His face was flushed with anger. “Which hacker dares to mess with me? When I find them, I'll make sure they rot in prison!”
The issue was gaining massive traction. Forcing users to view the post could easily get them shut down by the authorities if things went south.
“Shut down the forum first. Put it under maintenance. Don't let any more users in,” the middle-aged man ordered after a moment's thought.
The balding programmer immediately tried to comply, but he found that his computer was completely unresponsive. No matter what he pressed, he couldn't shut it down.
His face turned pale. “Boss, they've breached our system! We can't even shut down the servers!”
“Then pull the plug! I don't believe we can't stop this!” the middle-aged man snarled, gritting his teeth.
Someone immediately left the room and rushed toward the server room.
A few minutes later, the employee returned. “Boss, the server plugs have been pulled.”
But no one answered him. Everyone was staring at their screens as if they had seen a ghost; the forum was still running.
Even with the servers completely disconnected, the forum remained fully operational.
“Boss, the Security Bureau is here. They need you to explain what's going on with Qiandu Forum.” A voice from behind snapped the middle-aged man out of his shock.
He turned to look at the entrance. Two men in black uniforms with three-headed Golden Crows embroidered on their shoulders stood there, watching him.
To Qiandu Forum and the general public, this whole situation was completely baffling.
However, to those in the know, the post undoubtedly pointed them in a clear direction.
Inside a villa in the central district of a small city in the Nanming Kingdom.
Tang Yongyun was watching the news on the television.
“Boss, it looks like Mr. Zhao has made his move. Look at this post—it's forcing everyone to view it!” Jiang Nan's voice called out.
She ran quickly toward Tang Yongyun with a phone in her hand, displaying the very post that Zhao Jin had published.
Tang Yongyun took the phone and studied the post.
When his eyes fell upon the mask, the corners of his mouth curled upward. “It seems this is indeed Mr. Zhao's handiwork.”
To an empowered individual like him, one look at the mask was enough to tell that something was deeply off. It felt incredibly sinister.
Jiang Nan spoke up, “Boss, the location is Yangcheng. It's nearly a thousand kilometers away. If we leave now, we should arrive during the day.”
“Gather everyone immediately. We are heading to Yangcheng!” Tang Yongyun stood up.
Having missed the Earth Mother incident in Ningcheng, he was not about to miss out on the Lord of Evil in Yangcheng.
Jiang Nan immediately replied, “Understood!”
Meanwhile, in another nameless small city.
On the first floor of a manor villa.
Liu Wen stared at the post on his phone with his six eyes, his mouth splitting into a grin. “It seems Destiny has made its move. We should get going too.”
Behind him, Liu Jiyun and the other two stood with their hands in their pockets.
Liu Qi rubbed the back of his head and gave a sinister laugh. “I hope things get a bit more interesting this time.”
Behind them, in the darkness of the villa's backyard...
Countless crimson eyes materialized in the shadows. A quick glance was enough to tell that over a thousand Night Slaves had gathered there.
Rate on N.U.
