248: Chapter 247 New Life

Day had arrived.

A pale gloom hung over the sky. Beneath the boundless vortex on the horizon stood a massive, phantom blood ring composed of countless tumors.

Located directly beneath it, at the Central Plaza, the Night Demon's head was pinned firmly into a deep crater, unable to move at all. Under the continuous burning of the Fire of Nirvana, it struggled incessantly, emitting low, guttural roars.

Before this, the Night Demon was completely beyond his match, but now, with Chu Xuan's attributes having increased significantly again, especially his strength, he had almost reached the point of crushing it.

Moreover, compared to last time when he could barely damage the Night Demon, this time Chu Xuan clearly felt that his opponent was far inferior to before.

The Slash just now had actually caused it to bleed, and crimson blood was already bubbling up within the crater.

"Since I attacked early this time, has the Night Demon's stamina attribute not fully transformed into real attributes yet..."

Chu Xuan's eyes flickered.

Prior to this, he had already learned relevant information about "Real Attributes" through the official Night Watchers forum. Although it wasn't detailed, he knew the gist of it.

Levels 1 to 10 constituted one tier. Promoting to Level 11 meant entering the next tier, at which point the level of life would change, and various attributes would convert accordingly.

For example, while 100 points of normal stamina attribute corresponded to 10 points of real stamina value, they were incomparable in terms of defense and vitality.

Furthermore, after possessing Real Attributes, many unique traits would emerge, and the debuff effects in different harsh environments would be much lighter.

As of now, officially, only Captain General Yang Yu had stepped into this tier.

He had once expressed his views on the forum: before Level 10, one could targetedly increase various attributes, raise the level first, and then save spirituality value to quickly increase other attributes through specialized physical training.

But when reaching Level 10, he had said this:

"After reaching Level 10, when you receive the world's gift and can promote to the next tier, do not rush to upgrade. You should first increase all other attributes to the maximum value as soon as possible, and it is best to perform extra limit training to break through the attribute caps, and finally find a way to step into the next tier."

Before this, Chu Xuan hadn't quite understood the deep meaning behind it.

But after experiencing the baptism of the Fire of Nirvana and this S-Rank Night Demon Incident, Chu Xuan roughly understood that it might be precisely because of these Real Attributes.

The more normal attributes obtained in the early stage, the more Real Attributes would naturally be converted after the tier promotion.

Thoughts flashed through his mind, but Chu Xuan's actions did not pause. He drew the long saber from his waist.

A layer of flames covered the blade. Just as the Night Demon roared and struggled to rise, he gripped the hilt with both hands and suddenly slashed down.

Decapitation!

Black Flame suddenly surged, continuously burning the Night Demon's corpse.

Seeing the momentum of this fire, Chu Xuan's eyes flashed: "Didn't manage to swap with the Clone..."

With a thought, Chu Xuan flicked his wrist and unleashed a Slash covered in Black Flame, annihilating a youth hiding in the flower bed not far away, gaining 38 points of spirituality value.

Immediately after, his figure flashed, and he teleported to the side of a large banyan tree.

He saw a feminine youth trembling behind it. Without a second thought, he ended him with a single Slash, gaining another 40 points of spirituality value.

In less than three seconds, he had thoroughly eradicated the hidden dangers of the Night Demon's two Clones. Its main body was still burning, and it took another two minutes or so to burn to ashes.

On the field, only a pile of tattered clothing remained.

[You have killed the Night Demon. The flesh and blood of this body still contained 6500 points of spiritual essence. 2600 points have been fed back to you; you have gained a total of 2600 points of spirituality value.]

[Current spirituality value: 4230]

[You obtained a rule fragment X1]

"Is it because I killed it too early? The spirituality value decreased, there is one less rule fragment, and there was no System task..."

Chu Xuan fell into deep thought.

The reason he waited nearly twenty minutes to kill the Night Demon was that before Dream Return, he had heard the conversation of Zhang Qiang and others in the detention room, which was roughly about the System task received when the first night was about to end.

But unfortunately, just like the "S-Rank first kill reward," even until the final slaying of the Night Demon, no System prompt appeared.

"Whatever, the extra spirituality value is a free gain, and the rule fragment has also been supplemented, so it's not too much of a loss."

Chu Xuan didn't dwell on it.

The main purpose of this "Dream Return" had been achieved, and that was enough.

[You killed the Night Demon twice and changed the ending of an S-Rank Domain invading the whole city, as well as the Lord of All Spirits further eroding this world. You have received the following rewards:]

[1. night cloak · Enhanced Version (Wearing this cloak, you can resist the erosion of The Gloom to a certain extent, and you can create a night area with a maximum range of 100 meters by consuming spirituality value, causing varying degrees of suppression to life forms with spirit and stamina less than 80. Note: You are not limited by the number of uses, but you need sufficient Mental Energy and spirituality value.)]

[...]

[2. werewolf kill card · Enhanced Version (You can force 5 to 15 people to play a game of werewolf kill. Deaths in the game are considered real deaths. Note: You must participate, rules are random, but you can cheat once.)]

Seeing this System prompt appear, Chu Xuan was slightly startled.

He immediately remembered that this was the task reward obtained from killing the Night Demon before Dream Return, the rewards remaining after choosing four out of six.

He hadn't expected it to be rewarded back in this way.

Not only that, but it was an enhanced version of the rewards. The night cloak was fine, but that werewolf kill card was exactly what Chu Xuan wanted.

Especially the "can cheat once," this time it was truly not a loss.

[The Lord of All Spirits dropped part of its authority. Your one-time skill "Assimilation" has received a world-class enhancement:]

[Assimilation · World-class (You can attempt to assimilate existences beyond your tier. Number of uses: 1)]

"Huh? There was actually authority dropped? This is different from last time..."

Chu Xuan's eyes revealed a sharp glint.

Regardless, this time could be considered a huge profit!

Although the Assimilation skill could still only be used once, it now had a "World-class" suffix. Although he didn't know what this meant yet, it must be very powerful and could be used as a trump card.

"Having killed the Night Demon, [Future Tang Zheng] should have come back to life, right? My strength has increased significantly, and I've resolved the Phantom Demon threat and become a Purifier. I wonder if he can reveal more information about the future to me..."

Chu Xuan looked up at the sky.

The vortex on the horizon and the blood-colored ring had both dissipated. The early morning sunlight fell on his face, warm and gentle, as if reborn.

It wasn't just Chu Xuan who was reborn, but also the more than twenty-five million residents of Haicheng.

This time, because Chu Xuan hadn't informed them in advance that an S-rank Specter would invade Haicheng, the authorities hadn't sounded the alarm for citizens to take shelter nearby.

Although the authorities had already suggested not to go out unless necessary and to take prevention measures because of the strange phenomena in the sky not long ago, as a bustling large city, people in Haicheng had already started working for a living early in the morning.

For most ordinary people, celestial anomalies might not be fatal, but not working would sooner or later be crushed by the burden of life.

However, when the Night Demon's night Domain enveloped the whole city and those terrifying survival game rules rang throughout the city, no one thought it was a prank, and even less did anyone believe that anyone could pull off such a big prank.

When the death countdown arrived, people realized how precious life was.

There is no big matter outside of life and death.

And when the sky suddenly brightened, and that huge vortex and the terrifying, eerie blood-colored ring disappeared just like that, and the sunlight sprinkled on the earth again, people only felt as if everything was a lifetime ago.

Although panic remained, fortunately, communication had been restored. Patrol cars and video media were broadcasting the same content, informing that the culprit had been sanctioned, trying to appease the public's emotions.

In an ordinary residential home, a family of three hugged and cried.

"Dad, Mom, what just happened? We don't have to become werewolves anymore?"

"It's okay now, everything is fine."

"Don't cry, Nannan, Mom and Dad will always be with you..."

And not far from the Central Plaza.

A middle-aged driver driving a Dongfeng truck was sliding down from the driver's seat, limp with sweat, and lit a cigarette:

"What kind of bullshit werewolf, it's just that it died fast, otherwise I would have had to ram that thing to death!"

In a large river-view apartment.

Liu Dahai wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered to himself tremblingly: "I've finally turned back into a human, great!"

He suddenly shuddered: "Right, I promised to give half of my family property to that young man, and I still haven't fulfilled the promise. This must be a warning from the Buddha..."

In a villa in the living area of the Research Base.

Tang Zheng held his forehead and looked at Wang Ruozi, who was crying non-stop, and said helplessly: "You ran all the way back from the underground research department just to cry?"

"But I can't contact big brother..." Wang Ruozi wiped her tears and cried.

"Don't worry, the System has already prompted that the task is complete, so that Specter must be dead. It might even have been Chu Xuan who did it."

Tang Zheng waved his hand: "Chu Xuan's ability is Heaven's Secret; he can turn danger into safety and turn misfortune into a blessing. We don't need to worry. Besides..."

Tang Zheng coughed lightly: "Let me tell you a little secret. Actually, Chu Xuan hates crying girls the most. You are not his type at all."

"Don't talk nonsense!" Wang Ruozi immediately stopped crying and glared at Tang Zheng with resentment.

Tang Zheng laughed out loud: "Let me tell you another secret. Just before, there was a task from above. Chu Xuan and I are going to the capital immediately to participate in a special project. We will leave by tonight at the latest, and we might not come back for a short time."

Wang Ruozi's tears flowed down again.

In the conference room of the Research Base.

"Although the Night Demon is dead, the S-Rank Domain did appear for twenty minutes after all. I'm afraid there will be Specters crossing over. Still, use each team leader as a unit, divide areas for patrol, and be vigilant about whether new Specters appear in Haicheng. Do not lower your guard!"

Zhang Qiang stood up and said: "This is a crisis, but it is also an opportunity. With such a large Domain range, many newcomers must have gained transcendent powers, and it is even very likely they awakened their Talents directly! Including various special items, it is also very easy to be produced in the Place of Gloomy Convergence..."

At the meeting, someone suddenly asked: "Now that the crisis has been resolved, what about Director He..."

"I have reported his matter to the headquarters, so everyone stop discussing it."

Zhang Qiang said not to discuss it, but he himself spat a mouthful of thick phlegm with disdain: "Retreating at a critical moment, not even having the courage to try, yet still speaking righteously about preserving vital strength... If you encounter similar situations in the future, you can just say you want to save your life. No one will force you to risk your life, but don't learn this kind of hypocrisy."

And not far from the Research Base, He Jun, Xu Shuya, and Tan Ziming were parking on the side of the road, the three of them suspicious and uncertain.

"Director He, this time we might have lost face..." Xu Shuya sighed lightly.

He Jun's expression was calm: "Although in terms of facts, I lost some face by doing this, if I were given another chance, I would still do it. Unnecessary sacrifice is the real stupidity."

"Then what should we do next?" Tan Ziming asked.

"I will report to the headquarters first."

He Jun took out his phone and said: "The rules are set. It must be that the S-rank Specter died for this phenomenon to occur. It shouldn't be Captain General Yang Yu who made a move, but it must be some mysterious powerhouse. I will ask Revelation; perhaps this is his arrangement..."

Before he finished speaking.

Suddenly, deathly silence and darkness enveloped them, and all light disappeared.

"Bad, this is a Forbidden Domain! That S-rank Specter isn't dead!"

Xu Shuya and Tan Ziming exclaimed, unspeakable fear enveloping their hearts, as if they had reached the darkest moment of their lives. Their bodies trembled, and their thinking began to stiffen.

And just as they were preparing to take out their transcendent items to alleviate it, the darkness suddenly disappeared.

"What happened? Why is the Domain gone again?"

Both of them were stunned, and then their faces changed drastically, staring at the pile of clothes not far away, their faces turning pale instantly:

"Director He... is gone?!"

On the street not far away, Chu Xuan walked out of the darkness.

"280 points of spirituality value, the old guy was quite rich..."

Chu Xuan's face revealed a slight sneer.

Although He Jun didn't cause trouble this time, it didn't mean Chu Xuan would let him go.

He didn't intend to ask for information about Revelation through He Jun; he just killed him and took the spirituality value he hadn't used yet.

But unfortunately, the System didn't prompt that the other party was a World Traitor, so there was no extra gain.

Not long after, Chu Xuan came to a place in his memory.

"The God's must-kill guidance is equivalent to a Specter-attracting Physique, right?"

Chu Xuan waited quietly.

Not long after, he suddenly felt a slight pain in his heart.

The Fire of Nirvana suddenly appeared all over his body, except for a patch of flame missing from his heart.

He heard a "squeak" of miserable wailing not far away. Chu Xuan's eyes focused, he turned his head and looked over, and immediately saw a mouse appear out of thin air on the side.

It rolled on the ground, and the Black Flames on its two front claws had just extinguished.

With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed a Slash that flew over. With a sharp, keen edge, it severed half of its body in an instant. Immediately after, Chu Xuan teleported over and suddenly drew his saber to behead it.

[You have killed Specter · Little Cang: This creature had 20 points of undigested spirituality value, which has been fully absorbed by you after being burned by the Fire of Nirvana. The flesh and blood of this body still contained 2550 points of spiritual essence. 1020 points have been fed back to you; you have gained a total of 1040 points of spirituality value.]

"Then... continue adding points!"

Chu Xuan's mouth curled up slightly. At this moment, his spirituality value had reached 5550 points.

First, he spent 1750 points of spirituality value to raise his stamina, strength, and agility to 91 points, the same as his spirit attribute.

Then, he spent 700 points of spirituality value to level up to Level 8, and then consumed 2080 points of spirituality value to raise both strength and agility to 104 points.

At this point, after a series of life-and-death crises, Chu Xuan's strength had undergone a earth-shaking change.

[Name: Chu Xuan]

[Rank: LV.8]

[stamina: 91]

[Strength: 104]

[agility: 104]

[spirit: 91]

[health points: 910]

[spirituality value: 1020]

[attribute points: 0]

[skill points: 0]

[Talent: Precognitive Dream / Dream Return (Current tier available uses: 0)]

[sequence: Purifier]

[regular skill: Mixed Martial Arts LV.MAX (Perfect), Firearms Shooting LV.MAX (Perfect), Basic Saber Techniques LV.MAX (Perfect), Tongue Blooming Lotus LV.2 (Proficient), Kato Takas Hand LV.3 (Mastery)]

[Transcendent Skill: Myriad Forms LV.1, Teleportation LV.2, Assimilation · World-class (Available uses: 1)]

[Exclusive skill: Fire of Nirvana: LV.5, Forbidden Darkness: LV.MAX, Eye of Insight: LV.MAX, All-Cutting Slash: LV.1]

[Items: rule fragment X3, spirit Orb X1 (Stored spirituality value: 530), jiyue crystal X6, special grade life recovery potion X1, ghost-forbidden lamp X1, night cloak · Enhanced Version X1, werewolf kill card · Enhanced Version X1]

... ...

Volume 2 "Unique sequence: Purifier" ended.

Next volume: "Global Kill".