113: Chapter 114 The Korean powerhouse has had his title suspended.

The Entire Nation Shaken

On this day, the entire Kimchi Country, from top to bottom, was in a complete frenzy because of a short video.

It was a short video with slightly blurry footage and a shaky camera due to the recorder's violent trembling. Yet, it was frantically shared and commented on by countless people, quickly reaching the top of the trending lists on major social media platforms, even overshadowing the scandals of popular idol groups.

When the video began, the frame focused on the foot of a snow-capped mountain. In the background, the iconic secret realm vortex entrance emitting an eerie blood-red light was clearly visible. However, the status information floating above it made the hearts of all knowledgeable Class Transferees turn cold—[Current Players: 1/8], with the glaring suffix [(Locked)].

This meant that a lone wolf had not only entered this level ninety-seven epic-level secret realm but had also completely locked the entrance, eliminating any possibility of interference or entry by others.

Immediately after, the secret realm vortex in the footage fluctuated violently without warning. Then, like a popped bubble, it completely dissipated and vanished without a trace within just two or three seconds!

A brief, dead silence followed.

The same absurd yet undeniable thought rose in the minds of everyone watching the video: Did that lone wolf clear it? One person, in such a short amount of time, cleared a level ninety-seven epic-level secret realm?!

However, what happened next was even more hair-raising.

After the secret realm vanished, no figure appeared in the frame. But the translucent 'Spatial Barrier' emitting a faint silver luster, set up by official law enforcers to guard the entrance, seemed to endure an unimaginable impact of immense force. Its surface was instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks before it shattered with a boom, turning into a sky full of light specks!

The second after the barrier shattered, an attack descended without warning.

Two lightning arrows, entwined with blinding thunder and emitting a destructive Aura, seemed to 'grow' directly out of the void. Carrying a scream that tore through the air, they shot toward the man and woman in the video who were wearing Kimchi Country official uniforms!

The female law enforcer seemed to try to defend herself as a layer of lightning armor lit up on her body, but it was as thin as paper before those thunderous arrows and was instantly pierced. The arrow passed through her body, bringing a spray of blinding blood flowers, pinning her entire person back into the snow. After a couple of twitches, there was no more sound.

The other male law enforcer reacted slightly faster, summoning layers of tough vine barriers that barely blocked the first arrow. He then roared and launched a counterattack, throwing magical plant seeds into the air while hideous strangling vines sprouted from the ground, attempting to attack the invisible enemy.

However, his counterattack was like hitting an invisible iron wall. More and denser lightning arrows burst from the void, easily destroying his summons. Most terrifyingly, at a certain moment, the male law enforcer's movements suddenly froze completely, as if he had been hit by a binding spell. He just stood there stiffly, allowing the subsequent several lightning arrows to turn him into a sieve. Finally, he collapsed into the snow, his blood quickly staining a patch of white snow red.

The video ended abruptly there.

The footage itself was shocking enough, but what truly ignited public opinion were the details quickly unearthed by 'insiders' after the video was posted, along with a comment that was pushed to the top position.

Top Comment (Verified as 'Former Pyeongsan Peninsula Security Bureau Clerk'): "The two who died in the line of duty in the video are Inspector Kim Tae-Hwa and Inspector Song Su-min. Both were A-grade core members of our bureau and were very strong. But the strangest thing is—the archer skills used by the killer, especially that most powerful lightning arrow, are identical to Inspector Song's unique epic-grade skill 'Sun-Piercing Heavenly Thunder Arrow' in terms of energy fluctuations, arrow form, and attack effects! But as far as I know, this skill was a reward for Inspector Song completing a unique quest chain and possesses 'uniqueness'! What is going on?"

This comment was like a spark thrown into a barrel of oil.

The replies below exploded instantly:

"A unique epic skill? Are you joking! How could there be a second person who knows it?"

"Copying skills? Is there such a talent in this world? That's too outrageous!"

"The key is that the killer was completely invisible! How can an archer turn invisible? This doesn't make sense!"

"Is it possible it wasn't just one person? Was it a team with stealth capabilities cooperating?"

"The more I think about it, the scarier it gets! Why did Inspector Kim suddenly stop moving at the end? Was he hit by mental control? He's a Tank; his mental resistance is very high!"

"Not just high, he's basically immune to crowd control of the same level! To make him freeze for nearly two seconds... what level must the opponent's Spirit attribute be?"

"And look, the 'Sun-Piercing Heavenly Thunder Arrow' used by the killer was even more powerful than the one used by Inspector Song! Copying is one thing, but it can even be strengthened?"

The public discussed fervently, with emotions of speculation, fear, and curiosity intertwining and spreading. But for the high-level officials of Kimchi Country, this incident brought more than just public pressure; it brought actual shock and a cold chill.

At an internal meeting, the senior official in charge of the case had an extremely grim expression. They knew the skill composition of the law enforcement personnel better than the public. The uniqueness of 'Sun-Piercing Heavenly Thunder Arrow' was almost certain, yet it was now perfectly replicated and used by the 'killer,' and even with greater power. This completely overturned their understanding of talents and skills.

Even more baffling was the manner of Kim Tae-Hwa's death. His mental control resistance, stacked through equipment and talents, had reached an incredibly abnormal level; it was almost impossible for a mental-type Class Transferee of the same level to control him for more than 0.5 seconds. But the video showed that he was stiff for over 1.7 seconds! How high a Spirit attribute would this require? The calculated value was simply astronomical, far exceeding the same level and even surpassing many higher-level magic-based professionals.

"It wasn't conventional mental control," a consultant specializing in mental-type spells wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice dry. "Inspector Kim's final state... was more like a higher-level imprisonment that directly acted on the source of the soul. Our resistance equipment and talents likely have very limited effects against control at this level..."

This conclusion caused the temperature in the meeting room to drop by a few more degrees. Directly acting on the soul? This had touched the edge of many people's knowledge blind spots, representing the unknown and a higher level of danger.

An enemy with perfect invisibility, suspected of being able to copy and strengthen others' skills, and possibly possessing eerie soul control abilities... such an existence was simply a nightmare born for assassination and destruction. If the opponent's target wasn't just two inspectors, but higher-level figures or important national facilities...

"We must find out this person's identity at all costs!" The general presiding over the meeting slammed his fist on the table, his eyes sharp as knives. "Activate the highest-level investigation procedures! Invite 'that person' to come out!"

The person he spoke of was one of the few remaining Nation-Guarding Level elders in Kimchi Country, the blind old man revered as the 'revenge heavenly god'—Park Jeong-hwan.

Park Jeong-hwan's talent and profession were famous among the high-level circles of the entire Blue Star. His talent was called [Revenge Order], and its effect was extremely special: it could be used on any deceased person (requiring a relatively intact corpse). Each use would randomly provide a piece of information about the killer who caused that person's death.

The information might be very niche (such as 'what the killer ate for breakfast today' or 'the killer has a mole on the pinky toe of their left foot'), but it was absolutely true. Usually, it required using [Revenge Order] multiple times on the same target to accumulate enough information fragments to piece together the killer's true identity.

And his profession was the even rarer Revenge Warlock. The core ability of this profession was to obtain permanent attribute increases or special buff effects after successfully completing a revenge (i.e., killing or assisting in the kill of a target marked by [Revenge Order]). The stronger the revenge target, the more generous the rewards obtained after completing the revenge. This allowed Park Jeong-hwan to continuously accumulate strength over the long years by hunting down powerful killers, reaching a height that ordinary people could hardly attain.

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Of course, the 【Revenge Order】 was not unsolvable. Its initial cooldown was as long as sixty minutes. To maximize its utility, Park Jeong-hwan had specifically crafted a set of extreme cooldown reduction equipment, compressing the cooldown to an astonishing eleven minutes or so.

At the same time, this skill also possessed a "characteristic" that could hardly be called a flaw—when he used the 【Revenge Order】 on a target, the target would faintly sense it, knowing they were being tracked in some way. This was a warning, and also a provocation.

Over an hour later, at the crime scene on the snowy mountain of the Pyeongsan Peninsula.

The cordon had already been stretched out for several kilometers. A large number of heavily armed Class Transferees surrounded the scene, creating a grim atmosphere. In the sky, two military aircraft equipped with detection magic arrays were even circling.

Just then, the crowd suddenly quieted down and automatically parted to form a path on both sides.

An old man wearing an old, grey cloth robe, with his eyes tightly closed, holding what looked like an ordinary wooden cane, walked over step by step, slowly and steadily, supported by a young assistant. He had a full head of silver hair, his face was covered in knife-carved wrinkles, and his figure was hunched, looking frail as if a mountain breeze could blow him over.

But all the official personnel present, regardless of rank, straightened their backs as the old man passed, placing their right fists over their left chests, performing the highest standard of salute, their eyes filled with heartfelt reverence and adoration.

The "revenge heavenly god" Park Jeong-hwan had arrived in person.

He did not pay attention to the surrounding gazes, and under the guidance of his assistant, he arrived accurately beside the two corpses—even though his eyes were blind. Cold air carrying a faint scent of blood wafted over. He lowered his head slightly, as if looking at those lifeless shells.

Then, he released the arm of the assistant supporting him and tapped the wooden cane in his hand lightly onto the snow.

His withered right hand slowly raised, palm facing down, hovering directly above the corpse's forehead.

Talent skill—【Revenge Order】, activate!

An obscure, ancient, invisible ripple that seemed to carry endless resentment and the will of judgment spread silently from the center of Park Jeong-hwan's palm, enveloping the corpse, and then, following the last trace of causal connection between the deceased and the murderer in the netherworld, it crossed space and traced back!

Everyone around held their breath, waiting nervously. They believed that as long as the "revenge heavenly god" made a move, no matter how deep the murderer hid or how bizarre their abilities were, they would surely be unearthed. The first 【Revenge Order】 could at least obtain one piece of characteristic information about the murderer, such as gender, approximate age range, or a unique physical mark.

However—just at the moment when that invisible power of tracing seemed about to touch a distant existence.

Park Jeong-hwan, standing in the snow, shuddered violently! His calm face, which had been like an ancient well, revealed obvious astonishment for the first time, which then quickly turned into pain and horror! He let out a muffled groan, as if struck hard in the chest by an invisible heavy hammer, and he stumbled backward uncontrollably for several steps, nearly dropping the wooden cane in his hand, fortunately caught by his quick-witted assistant.

"Cough, cough... cough, cough, cough!" He began to cough violently, his face instantly turning as pale as paper, even more bloodless than the surrounding snow.

"Elder Park! What's wrong?" The assistant and several high-ranking officials nearby were shocked and hurried forward.

Park Jeong-hwan raised his trembling hand, stopping them from helping him. In his tightly closed eyes, it seemed as if some kind of light was rapidly dimming. He opened his mouth, his voice hoarse and filled with unbelievable trembling:

"No... no... no information at all..."

"Not only is there no information... my 【Revenge Order】 skill itself... has been backlashed and sealed by an indescribable power..."

"The seal duration... is fifty-nine days!"

Once these words were spoken, the surroundings instantly fell into a dead silence. Only the biting mountain wind whistled past, whipping up snow from the ground and slapping against everyone's stiff faces.

Everyone's brains seemed to have frozen.

【Revenge Order】 was backlashed? Sealed? And for as long as fifty-nine days? This meant that for these nearly two months, the tracking ability that this "revenge heavenly god" relied on to become famous would be completely ineffective! More crucially, this meant that the murderer not only detected the tracking but also possessed a terrifying method they had never heard of, capable of directly interfering with or even sealing others' talent skills!

Park Jeong-hwan leaned on his assistant to barely stand steady, his grey face still holding extreme fear. He had lived for so long, hunted countless powerful criminals, encountered resistance, and encountered shielding, but like today, where the power of tracing collided with an insurmountable absolute barrier that carried a fierce counterattack, and even the talent skill itself was forcibly driven into a long cooldown... he had never seen such a thing in his life!

No, perhaps it wasn't just as simple as a skill cooldown. He faintly felt that during the time when 【Revenge Order】 was sealed, the root of his entire 【Revenge Order】 talent seemed to have been affected, becoming obscure and difficult to invoke. This was much more serious than a simple skill cooldown!

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, in a villa at Ziyun Mountain Villa in Zhongnan City of the Xia Kingdom, Lin Muyang was sitting leisurely on the sofa, taking stock of the gains from his trip to Kimchi Country.

Just a moment ago, a system notification rang clearly in his mind:

【Notification: A Class Transferee (Class: Revenge Warlock) has cast the talent skill "Revenge Order" on you, intending to investigate your information.】

【Your God-Tier Aura "Cannot Be Peered At" has taken effect, successfully blocking this investigation.】

【The "Revenge Order" skill has been forcibly sealed, entering a 59-day cooldown period.】

【Since this skill is a core talent skill, during the cooldown period, the relevant talent effects of that Class Transferee will be temporarily completely ineffective.】

Lin Muyang raised an eyebrow slightly, the corner of his mouth curling into an arc of realization mixed with a hint of mockery.

"Revenge Warlock... they really made a move." He muttered to himself. Before deciding to go to Kimchi Country to "take care of business," he had already done his homework on the top powers on the surface of Kimchi Country. The ability characteristics of that "revenge heavenly god" Park Jeong-hwan were even included in the textbooks of some advanced academies in the Xia Kingdom, so he naturally knew them clearly.

Therefore, at the moment he left the border of Kimchi Country, he had quietly activated another God-Tier Aura that he didn't often use but was extremely useful at this moment—【Cannot Be Peered At】.

【Cannot Be Peered At (God-Tier Aura): After activation, you and all your summons will be in a state of information concealment. Any prediction, divination, tracking, or investigation skills directly targeting you or your summons will be forcibly blocked. If the caster forces an investigation, the skill they use will suffer varying degrees of backlash and sealing based on the difference in spiritual attributes between the two parties. The base sealing duration is 365 days.】

The effect of this Aura was simple and overbearing. Although Park Jeong-hwan's 【Revenge Order】 was special, it essentially still belonged to the "tracking and investigation" category of skills, and it happened to run right into the muzzle. Lin Muyang's current spiritual attributes, stacked with numerous Auras and buffs, had long reached an unbelievable level, forming a huge attribute gap with Park Jeong-hwan.

Therefore, the sealing duration was shortened from the base of one year to fifty-nine days—but this was still a length that would make any Class Transferee who relied on their core skill despair.

More importantly, the notification clearly mentioned that because 【Revenge Order】 was the opponent's core talent skill, during the period it was sealed, the entire effect of his talent would be temporarily ineffective. This meant that for the next fifty-nine days, that "revenge heavenly god" who was famous in Kimchi Country would temporarily lose his greatest reliance, and his strength would likely drop by several levels.

"Want to investigate me? Let me seal you for two months first." Lin Muyang shook his head and paid no more attention to this small episode. His attention returned to the list in his hand—those twenty-four legendary-grade fire-attribute equipment, and the legendary-grade fire element essence that was still one short.