In the boundless wind and snow, a black trench coat moved forward slowly.
Black boots stepped out one footprint after another in the snow. Blood trickled down the hem of the coat, dotting the snow like a thin,long red thread.
Clink—clink—clink!
Sparks from flint friction lit a cigarette. He took a deep drag of the thick smoke and exhaled slowly...
"Most of the purge is done, just a few remaining remnants left... This time, let's finish them off in one go." He murmured to himself.
On the blood-stained hem of the trench coat, four silver patterns shimmered faintly.
At that moment, two stars lit up simultaneously in the gray sky, and ethereal divine radiance descended upon a distant mansion.
Seeing this scene, his eyebrows rose slightly.
"[Divine Favor]?"
"Judging by the direction, it should be Ma Zhong's residence... Among those remnants, there's actually a Divine Favored one?"
As he spoke to himself, another star lit up, and a third Divine Favor poured down...
"Three divine favors?" His surprise finally turned to shock. "What kind of monster is this..."
He unconsciously quickened his pace.
The snowflakes fluttered, biting cold. The outline of the mansion in the distance loomed faintly.
One minute,
Two minutes,
Three minutes...
His frown grew deeper.
No matter how he walked, the mansion remained hazy, showing no sign of getting closer... like a mirage in a snowstorm.
Finally, he seemed to sense something and looked back.
Unknowingly, all the footprints from his journey had vanished.
The cold wind howled in his ears, and in the vast white world, it felt as if only he existed.
"Who?" he asked coldly.
His voice vanished into the swirling snowflakes, as if swallowed by some monster. An eerie silence lingered.
"...Playing tricks." A flash of killing intent crossed his eyes. His right hand grasped the gun handle at his waist, and an invisible domain suddenly spread out!
He closed his eyes, the cigarette at the corner of his mouth burning silently, as if carefully sensing something.
Suddenly, he raised the gun muzzle like lightning, aimed at a certain direction beside him, and pulled the trigger without hesitation!
Bang—!
The power of deconstruction tore through the void, shattering all snowflakes in its path.
At the same time, everything around him seemed to ignite like a scroll of paper—the earth, the sky, the snowflakes, the distant outline of the mansion... He was like being wrapped in a giant cocoon, which shattered with the gunshot!
The illusory feeling around him ebbed like a tide, and the distant mansion became clear again.
"Eh?" A soft gasp came from beside the bullet path.
He turned to look and saw a boy with white paper covering his face, crouching halfway in the snow. Holding a twig in one hand, he looked at him in surprise through crudely cut holes in the paper.
On the snowy ground in front of the boy was a large circle outlined by a twig, and now the man's figure was trapped in the center of this circle.
However, in the direction where he had fired, the circle had a gap.
"I thought you'd take a few more minutes to notice," the boy shrugged. "Seems I underestimated you... No wonder you're the legendary genius law enforcer."
"Who are you?"
Han Meng frowned and stared at him. He could sense that the boy's aura was even stronger than his own—he should have already entered the Fifth Order!
Yet he was already twenty-five... The boy before him was at most fifteen or sixteen.
"A fifth-order at fifteen or sixteen?
I've never heard of such a genius in the Aurora Realm."
"I even covered my face—do you really think I'll tell you who I am?" The boy pointed to the white paper on his face. Seemingly feeling short of breath, he casually poked a hole where his nose was, then continued softly, "You're not getting any younger—why so slow on the uptake?"
Han Meng's face instantly turned livid.
"Do you know what charges you'll face for obstructing a law enforcer's mission?"
"Law enforcer? Is that supposed to be impressive?"
The boy chuckled, drawing a random square pattern in the snow with his twig. A rectangular pattern instantly appeared beneath Han Meng's feet, trapping him inside.
"When you can walk out of this, I might admit you're somewhat capable... maybe one-tenth as capable as me." A smile crept onto the boy's face beneath the paper.
Han Meng looked down—without noticing, a giant playing card had appeared in the snow beneath his feet...
[Club 8]
The moment he saw the card face, Han Meng's pupils shrank as if recalling something.
"...Dusk Society?!"
...
In the mansion.
Chen Ling stared blankly at the third glowing star, confusion in his eyes.
He didn't recognize this star, nor did he understand why it was drawn to him... If killing had attracted the "Military Divine Path," what about the other two?
Unable to make sense of it, Chen Ling gave up and focused on the pressing choice: which divine path to take.
Stepping onto a divine path would grant him transcendent power... perhaps one day, he could break free from the "Audience" on his own!
No one can walk multiple divine paths simultaneously, just as one can't split into two to take separate roads. Looking at the three paths, Chen Ling didn't hesitate to decide—after all, only the "Military Divine Path" was familiar to him.
Moreover, Han Meng's [Killing Waltz] had left such a deep impression that he believed the "Military Divine Path" might be the most combat-oriented of all.
Just as he prepared to choose it, a sudden change occurred!
In the void behind him, pairs of scarlet eyes abruptly opened, like a writhing sea of shadows!
The "Audience" had begun interfering with the performance!
Thud—thud—thud—thud—
In the theater, countless "viewers" simultaneously began stomping the floor, their dull roars echoing like endless thunder!
Countless gazes poured out from the theater, fixating on the three stars in the sky. At that moment, "apocalyptic" power emanated from the scarlet pupils, as if an invisible colossus were silently roaring at the stars!!
They rejected the divine paths;
They intimidated the divine paths!
The next instant, the three stars trembled violently!
The divine radiance enveloping Chen Ling shattered inch by inch, like a heavenly path collapsing from the bottom up...
The divine paths were afraid.
They saw the monster behind Chen Ling. What had once been favor turned to fear—none wanted that monster treading their path... like inviting a tiger into one's home.
So they severed their own paths, retreating from the sharp edge.
The three beams of divine radiance around Chen Ling collapsed, the heavenly roads receding rapidly. In that moment, both Chen Ling and Qian Fan present stood frozen in shock...