He stood up, put on his trench coat, donned his gloves, grabbed his cane, and walked out. A ghostly blue flame appeared in his pupils, burning and sublimating.

A burly man in a white T-shirt came over and said, "Master is ready... Is this reliable?"

Chu Caiming glanced at him and smiled, "I don’t know either, what do you think?"

The burly man also chuckled, saying, "I don’t think it matters. Whether it’s reliable or not, if the master says to do it, then we do it."

Three candles flickered in the gale, seemingly about to extinguish, yet they stood firm, with the leftmost one being the tallest, a good three inches higher.

Several hanging corpses swayed side to side, fresh blood dripping around, forming arcs, seemingly free-falling yet forming a patterned shape like interwoven ellipses, resembling a crown.

Chu Caiming looked up at the sky and took out a thin, jet-black, tattered little book from his pocket, with each page containing incomprehensible symbols and diagrams.

"Feilin! Hear my call, even through the vast spaces of time, wisdom connects you and me."

He uttered in a high-pitched voice.

The skull on the Ghost Cry Totem twitched, the locks began to turn, and a tremendous noise arose from all around like metal gears grinding against chains.

The entire space started spinning centered on him, as if opening a giant mechanical box in which he was the content.

Though vague, this description was extremely fitting.

He was letting some unknown entity into this box, through this method.

When that Bronze Gate appeared in the sky, the world became more loosened yet more filled, with more gaps.

What is wisdom?

The aggregation of Spirit and knowledge?

Chu Caiming understood.

Wisdom is death, it is eternity, it is time.

This was the answer given by the other side, recorded in this Book of Death.

A small hand adorned with a Sapphire Ring reached out to him, and the surrounding light turned pitch black, as if plunged into endless nothingness.

According to normal procedures, it’s enough to stand still, awaiting death.

But he wasn’t here to die!

An eye shattered like glass, revealing a three-dimensional, floating blue flame.

Simultaneously, he pulled a string of silver iron Buddhist Beads from his pocket, holding them high, the blue glow enveloping him.

The book in his hands instantly turned to dust, dissipating in the air, along with his clothes, gloves, and cane.

What is death?

Death is the end of things, the passage of time.

"Clever little kid."

A faint sigh came from the air.

Countless white lights appeared in the air, wrapping around the small hand, forcing it to retract.

The blue glow gradually faded, Chu Caiming regained vitality, and with a thump, he knelt on the ground, panting heavily.

The gale suddenly stopped, calming down as if afraid of disturbing something. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Are you alright, Master?"

The burly man approached with clothes in hand, asking.

Chu Caiming put on the clothes, chuckling lightly, "I’m fine for now. I must say, these things still abide by rules more fixedly than the sun."

He crudely bandaged his blood-stained, empty eye sockets with bandages, while the Ghost Cry Totem beside him turned into a complete skeleton, with a Sapphire-embedded Crown at its brow.

He hadn’t yet ascended to Tier Seven, but he had acquired enough Power to do so without the help of the Doomsday Game, ascending naturally with such Power.

"Do you think this thing will come specifically to avenge me?" Chu Caiming asked as he put on his gloves.

The burly man thought for a moment and said, "If it were me, I would."

Chu Caiming shook his head, saying, "On the contrary, it won’t. They don’t care about us or most things, just as the sun doesn’t intentionally shine on a particular person; it’s just its own radiance naturally occurring."

"They are more like stringent, fixed rules, existing across countless spaces and times."

He had already seen his next position, Tier Seven Eternal Scholar, and even the one after that, Tier Six Pray to Withered Bones.

"Death isn’t the end; time is."

······

Several members of the Security Bureau holding firearms lay fallen on the street before the door.

Their chests were pierced, and blood spread wider and wider, like a huge mirror reflecting the dark mist in the sky in the faint night light.

Chang Yi pushed open the door, eyes wide, shouting, "Who are you?"

A silhouetted figure wielding a knife stood at the door, with crimson eyes, as if wearing a giant fuzzy rabbit-head toy.

In the next instant, a large ball of flame hurled from Chang Yi’s hand towards the opponent.

He sensed the aura of danger, his instincts as Extraordinary.

"Boom~"

The flames exploded, enveloping the figure of the Human with rabbit head.

"Swish~"

A red blade emerged from his abdomen.

"Not so effective, huh?"

The Human with rabbit head uttered in a sharp, childish voice, seemingly from a young person.

"Boom~"

A mass of flames erupted around Chang Yi, pushing the opponent away as he staggered backward.

Once getting up close with a melee-skilled opponent, he appeared quite fragile, despite being strong himself.

However, the Human with rabbit head did not pursue but instead fled in the opposite direction, vanishing into the Darkness almost instantaneously.

Chang Yi’s shoulder trembled, realizing the opponent was powerful and had Abilities that countered him, making it not difficult to kill him, and he was already seriously injured.

While cautiously scanning his surroundings as he retreated, no more movement came; the opponent seemed truly gone.

Far away, patrol members approached, bearing lights to disperse the Darkness.

"Oh no, will they be alright?"

Chang Yi calmed down, thinking of his sister and her family nearby.

He hurried over; his brother-in-law, Li Junkuo, was peering out from a window on the second floor, observing what was happening outside.

"Are you guys alright?"

Chang Yi shouted.

Li Junkuo shook his head, shouting, "Nothing happened; we’re all together."

Chang Yi breathed a sigh of relief but then stopped abruptly.

Again, the same!

Doesn’t this indicate his sister’s family indeed has issues?

Numerous thoughts flashed through Chang Yi’s mind, changing his expression towards Li Junkuo. He didn’t enter right away but retreated instead.

"It’s really not us who did it."

Li Junkuo shouted, realizing the reason behind Chang Yi’s behavior:

"But it’s too freaky; something seems to be following us; you can’t blame us for that!"

Chang Yi ignored him, feeling tense, almost impulsively acting, with the pain from his abdomen causing dizziness.

Running patrol members came up to support him: "Captain Chang, where did that culprit go?"

Chang Yi looked wide-eyed and questioned: "Huh? Didn’t you see? It just ran in your direction."

A team member shook his head affirmatively: "No, then it must be hiding... Captain Zhou has already arrived."

Zhou An, carrying a Bronze Sword, hurriedly ran over from the other end of the street, scanning all around, saying: "Where is the person? Didn’t everyone see?"

He had just advanced to Tier Eight, eager to find someone to test his skills, and that fool from Chenxi had left again.

"Captain Zhou, the culprit should’ve hidden once seeing you come; be careful," one team member reminded.

Zhou An waved his hand confidently: "No worries, sneaky figures are nothing to fear."

As he spoke, a shadow darted out of the Darkness, seemingly waiting there just for Zhou An.

Crimson, large rabbit eyes bore an eerie smile, letting out a piercing screech as the blade sliced through the dark veil directly towards Zhou An’s face.

A lethal strike, frighteningly fast.

None present reacted in time, including Zhou An, as if a Ghost Shadow emerged from the Darkness.