Superhuman perception had steadily bombarded his consciousness with signals, articulating the threats and horrors before him.

Completely unrelated to Ji Jue!

Rather, it was something else, something more secretive and terrifying.

He appeared to be just an ordinary and handsome young man, but when he fully engaged his perception, focusing intently, he could feel... some presence that seemed to entwine and haunt his being.

—An immense aggregation formed purely by immense pain and despair!

Under the unabashed scrutiny and provocation of Tong Hua's ether eye, they seemed to awaken from slumber, fully enraged and uncontainable!

In the perception akin to an illusion, a viscous crimson hue rose continuously from Ji Jue's body, with ghastly and hollow faces eerily emerging from it, ravenous and fierce.

And when they converged, they sketched out the shifting silhouettes of something sinister.

Like the head of a dragon, indifferently overlooking all!

Selecting its prey.

This was truly... a serious matter.

Being stared at by those void eyes, Old Zhang's movements stalled for a flash, and then, lifting his cup, he swallowed the tea, ignoring the sight as he continued to warmly entertain the young man before him.

Until the crimson and blood colors completely dissipated, the infinite despair and pain retracted, returning into Ji Jue's body, and everything returned to normal.

As if nothing had happened.

Old Zhang silently let out a sigh.

Such a huge sign of a mutation was a bit too exaggerated, wasn't it?

He had seen Cursed before, but very few could reach one-tenth or even one percent of Ji Jue's situation. Even counting all the residual spiritual contamination from the previous Vortex Planting Technique, it was far too outrageous.

But why would countless resentful spirits and Curses from those dying... protect him?

He shook his head slightly, no longer pondering it.

"Come on, come on, have some melon!" he said, picking up the fruit plate with enthusiasm: "Today, young Tong specially bought this watermelon, just out of the fridge; eat it while it's still cold."

And Ji Jue had completely numbed.

Looking around and then at the lineup of the Northern Mountain District before him, he couldn't help but gasp— an old man, a sick person, and a disabled individual?

He suddenly felt a genuine sense of belonging!

With himself as the weakling, couldn't they form a small squadron of the old, sick, and disabled?

This was absolutely right!

In a movie, this would be a legitimate team for big tasks, saving the world at the very least!

He heard the Empire now required a team to include a fat person, a homosexual, and a transgender individual to be considered complete. He couldn't imagine what kind of amazing group it would take to come together such a shocking lineup!

Of course, while that was the talk, his own weakness was for sure, but it wasn't certain whether the others were old, sick, or disabled.

Not to mention An Ran, whom he couldn't see clearly from the beginning to the end, but even this skinny old man was almost spitting sparks while playing with his iron walnuts.

Looking at the material and gauging its weight with his meager alchemy knowledge, Ji Jue nodded: with that grip strength, crushing one or two of his heads would be as easy as cracking eggs, right?!

"Ah, you finally made it, lad?"

From inside, in the direction of the office, Wen Wen finally came out, hands full, holding two small boxes on the left and carrying Tong Hua as if she was holding a little chick on the right.

"Sorry about that, my little sister likes to look around everywhere, just joking with you; don't mind her."

As she spoke, she tossed Tong Hua before her and smacked the dog's head: "Apologize!"

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry." Tong Hua bowed her head, trembling, clinging to Wen Wen's hand, not letting go: "Big brother, please let me go, I'm still so young..."

What the hell?

Ji Jue was dumbfounded, but seeing their cheerful bonding, he felt as if he had become part of some PLAY, which felt so odd!

"It's nothing, just think of her as having a fit."

Wen Wen sat down without any show of mercy, and then passed the two boxes she held: "Here, your spoils of war, been waiting for you to collect them since the cleanup."

"Ah?"

Ji Jue felt as if his mouth had been open since the moment he walked through the door.

He was being assigned equipment out of the blue?

I didn't do anything!

But why did this beautifully decorated little box look so much like someone's eternal home?

It was only after opening it that he realized... it bloody well was!

These were two urns!

One was sprinkled with some iron flakes, and the other contained only a few broken crystal stones... but there was no doubt, both couldn't change their essential nature as urns!

"What in the world is this?!"

"Hm? The two Chosen Ones you killed last time," Wen Wen replied. "I checked; one was named Ming Yan, another Bai Yi, both carrying a bunch of bounties, none of them good. They contributed nothing while alive, so might as well let you recycle the waste after death."

The ashes of the Chosen Ones, in a way, were indeed extraordinary materials.

Ming Yan's remains could replace certain Ruins Path items, greatly enhancing the material's physical properties and durability. Bai Yi's fragments were clearly condensed from pure Shadow spiritual quality, perhaps remnants of that Shadow Beast...

Ji Jue was just worrying about where to find enhancing materials for his little bull and horse.

Considering the savage nature of Dragon Blood, it shouldn't have any trouble digesting anything.

But to kill people and then feed their ashes to your own cattle, isn't that a bit too vicious?

It's pretty sad, some people end up as materials after death, while others are... already being targeted while still alive.

Thinking of his own identity, Ji Jue couldn't help but feel sorrowful.

If one day, Sister Wen suddenly called him into the office after work hours and said, "You wouldn't want your Chosen Summoner identity to be exposed, would you?"

Apart from shedding tears and complying with the unspoken rules, he truly wouldn't have any options.

"What are you thinking about?"

Wen Wen frowned, glancing at him as he was lost in thought, and reminded him, "You're drooling."

"No, no, nothing," Ji Jue shook his head and sighed, "Just realizing how scary the world of adults is, yes, quite scary. Boys need to learn to protect themselves when they go out."

"Indeed, that's partly why I called you here today..."

"Huh?!"

Ji Jue instantly became alert.

Well now, big sister, are you finally dropping the act of a noble?

If that was the case, should he... go along with it? Or put up a stubborn resistance, dying before yielding, for a bit more intrigue?

Just as Ji Jue's thoughts were spiraling out of control, he saw Wen Wen pat an old man's shoulder and wave, saying, "Come on, Old Zhang, it's all yours now. Just don't scare him."

"Don't worry, leave it to me."

The thin old man grinned, revealing a smile to him, "Don't be afraid, I'm very experienced."

"Huh?!"

Ji Jue's eyes widened in shock, and he instinctively shook his head frantically, waving his hands, sternly refusing, "No way, no way, this is over the line! That's going too far!"

"What on earth are you thinking?!"

Wen Wen roared, slapping his forehead, almost knocking off his dog's head: "Today, I called Old Zhang to train you, so you can learn some self-protection techniques and the basics of spiritual quality enhancement!

Did your mind fall into a ditch again?!"

"Ah? Oh, oh, right, oh~"

Ji Jue clutched his head and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, "If only you had said so earlier, I thought..."

"You thought what?"

Wen Wen's smile grew more benevolent as she raised her hand, her slender fingers tightening, the sound of her knuckles grinding as clear as crystal shattering, a faint crystal glow emerging from her fist, forming into sharp spikes.

"Maybe I should just do it myself."

She lifted Ji Jue's collar, her smile radiant, and through gritted teeth said, "Don't worry, I promise it'll be memorable."

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