Chapter 101: Burning Heaven Concept
No. 17 couldn't comprehend how the situation had reversed so abruptly.
Before he could even react, his body lost control, his mind spiraled into chaos, and the terrifying dark-red blood mirage engulfed him like a soul-devouring phantom beast, swallowing his consciousness in mere seconds.
"No. 11… How is he this strong?! And Mu Qingtong is actually second-level?!" In his final moments of despair, his mentality shattered.
He could sense it clearly—both No. 11 and Mu Qingtong possessed second-level spiritual pressure. They could have easily killed him outright, yet they chose this underhanded combination of tactics, feigning weakness all along.
These two… absolute schemers!
As his mind dulled into stillness, only overwhelming resentment and regret remained. His pupils glazed over, and his lips kept muttering the words "old six" in a hollow whisper.
"What are life points?" Mu Qingtong found Xia Feng's earlier remark odd.
"Life points are life points," Xia Feng replied casually, crouching down to drive a blade into No. 17's chest. He glanced back and blinked. "Do you have any soul stones? Hand one over."
Mu Qingtong shook her head helplessly. "I used mine up a while ago and haven't had the chance to restock."
This was an oversight on Xia Feng's part. His original plan had been to use a soul stone to capture No. 17's spirit and deal with it after leaving the disaster realm.
But now, that wasn't an option. Not that it mattered much—he could always take No. 17's life points right here.
"Are you involved in some kind of hunting game? Back in the Evil Dragon Forest, someone came after you for no reason," Mu Qingtong pressed, curiosity getting the better of her.
"I'd like to know too."
Xia Feng lifted his gaze, raising an eyebrow with a deliberately provoking smirk. "Hey~ I'm not telling you."
"…" Mu Qingtong pressed her lips together, lowering her slightly trembling eyelids as she fought back the urge to throttle him.
After riling her up as usual, Xia Feng returned to his task. He fully shattered No. 17's broken mask.
Beneath the golden hair was a face he recognized—one he'd seen among Yulina's knight squad.
"This guy…" Xia Feng frowned. "He's clearly a Burning Heaven Temple member, yet he became a Black Moon Church knight? Is he a spy?"
Half the Burning Heaven Temple's members were fanatics with warped ideologies. Their core belief was that the world was unjust, and to achieve their vision of a "fair and harmonious utopia," they sought to destroy it entirely—hoping to force the Supreme Star God to remake the world's rules.
Xia Feng nodded thoughtfully.
"Then again, it's also possible No. 17 was originally from the Black Moon Church but got swayed by Burning Heaven's so-called 'noble ideals' and joined them."
But what was the connection between the Burning Heaven Temple and the "Garden"? Initially, Xia Feng had assumed "Garden" was the name of No. 17 and No. 11's organization.
Now, it seemed that wasn't the case.
Whatever. Xia Feng shook his head. He couldn't be bothered to overthink it—life points were what mattered.
Repeating the same method he'd used on No. 11, he harvested No. 17's life points under Mu Qingtong's bewildered stare, letting the spirit perish and regenerate.
No. 17's spirit weapon was a brick, hovering beside his fading spirit. As Xia Feng touched it, the replication details surfaced:
[Current spirit weapon slots: Forest Scepter (C), Vermillion Bird Magic Armor (B), Wind Listening Ring (N)]
[Detected spirit weapon available for replication/theft—N·Must-Hit Brick]
[Theft successful—]
[N·Must-Hit Brick]
[Must-Hit: Within 30 meters, any ordinary concrete brick (non-spirit material) thrown with both hands will strike the target with 100% accuracy (10-second cooldown)]
"What kind of ridiculous spirit weapon is this?" Xia Feng grumbled internally.
[Current spiritual pressure: Level 3 (30 minutes)]
[Current replication slots: 2+1]
[Insufficient replication slots. Replace a spirit weapon?]
Xia Feng felt the limitation of his slots, but the N-grade Wind Listening Ring had little utility for him. Swapping it out was no loss.
He made his choice:
[Wind Listening Ring (N) → Must-Hit Brick (N)]
[Current life points: 1]
As Xia Feng seized No. 17's spirit weapon, his life point display vanished, replaced by a flood of new information.
[You have preyed upon player No. 11——]
[You gain 5 life points from this predation. As this is the hunting phase, predation yields double points. Player No. 11 loses 5 life points; you gain 10.]
[You killed player No. 11 and seized all their cards except the 'Skill Card'——]
[Additional 6 life points awarded for a headhunt.]
[Total gain: (10 + 6) 16 life points.]
[Current life points: (44 + 16) 60.]
[Bonus notification: Highest life points in the game!]
[Additional reward triggered: First to accumulate 50 life points. Achievement "Fastest Man" awarded: 5 life points.]
[Current life points: 65.]
"Damn, that's insane." Xia Feng grinned at the lavish haul. With this, no one could challenge him for the B-rank spirit armor rectification order.
Satisfied, he turned to Mu Qingtong. "Hypnotize him. I've got questions."
The black-clad woman stepped forward, pressing her palm to the spirit's brow.
Instantly, the spirit's near-transparent pupils ignited with golden sigils, rotating slowly in its hollow eye sockets.
Xia Feng's voice turned grave. "Among the numbered players, whose real identities do you know?"
The spirit hovered above its corpse, face blank, silent.
Xia Feng rephrased, sharper: "What do you know about player No. 6?"
No. 6—the one who'd bought the Summoning Spirit Wood. Xia Feng's priority was securing that wood first, then deciding whether to rouse the Evil Dragon Lady.
The spirit droned, "No. 6's codename is Eagle. True identity unknown. Met Gongsun Ze at Scented Workshop three days ago, approximately 5 PM. Sold the Summoning Wood to Gongsun Ze, then departed Zone 51 that night. Current whereabouts unknown."
The Summoning Wood went to Gongsun Ze?! Xia Feng stiffened. What the hell did that guy want with it?
Masking his shock, he grilled the spirit further but hit dead ends.
"Whatever." He shrugged, ready to dispel the spirit.
"Wait."
Mu Qingtong gripped his wrist. "My turn."
"Huh?"
The golden cross in her eyes spun as she stared down the spirit. "Who owns the Garden now?"
"The Garden's current owner is—urk!"
A mechanism triggered. The golden sigils in the spirit's eyes shattered. It jerked its head up, shrieking as violet veins spiderwebbed from its face, surging into its eye sockets.
With a wet pop, the spirit burst into motes of light, its soul scattering.
"Why'd it explode?" Xia Feng frowned.
"Secret poison."
The black-clad woman studied No. 17's corpse, pensive. "Some secrets are locked. If a keeper reveals them to an outsider, it triggers the poison. If they persist…" She gestured to the fading sparks. "This happens."
(End of Chapter)