Gu Jun did not recognize that mad young man who was decapitated. But based on his observation, he fitted the description of the new rising star in the Spell Department named ‘Zheng Jialiang.’ When he saw the yellow figures in the audience, Gu Jun understood the meaning of “Shadow Demon Dance, Madness Reign Supreme.” If these weren’t shadow demons, he didn’t know what was. However, the people who were predicted to be dead by now were still alive, some were kneeling and others standing. There were so many familiar faces. Despite the distance, he could see them clearly. His heart warmed, it was these faces who helped him survive the ordeal when he was captured by the black merchants and Zoogs.
Now that he had returned, he refused to witness anymore death or madness among his friends. Monitor was not a traitor, none of them were, perhaps even Zheng Jialiang did not start off as one but their minds were corrupted. It was why “Phecda Chaos, Tragedy Birth,” was the latter part of the prophecy; certain events could be stopped.
“Begone, begone!” As the wind howled, Gu Jun drew up another Ancient Seal and walked towards Wang Ruoxiang who was screaming like a madwoman. This was a technique that was recorded inside the Pnakotic Script, it was not a spell so it would not cause mental corruption. However, it would consume great mental power. This was because drawing these Ancient Seals required high coordination of the body’s neural network, it was an energy formed through the collision of one’s consciousness against time and space. This technology was beyond current scientific comprehension, it was impossible to explain logically. Gu Jun did not understand it, neither did the land’s travellers. They were merely following the instructions inside the Pnakotic Manuscripts. They recited the spell that was technically not a spell in their mind, it had no specific meaning, it was merely a proclamation. But the activated neural signal triggered one’s biological responses like a battery being charged, under this condition, when they drew the ancient seal, they could inscribe it with power through an exhaustion of their mental power.
“Ah ah…” Wang Ruoxiang’s screams were piercing as faded yellow light dissipated from her body. The same was happening to the people behind her. Struggle and consciousness were returning to their eyes…
“Begone!” Gu Jun roared. He connected his mental power to those of Peacock’s group and signed out another brilliant Ancient Seal. His heart pained seeing Wang Ruoxiang in this state. She was so heavily corrupted because she was a hardworking person, she should not be punished because of that.
“How dare, how dare you…” Wang Ruoxiang stammered madly. The jewelled crown had teetered by her head. However, it seemed like the dark energy was still in dominance. Her hand holding the sword was shaking as she threatened dangerously, “I am Cassilda’s descendant, my voice echoes above Lake Hali…”
“You are Wang Ruoxiang,” Gu Jun replied, “I only know you by that name.”
“Truly, truly.” Wang Erde not far away was still grumbling, it was like he was responding to a completely different scenario, “Is that so, is that so…” The small and weird creature suddenly lunged forward to swipe at the masked man. In the process, even one of his red ears had fallen off. His ugly face was twisted in horror. “Is that so?!” The Phecda members who were semi-consciousness saw the masked man agilely lift up his leg and sent Mr. Wang Erde flying. The man landed with a heavy crack, it sounded his ribs broke. Mr. Wang Erde fell next to Zheng Jialiang’s headless torso. The fresh blood of the young man instantly dyed the man’s tattered robe red. Mr. Wang Erde coughed in pain but he kept mumbling, “Truly, truly…”a
After he collapsed, the other figures in yellow had their protection against the Ancient Seal stripped away, the imprint dealt more pain! Wang Ruoxiang bit on her lips until blood leaked down her chin. The power of the Ancient Seal fought with the consciousness within her, the internal battlefield caused her to kneel to the ground…
The normal citizens gasped in shock, some of the younger ones were cheering, things were finally looking up! But strangely enough, the ten of thousands of yellow shadows in the audience remained unmoved. Once again, it begged the question, ‘Are they real?’
“Ah.” Cai Zixuan felt the tension release on him. The feeling of someone gripping his neck had disappeared. He could breathe and speak again. Cai Zixuan quickly urged, “Monitor, hang in there, don’t lose to the demon in you!”
The same sense of relief came over Lou Xiaoning and Xue Ba. They felt a kind of lightness that they had not experienced since they started the training of the Seven Cryptical Book of Hsan. It was as if they were breaking through the surface of the water after being submerged for so long. Their eyes that regarded the six mysterious people contained shock, respect but also alarm. These were definitely not normal citizens!
Especially the one in the white mask, the eyes that glanced at them brought chills easily…
At that moment, the group saw Wu Siyu, who had gained her mobility, charge towards the group of mysterious people. She shouted excitedly, “Kangaroo!”
“Hey!” Lou Xiaoning called after her. Why was the normally lazy Siyu acting so strangely? They still had no idea whether the group was friend or foe. Cai Zixuan’s heart twitched. ‘Has Siyu lost her mind?’ No one knew what Siyu meant by that ‘Kangaroo’, well… one did. But to the Phecda members’ relief, the masked man did not harm Wu Siyu. He only looked at her and then at them. The sharp gaze mellowed out and the man said clearly, “Don’t be afraid, we’re friends.”
Why? Why is that voice so familiar? That voice, that tone, the height…
They then saw Wu Siyu grab the man’s arm and then closed her eyes as if to taste it. Then she announced, “Yes, this is the saltiness I’m looking for! It’s the real thing!”
“Ah?!” An impossible thought crossed Cai Zixuan’s mind, his heart rose as his whole body jumped up from the ground, “It, it, it…”
“What?” It hit Lou Xiaoning too. Her left eye widened. “Fuck, really?!”
“Is that him?” Shock appeared on Xue Ba’s face and his bushy beard shuddered. “Ah…”
Yang Ying, Chen Zhaoliang and the other Phecda members were confused by their reactions. Similar confusion was going through Peacock and Kathlyn, how come it felt like the nightmare man knew this group of people in blue and white uniforms.
“Guys, let’s save our friends first.” Nightmare Man regarded Wang Ruoxiang who was on the ground, “Dirty-minded Yu, borrow me your mental power, would you?”
“Of course.” Wu Siyu raised her hand. “But I’ve interacted with the tome, the nature of my power might have changed.”
“No matter, I’ve changed as well.” The nightmare man said, “It’ll only need some getting used to.” Wu Siyu placed her hand on his shoulder, it had been so long since they had physical contact. She resisted the pain from the sharp scalpel and unleashed her mental power. The nightmare man walked forward and drew up another Ancient Seal. The land’s travellers provided him with all they had. This time they felt something different, a new mental power was pouring in, it reacted strongly with the nightmare man’s spirit, it was a good reaction.
“Begone!” The nightmare man waved his right hand and the new Ancient Seal shone gloriously. It flew at incredible speed and landed squarely on Wang Ruoxiang.
“Ah!!” Wang Ruoxiang exploded in a scream that was louder and more maddening than before. Her pretty face was twisted in agony. Under the impact of this Ancient Seal, a yellow spirit was banished out of her body. The spirit dissipated quickly in the open air like it was never there to begin with. The female singing suddenly stopped. The open air arena was thrown into silence for that one moment. Another important part of the ritual had been interrupted.
A few short breaths later, the nightmare man walked forward and swiped up the bloody sword from the ground. His other hand plucked the jewelled crown off Wang Ruoxiang head. With a slice, he chopped the crown into two. “Such trash.”
“Is that so, is that so…” Mr. Wang Erde was still screaming, wrapped in his vision of madness. “I understand, it is so.”
“Ah…” The struggle on Wang Ruoxiang’s face slowly evened out. Her empty eyes slowly returned with spirit. She lifted her head at the masked man but seemed to see through it. She asked, “Gu Jun, is that you…”
Cai Zixuan, Xue Ba, Lou Xiaoning all turned their gaze to the masked man, waiting anxiously too for the answer.
‘Gu Jun?’ The other Phecda members were stunned. Their mission this time was to rescue Gu Jun but wasn’t that a trap… Wasn’t Gu Jun…
“Monitor, it’s me.” The masked man told Wang Ruoxiang before announcing to the rest, “It’s me, Gu Jun, I’m not dead, I’m back.”
A surprised smile carved Wang Ruoxiang’s face but she said with some sarcasm, “Looks like I’ve owed you another life…”
“Ah!” Cai Zixuan screamed with joy. Lou Xiaoning guffawed. Xue Ba clapped the man on his chest. “Ah Jun!”
Wu Siyu sighed out of tiredness. “Finally, time for a good sleep.”
While these people were celebrating, the normal citizens were confused. It was Kathlyn who asked in translation, “Who is Gu Jun?”
The five land’s travellers had their jaws to the floor. Their legs were wavering…
The nightmare man is Gu Jun?
That Gu Jun?
Phecda Hero… Gu Jun?