I Am Your Natural Enemy

Unless one is overwhelmingly stronger than Li Ming, otherwise, when the gap in rank isn’t significant, whoever kills him becomes Li Ming’s character for the second run.

When everything goes smoothly, all he needs to do is find an opponent slightly stronger than himself—but not by much—then die at their hands.

Even beings of different races can be possessed, so different race → human → different race, if this cycle continues, upgrades will definitely be extremely fast.

It just depends on the situation; this guy’s upgrade process might not go so smoothly.

However, there’s also a strong possibility that he’s aiming to infiltrate the Scorching Sun Department.

The upgrade path he wants—there’s nothing more suitable than to use the Scorching Sun Department as a springboard.

Besides, the Scorching Sun Department gathers people from all over, but, notably, there aren’t any figures at the Old Celestial Master’s level. Here, as long as you manage to get a foothold and upgrade into the ranks of the experts, it might not even take a year.

Wen Yan left quietly, never showing himself.

He followed the Nether Path back home and made a call to the General Director through a secure line.

”Maybe, we can’t wait the ten-odd days anymore.”

”Something’s happened?”

”I’ve found the third one, but things have gotten complicated.”

”Try to explain. The line I gave you is very secure.”

”The third target has shifted already—he’s now transferred into a Fierce Ghost.

If nothing unexpected happens, tomorrow he’ll probably transfer into Ox-Head.”

”A Fierce Ghost without consciousness, and also one who’s harmed people, even harmed members of the Scorching Sun Department.”

”If Ox-Head encounters him and there’s strong resistance, Ox-Head would never hold back.”

”In a case like this, if Ox-Head goes easy, that would be truly abnormal—not right at all.”

Hearing Wen Yan say this, the General Director immediately responded.

”What’s your plan?”

”My thought? Doing it all within a day is way too rushed.”

”But the upside is, he hasn’t experienced anything that comes after.”

”I need to confirm one thing first.”

Wen Yan didn’t make a decision yet; he felt it was too risky to gamble, and it would completely expose his hand.

”Follow your own judgment. None of us know as much as you do—we’ll cooperate.”

”If you decide to play it safe, then tomorrow, something of higher priority will be arranged to move Ox-Head elsewhere.”

”That Fierce Ghost you mentioned, I checked—it’s bound in place.”

”As long as that area is locked down, it won’t cause any trouble for the time being.”

”I’ll check it out first.”

”Alright.”

After hanging up, the General Director glanced at the Old Celestial Master sitting across from him.

”Any thoughts, Old Celestial Master?”

The Old Celestial Master set down a piece of antiqued tortoise shell and pushed it back in front of the General Director.

”The issue could be huge, or it could be minor. It might be a stroke of fortune, or it could be a tribulation.”

”In the end, those who tamper with fate or toy with time will never meet a good end.”

”No matter what, a decision must be made and this matter settled before the end of the year.”

”Next year... I’m afraid a real calamity is coming.”

”I’ve already sensed it. Just me holding down Cloud Sea isn’t much use anymore.”

”Have you all made up your minds?”

”News from the outside world is already being gradually released.”

”It’s all a setup for what comes after.”

”Since last year, selection processes have started in various places. Martial training truly is the most universal defense.”

”As long as there’s enough meat, eggs, and milk, everyone’s constitution improves. Add to that relocation and gathering together.”

”With large populations converging, the sheer human presence alone is already the best kind of defense.”

”As long as you’ve made preparations.”

”Don’t you want to ask Wen Yan about this situation?”

”Why ask?” the Old Celestial Master shot back.

”You’re right, I was overthinking.” The General Director smiled and nodded.

”He has nothing wrong with him. My advice: learn to be a little more tolerant.” The Old Celestial Master stared seriously at the General Director and said this deliberately.

”I really didn’t mean anything by it...” The General Director forced a bitter smile, anxiously explaining.

The Old Celestial Master shook his head, turned around, and vanished.

Both of them could tell, something’s off with Wen Yan too.

The Old Celestial Master knew best, but he never asked, nor did he care how Wen Yan came to possess all that knowledge.

He simply verified that Wen Yan could be trusted, and that was enough.

At the edge of Cloud Sea, the Old Celestial Master opened his eyes and extended a hand.

Power began to circulate along his arm, the trajectory identical to Wen Yan’s right arm.

He savored the change, heaving a long sigh.

”The gap between people really is enormous.”

He had noticed it at first sight: there was something off about Wen Yan’s power.

The kind of flow that was utterly natural, filled with a harmonious beauty, seamless and perfect.

Just from seeing that, he guessed Wen Yan might also possess some sort of reset ability.

Now that he’d tried to sense it for himself, he understood: for Wen Yan to carve out this path, God knows how many times he’s danced on the edge of death.

If such a reset really exists, perhaps Wen Yan has died countless times by now.

There’s no shortcut—only by putting your life on the line can you carve out this result.

One mistake—at best, a surge of power, at worst, sudden death.

Just this one arm, even if everything goes smoothly, would take hundreds of tries.

Just seeing this, he never again wanted to ask ”why”; nor did he want to know how Wen Yan got that information.

He doesn’t believe for a second that someone capable of blazing a path on their own would ever stray.

Wen Yan kept silent, so the Old Celestial Master made it clear to the General Director: You’re not allowed to ask either.

The Old Celestial Master truly believes Wen Yan is blazing a brand new path—one that might benefit others as well.

The Old Celestial Master began a ritual at his altar, grasped a ritual banner in his right hand. The power route from his right arm to his right hand perfectly mirrored Wen Yan’s; after the altar was set, he used a Finger Print to hold the banner, made some minute adjustments, and drew all the power together as one.

The Old Celestial Master waved the little banner, and instantly, within Cloud Sea, the clouds boiled and twisted. Bolts of lightning rippled outward like a spreading spiderweb, and in just a few seconds, the whole sea was utterly calm.

The Old Celestial Master’s expression showed an unmistakable shock he couldn’t hide.

On the other side, Wen Yan returned home, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

He checked the mini-map—Little Mustache was already resting at the hotel.

So he shadowboxed in the backyard. His entire right arm, except for the very last spot on his hand, was complete.

Once he managed that very last spot, he felt things might change in a way he couldn’t predict.

At dawn the next day, the marker on his mini-map began to move—and had entered the expressway.

The records showed Little Mustache was headed for the Qinling Mountains, and had booked a hotel at Chencang State.

Wen Yan sharpened his focus, instantly calculating the position and time, then got Feng Wei to take him for a stakeout further ahead.

Wearing his Dark Night Amulet, he hid on a slope not far from a toll station, quietly waiting for his target to arrive.

He was still unsure—should he try to delay everything until the next checkpoint to save a backup, or should he solve everything in one go in a little over a day? He’d have to observe one more time to know for sure.