Chapter 30: You Are My Faith (XI)

When the people in the other group heard their companion shout out “King level apostle,” they were all alarmed, speedily taking out their weapons and staring vigilantly at Shang Ke’s group.

When the man who identified Shang Ke saw that Tylor and the others were indifferent, he once again spoke loudly, “You guys don’t believe me? I saw with my own eyes how this man killed my fourteen companions at Red Cloud Wasteland. It was only after staking my life that I could luckily escape.”

Red Cloud Wasteland? Shang Ke searched through the original’s memories, and there did seem to be something like that. The only difference was that this person hadn’t even “staked his life” before escaping without a trace.

Everyone looked toward Shang Ke, with a pale face and gentle appearance. His brows contained a bit of weariness, but his eyes were kind, and he was completely calm.

Tylor stood by his side, his gaze cold.

The other people also had indifferent expressions, with no reaction toward that person’s words.

“Sire has probably mistaken the wrong person.” Kaiser spoke with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “This person is our companion. There’s no way he is a King level apostle.”

“Even if you don’t believe me, you should at least verify it first.”

“Verify?” Youri smiled as he said, “You’re suspicious that he is  a King level apostle, but I think you guys look more the part.”

Their gazes were all slack and their spirits clearly weren’t good, a clear sign of being invaded by the devil qi. Compared to them, Shang Ke’s group was full of vigor, and their minds were also clear. Shang Ke alone bore the negative influence brought upon by the devil qi, so his body was exceptionally weak. His group was not so bad as to be unable to distinguish whether or not his weakness was a pretense.

That person stared at them, stunned. He did not dare to believe that they actually did not have any suspicions against someone he had identified as a dangerous King level apostle.

“Have you all been brainwashed? To actually believe in a King level apostle?” That person shouted agitatedly, “Take care or you won’t even know how you died.”

“We will not trouble Sire. Please go.” Tylor coldly saw them out, and did not plan to continue talking to them.

“No way!” That person roared, “He is the murderer that killed my companions. I can’t just let him off like this!”

“What do you want to do?” Tylor asked.

“Kill him to take revenge for my companions!” That person brandished his weapon with a cruel glint in his eyes.

The people beside him also a.s.sumed fighting postures.

Shang Ke really wanted to remind them of what the purpose of their journey was and where they were. In this abyss thick with devil qi, any gap in their hearts would be magnified without end. If their faith wasn’t firm enough, they could be swallowed by the darkness at any moment.

“Don’t do anything,” Shang Ke pulled Tylor’s hand and whispered, “Most of the people in this group have been invaded by the devil qi, and any kind of stimulation may cause them to fall into madness. If we could dispel the devil qi in their bodies…”

“You just stay here obediently.” Tylor gave him a severe glance, ordering, “You’re not allowed to help other people absorb devil qi as you wish.”

“Shang Ke, you just need to worry about taking care of your child. Leave the rest to us,” Kaiser added from the side.

“That’s right, Shang Ke, you should take a good rest. Those people who are slandering you are not worthy of you saving them,” the others spoke in agreement.

Shang Ke: “……”

A “villain” who had managed to make everyone believe he was the Holy Mother, it was a rather amazing accomplishment when you thought about it…

In fact, he did not plan to save others rashly. After all, his energy was limited. If he continued to help others absorb devil qi, then his body would be unable to bear it. He needed to leave at least one last breath in his body until the end in order to seal the Devil’s Tree with Kaiser and the others.

However, Tylor and the others seemed to believe that, so long as it was a person, he would give his life to save them.

Both sides quarreled for a time, and in the end, they still fought.

Shang Ke held Pupu and quietly spectated the fight while under his companions’ protection.

At that moment, a hidden arrow suddenly shot out, going straight for Shang Ke’s vitals.

“Shang Ke!” Tylor and Kaiser both shouted.

Shang Ke had the original’s memories. Although he was not as nimble as before, his body still dodged on reflex, allowing the danger to bypa.s.s his vitals. The arrow instead hit his arm, the blood immediately dying his sleeve red.

Shang Ke couldn’t help but secretly curse. He would be attacked even while just standing on the sidelines, just which G.o.d did he offend?

Tylor’s eyes focused on the direction the arrow came from and his sword flew from his hand, shooting into an area of the forest. A man fell out of a tree with a groan. Tylor’s figure disappeared, appearing beside the man in an instant. He picked the man up and smashed him hard against the tree, before dragging him before the others.

The battle had already finished, with only the wounded left on the ground, crying out in pain.

Kaiser and the others did not leave behind any major injuries. They had not planned to kill them in the first place, but just wanted to teach them a lesson.

However, when they saw that Shang Ke was injured, they were all very indignant. After Tylor dragged the sneak attacker back, a couple of them immediately rushed up to beat him up more.

“How is he?” Tylor crouched by Shang Ke’s side and asked the doctor.

The doctor answered as he cut open Shang Ke’s sleeve, “So long as the would is handled appropriately, it shouldn’t be much trouble.”

Tylor saw Shang Ke’s furrowed brows and pale face as he leaned weakly  Kaiser’s shoulder, a couple beads of sweat dripping and dampening his hair.

“Ah, what is this?” the doctor suddenly exclaimed.

Everyone’s looked over and saw that, on the arm dyed with blood, there was the faint image of a flower tattoo. The color was both deep and light, the petals unfurling in layers and extending all the way to his chest. Like a gorgeous blaze, it seemed to twist and burn on his fair skin, beautiful enough to render people breathless.

“My G.o.d, I have never seen such a beautiful tattoo before.”

“What, what? Let me see! Let me see!”

His upper body bare, Shang Ke suffered the inhuman feeling of being gawked at. Even the doctor had forgotten what he was supposed to be doing.

This group of bored people, was there a need to make a fuss over a tattoo?

Shang Ke raised his eyes to look at the doctor, powerlessly asking, “Doctor Abe, can you pull out the arrow?”

The doctor met Shang Ke’s languid and somewhat misty eyes, and immediately shouted madly in his heart, No, don’t look at me like that! My hand is going to shake!

Shouldn’t an injured person look weak, pale, and pathetic, with dispirited eyes and their expression twisted in pain? Then, why was this man still such a beautiful evildoer? This simply did not conform to common sense, alright?

Tylor’s face sank, and he wished he could immediately wrap Shang Ke up so that he wouldn’t be defiled by this group of people’s gazes.

With great difficulty, the doctor calmed his mind and began to take care of Shang Ke’s wound seriously.

Pulling out the arrow, staunching the blood, and wrapping his arm, everything was done smoothly.

After he finished dressing the wound, Tylor draped a robe over Shang Ke’s shoulders, easily taking him from Kaiser’s embrace and bundling him tightly.

Kaiser felt a bit upset when he saw Shang Ke being held so carefully by Tylor.

Right at this moment, a miserable scream came from behind.

Everyone looked towards the sound’s origin, and saw that one of the wounded originally lying on the ground had suddenly gotten up and raised his dagger to stab the chest of one of his companions.

Soon after, a couple more people staggered up and began to crazily attack the people near them.

They were invaded by the devil qi!

The same thought appeared in everyone’s mind as they watched in bewilderment as the group of people killed each other.

“Big Brother!” the archer who had been caught shouted and struggled to move toward the chaotic crowd.

“Philippine, don’t come over here!” A man yelled back as he dodged throughout the crowd.

The archer was held down by Tylor’s men. Unable to throw them off, he could only watch as his older brother was trapped in a dangerous situation.

Philippine? Shang Ke’s mind jolted when he heard this name. Wasn’t he one of the seven warriors?

“I beg you guys, please save my brother.” Philippine looked at Shang Ke and the others with a pleading gaze.

“Hmph, they reap what they sow. Why should we save them?” Most of them felt this way.

Shang Ke looked toward Tylor, and didn’t even have the chance to speak before Tylor spoke, “We can stop them from killing each other, but they have to deal with the devil qi on their bodies themselves.”

Shang Ke fell silent before agreeing, “Then let’s stop them from killing each other first.”

Tylor turned to look at Quincy.

In a short period of time, all the people who had went crazy were subdued.

“Brother, brother.” Someone dragged Philippine’s older brother over and threw him in front of him.

Philippine rushed to his side and was about to check on him when the other suddenly opened his eyes, his hand going straight for Philippine.

“Be careful!” Philippine did not manage to protect himself in time and was clawed, with several lines of blood appearing on his face.

“Brother!” Philippine stared at his brother in disbelief. He was normal just a moment ago, but in the blink of an eye, he had been invaded by the devil qi.

A couple people went forward to hold Philippine’s older brother down.

Philippine looked at his deranged older brother with an expression of anguish as he cried out, “Brother, brother!”

Philippine’s brother wailed in pain, his expression extremely twisted.

“Tsk, don’t tell me this entire group has been invaded by the devil qi?” Youri spoke with a frown.

Shang Ke looked at the dozen or so unconscious people. The marsh abyss was far more terrifying than what everyone had imagined, especially since it was their first attempt at sealing the Devil’s Tree. Those who had came to the innermost part of the marsh were almost completely wiped out.

“No, my big brother wouldn’t be invaded by the devil qi!” Philippine once again rushed to his brother and held his shoulders, shouting, “Brother, brother, wake up! Use your power to dispel the devil qi, you can surely do it.”

Philippine’s older brother turned a deaf ear to his pleas and he continued to yell and struggle.

Philippine’s tears flowed as he called out, “Big brother, I beg of you, don’t give up! We said that we were going to bring home glory together. Brother…”

Philippine’s brother seemed to become clear-headed for a moment, but he very quickly descended back into madness.

“Brother, brother!”

Everyone couldn’t help but feel sympathetic for the boy at the scene.

Just when Philippine was about to despair, a hand suddenly stretched over and overlapped his on his brother’s shoulder.

“Shang Ke, what are you doing?” Tylor held his waist, wanting to pull him back.

“It’s just one person.” Shang Ke looked back at Tylor. “It’ll be fine.”

“He was the one who shot the arrow that hurt you!”

“It’s fine, I believe it wasn’t on purpose.” Your mom, it wasn’t on purpose! That arrow was aimed at his heart!

Shang Ke wore a smile, but he was cursing angrily in his heart.

Tylor gazed at him for a while before finally releasing his hand. Since this was his choice, then he could only respect it. His only bottom line was that he had to ensure his own safety.

Philippine did not understand and stared in confusion at Shang Ke, until he noticed that the devil qi in his brother’s body was slowly flowing toward Shang Ke. Astonished, he finally understood what was happening.

He was actually absorbing the devil qi from his brother’s body?

No, not only his brother’s, but also that within himself!

With their hands together on Philippine’s brother’s shoulder, large quant.i.ties of devil qi were absorbed into Shang Ke’s body.

Philippine stared at the traces of devil qi that were flowing out of his body. He had not expected himself to have also been invaded by the devil qi.

He was looked at Shang Ke with a shocked expression. Because Shang Ke was absorbing the devil qi, his complexion paled, with traces of black gas flowing from his eyes. His lips were a captivating blood red, and his robe had slipped off his shoulder, exposing his upper body. The flower from before, the Flaming Red Sky, had appeared once again before their eyes, causing his pale face to look even more devilishly charming. The wound that had been properly bandaged began to show traces of blood, dying the white gauze red.

The traces of blood stabbed into Tylor’s eyes, and his gaze turned terrifyingly dark.

Didn’t he say it would be just one person? Why did it turn into two now?

This liar!

After a while, Shang Ke finally finished absorbing the devil qi and his body went limp, falling into arms that had been ready for him since long ago.

Philippine gazed deeply at the weakened Shang Ke. In his eyes was grat.i.tude, some guilt, and other complex feelings.

He supported his brother and spoke in a barely audible voice, “Thank you. And, I’m sorry.”

Tylor picked Shang Ke up and carried him to the carriage in one fell swoop.

No one stuck around, and before long they had taken the Philippine brothers along and continued on to their destination.

Philippine’s brother had already returned to normal, and beside his mental state being slightly tired, his body was fine.

No one wanted to pay attention to them, but because they knew the way, they had to be taken along.

On the way to their destination, there were people who mocked and ridiculed them from time to time. However, the Philippine brothers never retorted.

They laughed at Philippine, his brother, and their group for being too weak-willed, and being so easily invaded by devil qi.

Philippine fell silent for a while before suddenly saying, “We originally had five groups, with two hundred people altogether.”

“What?” Everyone was flabbergasted.

Philippine continued, “After we entered the marsh abyss, everyone began to be invaded by the devil qi. Some went crazy, some killed themselves, and some turned into apostles. Among them were countless famous experts. In four days time, we experienced a terrifying rain of blood and despair, until we met you guys. In the end, we only had thirty something people left struggling at death’s door.”

Everyone had expressions of shock and disbelief.

Philippine looked at them, his tone lifeless as he continued, “Why do you think you guys have been able to get to this point so smoothly? It was not because you guys are stronger than us, but because you have someone with you who is capable of taking all of your nightmares.”

Everyone fell silent, turning as one to look towards where Shang Ke sat in the carriage.

While they were indulging in self-satisfaction, who knew just how many crises that person had silently resolved for them…

Chapter 31: You Are My Faith (XII)

Shang Ke leaned against the soft blanket and closed his eyes to rest. His wound had been rebandaged and he had changed into a robe. The front was slightly open, allowing the Flaming Red Sky to be seen faintly. A couple strands of hair flowed down, scattering across the blanket.

Tylor held some of the strands in his hands and suddenly spoke, “Shang Ke, after we seal the tree, live with me, alright? Let me take care of you.”

Shang Ke opened his eyes and looked at his serious expression before speaking with a smile, “I can take care of myself.”

“You know what I mean.” Tylor’s gaze was full of devotion, a faint fire flickering in the depths of his eyes.

“Tylor, you best not forget, you are a prince.” Shang Ke said as he looked down at Pupu, who had fallen asleep on his stomach.

“I already renounced my inheritance right when I had come of age, and I am now just an ordinary member of the imperial family.” Tylor’s tone was cautious as he continued, “I may be unable to allow you to flaunt your status openly, but I vow to only be loyal to you for my entire life.”

Shang Ke’s heart was touched. This man seemed to fall for him every time. He obviously didn’t have any memories of the past worlds, but he could always find him among the crowd of other people and single him out, and give him his heart.

Ignoring both gender and ident.i.ty, he was so focused on his feelings that it made it difficult to resist him.

Shang Ke knew that his heart was already touched by him and he really wanted to love him without worry. However, before his third mission ends, he was unable to promise him anything.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t promise you.” A delicious meal had been placed in front of the ravenous him, but he could only ruthlessly reject it.

“Is it because of my ident.i.ty, or my gender?” Tylor’s gaze swept past his eyes, lips, jaw, Adam’s apple, and collarbone, one by one.

“No,” Shang Ke replied, “It’s because of my ident.i.ty, and my gender.” As someone specialized in dying, he felt that he first had to throw off the sc.u.m man called “Death G.o.d” before he could dip a finger into the promising young man. (Death G.o.d: A sc.u.m man? Want to try and see whether I will kill you right now?)

“You can’t change your ident.i.ty.” Tylor held Shang Ke’s chin and hooked a hand on his waist before whispering by his ear, “But gender, perhaps we can overcome that.”

The moment after his words fell, a burning hot tongue replaced it to explore his ear, sucking it.

“Don’t move.” Tylor curbed Shang Ke’s wish to move away, speaking in a husky tone, “Don’t wake up Pupu.”

While Shang Ke hesitated, Tylor’s lips swept past his chin to his Adam’s apple, before continuing down…

“Tylor!” Shang Ke quietly reprimanded the other man, “Stop it before you go too far.”

Tylor raised his head from his chest, his eyes flickering with mirth as his lips quirked in a faint smile, “Shang Ke, it’s not like you feel nothing for me.”

He was already having a hard time resisting, so could he please not seduce him, alright?!

Shang Ke pulled a long face, doing his best to appear sincere.

Tylor laid down beside him and helped him to pull the blanket that had slid to his waist back up, gently speaking, “Don’t worry, even if I want to do something, this isn’t the place for it.”

Shang Ke glanced at him, before leaning back and turning away from Tylor. He went to sleep while holding Pupu.

Tylor watched the two figures sleeping together. He didn’t s.h.i.+ft his gaze for a long, long time…

Kaiser and their group continued on their journey, and on the way, they met several groups. Just like Philippines had said, not a single one was in good condition. Without exception, all of them had been invaded by the devil qi, and it was only in the degree of severity that they differed.

Despite Shang Ke doing his best to treat them, he could only save some of them. In the end, Tylor had no choice but to prohibit him from saving anyone else when he could barely walk.

Five days later, the group had expanded to around sixty people when they finally arrived at the center of the marsh.

Everyone could finally see up close the Devil’s Tree that had disturbed the continent for thousands of years.

The tree was approximately one hundred meters tall, and its trunk around fifty meters wide. Roughly thirty people would be needed to wrap their arms around it. Its branches spread and weaved together far above them like a large umbrella. The tree’s leaves had devil qi condensing and flowing around them, burning like black will-o’-wisps.

Everyone felt as if they had fallen into h.e.l.l, and before their eyes was only darkness. Besides the dense devil qi, there was nothing else.

The Devil’s Tree pressure made breathing difficult for everyone. Their hearts stirred restlessly and their legs froze. They were completely unable to move.

The fear, cold, pain, and pressure… drowned nearly everyone.

They lost their senses and sank into a never-ending nightmare, incapable of resisting.

Of over seventy people, barely two or three people managed to maintain their clarity.

Shang Ke gripped Tylor’s hand and helped to absorb the devil qi within his body. At the same time, he reminded him, “The magic crystal.”

Tylor regained his composure and fished out a transparent crystal from his pocket.

At least three magic crystals were needed to make a boundary.

Shang Ke also helped to absorb Kaiser’s devil qi, and then the horticultural master Sindi–who was the first one to break away from the devil qi invasion out of everyone. The three of them constructed a boundary.

They held the magic crystal and imbued all of their faith within.

Gradually, the magic crystal began to s.h.i.+ne, flickering like a small firefly in the dark.

Under the s.h.i.+ning light, many people returned from their murky states and took out their own magic crystals with difficulty, joining the others in releasing their faith.

Philippines, Max, Amy, Youri… with each crystal lighting up, the rays of faith power became stronger and stronger.

Although Shang Ke only found four of the warriors that had previously sealed the Devil’s Tree, they had found many helpers. Although their powers of faith were incomparable to those of the seven all of them together should be enough to seal it.

However, because of Shang Ke’s protection, most of the people had not undergone the devil qi’s test and built up their resistances. Therefore, after setting foot into the place of the devil qi’s origin, they were very quickly invaded by the devil qi, with the devil qi penetrating deeply.

One after another, they turned into apostles and completely lost their senses, randomly attacking those near them.

In the end, the situation that Shang Ke had worried about the most still happened.

Tylor immediately stopped infusing his faith and told the others, “Kaiser, you guys continue to seal the Devil’s Tree. I’ll be in charge of protecting you guys.”

He took out his weapon and stood in front of Kaiser and the others. At the same time, he also warned Shang Ke, “Stay by my side. Don’t stray too far.”

Shang Ke held Pupu and nodded.

The devil qi invasion spread like the plague, and in just a few minutes, half of the group had been invaded.

Tylor fought four to five people who had gone crazy in an intense battle. The cries of pain, the clash of swords, the angry yells, and so on all jumbled together in the confusion.

Shang Ke took a look around. At present, there were thirteen people who had lit up their magic crystals. Sealing the Devil’s Tree would take five hours. With Tylor and the other’s strength, handling a dozen people should be fine, but regretfully there should be other low level apostles hiding in the darkness. The Devil’s Tree would not allow humanity to seal it.

Even if there weren’t ten thousand devil apostles in the continent, half of that number was quite possible. The number of those in the initial and middle stages of invasion was even less. Although it was impossible for all of them to be recalled by the Devil’s Tree, a couple hundred should still be possible.

They were only a step away from completing the mission. Shang Ke did not want anything to spoil it from happening.

He walked behind Youri and took the harp from his back.

Youri was focused on the magic crystal, and so he did not notice the movement behind him.

Shang Ke held the harp and sat cross-legged. He raised his head to look silently at Tylor, who was locked in combat. Then, he took out a magic crystal and handed it to Pupu, reminding her, “Pupu, don’t let go of this no matter what, alright?”

Pupu grasped the crystal and nodded solemnly.

Shang Ke smiled and rubbed her small head, before placing his fingers on the strings and beginning to play…

Tylor suddenly turned back when he heard the familiar sound of the harp. As expected, he saw Shang Ke holding the harp, playing not too far from him.

“d.a.m.n it!” Rage flashed through his eyes. Was this guy insane? No matter how strong his faith was, absorbing devil qi in its place of origin, it would be impossible to suppress such violent devil qi!

However, at this moment it was no longer possible for him to stop him. There were more and more apostles appearing from all directions, and their situation was becoming increasingly dangerous.

There was a bloodthirsty light in Tylor’s scarlet eyes as he raised his gleaming sword and rushed forward like a ferocious beast. Blood danced around the sword, accompanying the sweet sound of the harp.

Dark tears flowed from Shang Ke’s eyes, and the devil qi twisted around him like black flames. His fair skin had become an even brighter white, his lips were red as blood, and his long hair moved even when there was no wind. He looked like a G.o.d who had descended from h.e.l.l, both devilish and beautiful.

The music carried his power of faith and slowly absorbed the devil qi from everyone else’s body into his own. They formed strips of light in the darkness that flowed to him.

Shang Ke’s eyes were completely enveloped by the darkness, and his hair burned like will-o’-wisps as black tears flowed down his fair face, disappearing into fog as they made contact with the air.

Those who were invaded by the devil qi gradually regained their reason. Those who had long turned into apostles also began to show signs of confusion.

As Tylor and the other’s battle grew on an increasingly larger scale, their disadvantage gradually s.h.i.+fted.

The harp was still being played, sinuous and melodious, fluctuating between higher and lower pitches. The devil qi in its surroundings began to crazily bubble up, colliding intensely with everyone’s condensed powers of faith.

Right at this moment, ten more people suddenly leaped out from the darkness.

Without exception, they were all King level apostles, both quick and strong. Because of their surprise attack, in just a few minutes, three magic crystals no longer shone.

The devil qi within the King level apostles was stable, and the melody from Shang Ke’s harp had a very limited influence on them. The battle once again sank into a critical situation.

Shang Ke slowly raised his eyes, a dark fog rus.h.i.+ng from within. The fingers that were flying over the strings quickly waved and a burst of hurried harp music surged up violently, like a wave.

Shang Ke only had one thought in his mind: even if he dies, he can’t let the sealing fail!

The harp’s power of faith suddenly rose up, going straight for the King level apostles like a hurricane.

They became aware of Shang Ke’s threat, and immediately dispatched a few apostles to deal with him. Tylor immediately moved in front of him, blocking them off with his sword. He refused to allow any of them to take another step closer.

With the pa.s.sage of time, the number of dead bodies littering the ground grew increasingly. The scent of blood filled the air, but the devil qi has lessened. A light gradually appeared in their dark world.

When the completion of the sealing was within sight, four out of the ten magic crystals suddenly went out.

At least seven types of faith were required to seal the Devil’s Tree. If there were only six, it simply couldn’t be done. The devil qi that had dwindled suddenly surged, almost completely overtaking the remaining six.

Was this the end?

Despair gradually emerged in everyone’s expressions.

No, there was still hope.

Shang Ke’s harp still had not stopped.

Everyone’s gazes followed the sound, and they were shocked to find that Shang Ke’s body was completely wrapped by devil qi. His figure was faint, like a watery reflection. Only the flickering of the harp’s power of faith and those five b.l.o.o.d.y fingers could be seen clearly.

The golden strings were full of blood, while his fingers were badly mangled. But even so, he continued to play without stopping, and the harp sounded just as melodious and emotional as before.

Everyone felt their eyes sour as tears fell. At the present, there was no one in more pain than him.

He hadn’t given up, so how did they have the qualifications to give up?

Everyone once again focused, and the lights of faith shone brighter.

Tylor looked toward Shang Ke, his eyes full of grief. He finally knew what Shang Ke’s faith was.

And that was–Sacrifice!

The more he sacrificed his life, the stronger his faith would become.

This was also the reason why he did not fear the devil qi, because every time he fought, he held the determination to die.

Chapter 32: You Are My Faith (XIII)

Despite everyone doing their best, with one faith missing, it was simply impossible to complete the sealing. The devil qi rushed out like a bursting dam, causing the final people holding fast to their faith to falter.

Tylor had to stop all of the people pouring in to attack them so that everyone could remain safe, and couldn’t get away. The others wanted to help but had no ability to. Their powers of faith weren’t firm enough, and they were unable to light their magic crystals amidst the devil qi.

When they were in imminent danger, a great power of faith shone upon the black cloudy sky like the sun.

Everyone couldn’t help but squint their eyes. The power from before that seemed to have been depleted suddenly revived as if it had vitality poured in. Everyone immediately felt their spirits shake.

Their gazes looked toward the light source, only to see a small girl standing beside Shang Ke, quietly clasping a magic crystal.

White light emanated from her, and her eyes sparkled like precious stones as she stared unblinkingly at the devil qi-covered Shang Ke.

“Daddy.”

Pupu’s young voice pa.s.sed through the dense devil qi and into Shang Ke’s ears.

A pure heart and pure faith.

Pupu was young and held no fear. She called Shang Ke her father, and his care toward her was the source of her happiness.

With innocent love, she didn’t hesitate as her faith for Shang Ke arose.

The devil qi on Shang Ke’s body dispersed, and the sound of the harp stopped.

With seven types of faith, the seal was complete.

Plop, plop… the sound of all ten people standing falling weakly in succession could be heard.

The harp also tumbled from Shang Ke’s hands as his body started to tilt backward.

Pupu rushed over and used her arms to push against Shang Ke’s back, intending to hold him up, but the result was that she almost overwhelmed herself and fell. Thankfully, Tylor arrived quickly enough to hold both of them up.

Seven patterns of varying sizes appeared in the Devil’s Tree’s surroundings, firmly chaining and locking it.

The devil qi that had shrouded the sky gradually scattered, and the blue sky appeared once more before everyone’s eyes.

Tears rose unbidden to everyone’s eyes as bright smiles formed on their faces.

They all had messy hair and dirty faces, and were battered and exhausted, but their moods were like the sky, pure without dirt. They felt as though they had been reborn.

Tylor held Shang Ke and landed a kiss on his forehead. He felt his warmth and felt incredibly happy, like a burden was lifted off of him.

【Congratulations to host for completing the Main Mission–Sealing the Devil’s Tree.】

【Host gloriously survived under the Main Mission. The System presents you five years of detained time.】

Five years? The detained time seemed to grow longer each time.

【If host completes two more near-death missions in this time frame and does not die, then host can choose to stay in the current world and freely live life without restrictions.】

Shang Ke began to contemplate the possibility of agreeing to date Tylor, before the System continued: 【Now releasing additional mission…】

What? So soon?

Shang Ke didn’t even have the chance to hear the mission’s contents when he saw a figure rus.h.i.+ng towards Tylor from behind.

“Be careful!” Shang Ke suddenly stood up, grasping Tylor’s shoulder.

He only heard a ‘puchi’ sound as a sharp sword went through his chest, blood spurting out.

【…Mission 1: Protect Tylor.】

Shang Ke finally understood. The more time the System presented to him, the faster he would die.

“Shang Ke!” Tylor eyes burned red as he stared at Shang Ke within his arms, before raising his head to look toward the attacker. Astonis.h.i.+ngly, it was his close friend since childhood–Quincy!

“Why?” he growled out.

“Hahaha, why?” Quincy crazily laughed. “Because I hate you, I hate you. Why were you born in such a high place while I can forever only be below you, following after you like a b.u.m beetle?”

Quincy’s footsteps staggered, and hate and jealousy filled his eyes as his mouth continued to curse at him without end.

Tylor understood what had happened. He was already invaded by the devil qi. Although the Devil’s Tree has been sealed, but most of those who had been invaded would be unable to recover back to how they were before. Even if they could, it would require a long time.

However, Tylor hadn’t expected that his most trusted friend would become an apostle.

Tylor’s eyes were full of killing intent. He picked up his sword from beside him and viciously stabbed it through Quincy’s heart…

“Shang Ke, hold on.” Tylor held Shang Ke in one arm while he took out medicine from his waist bag with his other.

Shang Ke’s eyes were half closed, blood flowing endlessly from his mouth.

He felt very cold and his body trembled faintly.

“Shang Ke.” Kaiser staggered over and roared angrily at Tylor, “Just how did you protect him?”

Tylor pursed his lips and remained silent, his expression cold and hard as he helped Shang Ke eat the medicine, and his fingers trembling as he helped to treat his wound.

The sharp blade had stabbed through Shang Ke’s body. They were actually quite clear on how Shang Ke was likely unable to hold on much longer.

However, no one was willing to accept this fact.

They did everything they could to save him, constantly calling out his name and pleading for him to hold on.

The Devil’s Tree had been successfully sealed. They were all heroes, and would return in honor and glory.

So, Shang Ke, don’t give up! Don’t leave! Go with them and witness their glory.

Shang Ke’s body grew increasingly cold and he gazed at Tylor, his lips moving ever so slowly as he tried to form words, speaking quietly.

“Shang Ke, what are you saying?” Tylor placed his ear by his lips; however, he could no longer hear his voice. Even his breathing had disappeared.

Tylor’s sight gradually blurred, the monster called “dread” swallowing him whole.

This kind of heart-wrenching pain and despair, it didn’t seem to be the first time it had appeared.

They were about to see the rising sun, the most beautiful dawn, but he disappeared right as dawn approached…

“If I can meet you again in my next life, no matter how difficult it is, I am willing to try with you.”

Those were the last words Shang Ke spoke to Tylor.

He laid in the System s.p.a.ce, absentmindedly listening as the System announced his rewards: 【You have completely one main mission and one additional mission in this world. May Host please receive your reward. Const.i.tution +5 (+7), Memory +10 (+2), Spiritual Power +10 (+5), Beauty +10 (+5), Life Span +2 (+2). You can learn two additional skills.】

“System, I am a bit tired.”

【Host can choose two easy skills to learn in the Hundred Training s.p.a.ce while adjusting your mood.】

“Just how many missions must I complete for me to return to reality?”

【Currently unable to calculate. However, the more worlds you survive perfectly in, the fewer missions you will need to do.】

Survive perfectly? It was easy to say, but in three worlds, he didn’t succeed in even one.

“Can I go back and take a look at the worlds I’ve experienced?” He wanted to know whether the people who worried about him had lived well after he pa.s.sed.

【If you complete all the missions and reach a total of 50% or higher perfect pa.s.ses, then you can use your chance to return to reality, to swap it for an opportunity to go back and rewrite the ending of those worlds.】

Exchanging his chance to return to reality for one to change the endings?

Shang Ke stared blankly, his heart wavering.

However, he regained his spirits a moment later. He had only gone through three worlds. Thinking so much about it was useless right now.

He had the System release his skill choices and found out that a couple of new skills were lit up: “Computers,” “Pick Locking,” “Magic,” and the one he had always wanted to learn, “Martial Arts”!

If he had known martial arts, perhaps he could have protected Tylor while avoiding being hit in a his vitals, and successfully survive.

As such, Shang Ke unhesitatingly chose “Martial Arts.”. Regarding the other skill reward, he hesitated before asking, “System, can I antic.i.p.ate what the next world will be?” If he knew what the next world was, then he could prioritize learning a skill that could help him complete his mission more effectively.

【You cannot.】 The dishonest System gave a negative reply. 【But the System’s Missions are usually released based on difficult and simple modes.】

“Then was the last world regarded as difficult?”

【Yes.】

“So my next world should be a relatively easier one?”

【Yes.】

Shang Ke immediately felt much more relaxed.He looked through the skills before finally choosing “Computers.”

Martial Arts was divided into Primary, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, and Sage levels. At present, he could only learn primary martial arts.

However, the cla.s.sification for Computers was beyond his expectations. There was a single cla.s.sification inside–Hacking. After that was its grade divisions, which were the same as martial arts and divided into Primary, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, and Sage levels. He could currently learn the primary and intermediate levels.

As for magic and pick locking, he was actually rather interested, but his choices were limited, so he could only consider them for next time.

The Hundred Training s.p.a.ce had a simulation for him to gain experience, and he would partic.i.p.ate in real combat drills. It was like playing a game, and although difficult, it was not dry or dull.

This time he had chosen to learn primary martial arts and hacking skills. Shang Ke stayed in the s.p.a.ce for a full fifteen years.

【Preparations are ready, transportation shall begin.】 The System’s voice echoed in the sky.

With a flash of white light, Shang Ke was sent to the next world.

The air was dusty and deathly still. Shang Ke could feel that he was in a very narrow place. His body was curled up, and in his embrace was a child.

The child was trembling nonstop, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath.

Even though he had not been given the System’s information, Shang Ke could roughly guess their current situation. It was clear that they were hiding from some kind of danger.

When the System transmitted the information to him, Shang Ke finally got a clear grasp of their situation.

The name of his current body was “Bruno,” and he was currently age seven. The child in his arms was this world’s main character–Feng Juan.

They had been kidnapped by an international gang specialized in human trafficking. Altogether, a dozen children had been moved abroad and smuggled on sh.o.r.e via boat. Afterward, a child who was slightly older than them had plotted an escape, but it resulted in them being defeated soundly. Half of the children had died tragically, while the remaining ones were all captured back.

He and Feng Juan, the two fishes that had escaped the net, were currently hiding in a supply box from a group of searching headsman.

According to the original plot, the group had quickly found the two’s position. In order to survive, “Bruno” had pushed Feng Juan out before escaping into another block.

Fortunately, the police had received a tip-off, and rushed over to encircle and annihilate the group of smugglers, saving Bruno.

However, despite rescue being so near, Feng Juan’s legs had been broken by the headsmen due to Bruno’s abandonment, and from then on, he became disabled.

After being forced into exile abroad, the Feng Juan who had received both physical and mental harm could not remember his past memories, and so the local police could only place him and Bruno into social welfare. Bruno was adopted not long after, but because of Feng Juan’s disabled body, his nature became violent and easily angered, and his childhood pa.s.sed miserably. Afterward, thanks to a kind couple helping him along with his own efforts and talent, he had started his own project.

When he was twenty-two years old, Feng Juan met his long-lost family and returned home. One year later, he met the Bruno who had caused his legs to become disabled. Bruno had changed his name to “Zino” and became the heir of a powerful family. After Feng Juan found out his ident.i.ty, he began to secretly take revenge, causing him not only to lose his heir qualifications, but also to be expelled from the family.

【Main Mission: Protect Feng Juan until age twenty-two.】