Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Magician opened two bowls and found no beans inside, pleased that his task was complete. He said, "Brother, hurry up and join the alliance. I’m counting on you to be the Volunteer for the next Assessment Match."
"If I become the Volunteer, no one will pass this challenge," Cui Ming replied as he opened a third bowl, which was also empty. Pointing to the first bowl, Magician lifted it, revealing a single bean at the bottom. In the realm of magicians, he was the strongest; in the realm of cultivation, he was the most versatile.
Magician was satisfied and took out a pen to draw on the map. "There is a small stream flowing from west to east through a valley into a creek. Before entering the valley, this creek passes by a mountain known as Labyrinth Mountain, where a Witch resides. My lover accidentally wandered into Labyrinth Mountain and was captured by the Witch. Due to a shortage of substitutes in the alliance, the scriptwriter has temporarily sent her away. You need to find a way to break through the maze and locate the Witch's dwelling. My lover is there doing chores and cleaning. Once you bring her out of Labyrinth Mountain, everything will be fine. Be careful; there are many scarecrows set up by the Witch guarding Labyrinth Mountain. Well, I must take my leave now; it was nice meeting you all." Magician shook hands with Cui Ming and Mi Xiaonan, then teleported away.
Cui Ming picked up the walkie-talkie. "Calling Ding Ze."
"Received."
"The first card is with you; there's a Labyrinth Mountain located at xx position. Watch out for the scarecrows."
Ding Ze replied, "I know where it is—there's a small hill surrounded by mist."
"Can you determine directions?"
"Isn't there a stream flowing down? I can just follow it," Ding Ze asked. "Is it really that simple?"
"I don't know; just go check it out and call for support if you encounter any problems."
"Okay." Ding Ze ended the call.
At that moment, Beiyue's voice came through the walkie-talkie, asking, "I've spotted some water-dwelling Intelligent Beings. I got into a scuffle with them, and once they entered the water, I couldn't do anything."
"Cui Ming," said, "it's your turn, Mi Xiaonan."
"Got it, Beiyue. I'm on my way." Water? No problem, Mi Xiaonan has electricity. She caught a fish and marked it with six seals before tossing it into the water. Using Ultimate Thunder, she could kill all the fish in this area.
...
Mi Xiaonan left, and only Cui Ming was left wandering around the small town, occasionally drawing a Fate Card to see if there were any Force fluctuations. There was nothing to find now; he could only wait for the question mark to come knocking.
The town was bustling with the Flower Festival parade, and the number of pedestrians began to increase. The Flower Festival involved decorating beautiful girls with lovely flowers. They paraded through the streets. Unfortunately, while they had pretty faces and good figures, they lacked charm... Cui Ming sat by the roadside, admiring the unremarkable beauties. It was like looking for a lover; it wasn't about finding a wife. It didn't matter if they were real or fake, or whether their morals were high or their intelligence low. He casually drew a Fate Card to see if any question marks would appear.
As he drew the Fate Card and glanced at it, Cui Ming was startled. It was a skull, a skull head. This was the second time he had seen a skull head; the first time was in Mote's Stone Mountain hot spring, where he had dreamt of drawing a Fate Card and flipped it over to find a skull. He had tried to change it using dream magic but failed. Upon waking up, he immediately dodged as a large rock crashed into the pool where he had just been.
Seeing the skull head made Cui Ming's entire Force explode. He lunged forward just as a dagger appeared out of nowhere and stabbed into the stone steps where he had just been standing. The dagger struck the steps and began to bounce, hitting one NPC's body before ricocheting off to another NPC's body, instantly causing several NPCs to die on the spot. The other NPCs continued with their parade as if nothing had happened.
Cui Ming grabbed his walkie-talkie and ran: "Ambush! Help!"
As soon as he spoke, he felt a disturbance in the air beside him. A masked Red-Haired Woman appeared at his side, holding daggers in both hands. Cui Ming threw a Black Card at the nearest NPC, swapping places with them in an instant. He looked up twenty meters away to see that NPC being sliced into dozens of pieces within seconds.
So strong! Cui Ming dashed into the crowd of parade-goers while the Red-Haired Woman pursued him relentlessly. A dagger flew toward an NPC's head, and in an instant, the Red-Haired Woman appeared at that location. She stepped onto a flower cart, searching for Cui Ming's whereabouts. However, all she could see were ordinary people's Forces; there was no sign of any cultivators' presence.
What was happening?
Cui Ming wore his Magician outfit for this assessment with purpose; once in the crowd, he activated his concealment ability to mask his Force. He then turned off his walkie-talkie and flicked his cloak to change into white clothing before using his martial arts skill of changing faces to don a mask. Although the mask looked wooden and expressionless, all NPCs appeared identical.
At that moment, the Red-Haired Woman reached an elevated position and surveyed her surroundings. Cui Ming maintained his blank expression while holding a basin of rose petals, mechanically scattering them as he calmly walked past the Masked Red-Haired Woman below him. Not only did she fail to notice him, but she also believed that Cui Ming might have escaped into an inn and leaped inside to chase after the nonexistent Cui Ming.
Cui Ming turned on the walkie-talkie and said, "Red Hair, Masked, weapon is a dagger. The dagger can be thrown and can teleport..."
Ding Ze interrupted, "Dina is coming down personally. Be careful; once hit by the dagger, she can instantly appear right in front of you. Once she appears, she becomes a cutting machine, capable of shredding everything within a ten-meter radius."
Cui Ming asked, "How do we counter this?"
"Don't get hit by the dagger."
"Damn." This method was indeed high-level; there was no arguing with it.
Ding Ze said, "I’m lost in Labyrinth Mountain, Beiyue. How about you guys?"
Beiyue replied, "Cui Ming, hold on for a bit. We're fishing for electric fish and will be back soon, in twenty minutes. Li Qing, can you head back immediately?"
Li Qing responded, "I'm currently having a heart-to-heart with a Mermaid; I need some time to deal with her. This Mermaid lives in Snake Cave Mountain, and I’ve finally lured her out. If I don’t kill her this time, it’ll be much harder next time."
Cui Ming forced a smile. "So the consensus is for me to hold on for twenty minutes?"
Li Qing said, "Dina must have calculated that we wouldn’t have time to come to your aid before appearing. Ding Ze, does Dina have any weaknesses?"
"Strangulation. When she’s in a strangulation state, she’s at her strongest but also her weakest. She has no resistance or ability to counter external attacks," Ding Ze explained. "Cui Ming, it's time for you to enhance your auxiliary skills. Don’t hesitate—go for it! Immobilize her and then throw your cards. Dina is part of the Transformational System; when in strangulation mode, her Force transforms into daggers that fly out. Her defenses drop to their lowest point; even your paper cards can inflict significant damage on her."
"Are you joking?" The theory wasn’t wrong. But Dina could teleport wherever her daggers landed and then strangle... I’m not you; I rely on my two legs to escape. The Yellow Card is ineffective in strangulation mode because closing the door on a thief only prevents them from moving but doesn’t stop them from attacking.
Beiyue said, "Got it! An Intelligent Beings freshwater octopus! We’ll be back soon; Cui Ming, hide well."
"Alright," Cui Ming said. "I'll turn off the intercom for now. When you arrive, Beiyue, make a grand entrance, and I'll know you're here."
With that, Cui Ming switched off the intercom and tucked it into his pocket. A sudden idea struck him, and he quickly turned away from the parade, taking a left toward the east. There was a large estate nearby with a sizable lotus pond, but at this time of year, the lotuses had withered, leaving only a muddy pool. In the center of the muddy water was a small boat. Cui Ming approached the estate and grabbed someone, tying them up. He spoke into the intercom, "Who wants to tell a twenty-minute story?"
Ding Ze asked, "Why?"
"To mess with someone."
"I'll do it. It's all foggy and eerie here; I might as well say a few words to bolster my courage." Ding Ze replied, "Let me start with some anecdotes about famous people..."
Ding Ze had an excellent memory. Cui Ming placed the intercom on the bound person and tossed it onto the small boat. There was Force; there were no obstacles since it was only seven meters away.
...
On South Street in the town stood the Clock Tower, the tallest building in the area. Dina stood atop it, surveying the entire town. Her greatest concern was that Cui Ming had extinguished his Force and was hiding in some corner; if that were the case, she would have no way to deal with him. The thought frustrated her—how could a first ambush possibly fail?
At that moment, flames suddenly erupted to the east, sending thick smoke billowing into the sky. Dina threw her dagger and instantly teleported after it, sprinting across rooftops toward the direction of the fire.
The fire blazed in the middle of the street where a Licorice Cart had been set ablaze. As an examiner, Dina knew NPCs wouldn’t start fires; it had to be Cui Ming who did it. But why would he set a fire? Was it a diversion? Intentionally drawing her to East Town while he slipped away to West Town?
Nearby stood a two-story tile-roofed house belonging to a wealthy family. Dina leaped onto its roof and gazed at the inferno on East Street while scanning the crowd for anyone whose movements differed from those of NPCs.
The wealthy household was eerily quiet when a strange sound reached her ears. Frowning, Dina focused her hearing with Force and then jumped onto a large tree to get a better view of the pond ahead.
In the center of the pond lay a small boat with someone lying on their back inside it. Beneath that person’s body came the sound of an intercom.
It was a trap... The fire lured her in, the intercom drew her closer...
But what kind of trap was it? Just because of Cui Ming alone? Dina could choose not to believe, but she couldn't ignore it. Because if there was even a 10% chance that someone on the ship was Cui Ming, and if Cui Ming was deliberately toying with her, then she would lose face. With that thought, Dina leaped towards the small boat.
Just as she moved, a Yellow Card flew out from the side of the house, striking Dina in mid-air. Her body lost its momentum and was forcibly restrained as she fell into the muddy pit. Dina sneered: So this was the ambush here, meant to make her take a mud bath and embarrass herself. Young man, you are still too inexperienced; if you can't catch me, then I would be the one in trouble.
Dina landed calmly in the muddy water when suddenly a fish jumped up in front of her, and then she felt a massive electric current coursing through her body. Turning her head, she saw wires leading into the water at the edge of the pond.
Well, it turns out that practitioners are not afraid of ordinary electricity. She had always wanted to test it but didn't want to let herself down; it had been on her mind for a while. Cui Ming glanced over, grabbed a chair, and smashed open the window, creating a scene of escape through the window while he extinguished his Force and dove into the wardrobe.
This trick had always worked like a charm.
Comment 0 Comment Count