Eldritch Horror Theatre

A deathly silence fell over the area.

Everyone stared at Chen Xing, who was splattered in blood.

Moments ago, he had looked imposing and majestic in his fine clothes.

Now, forced to kill his own son with his bare hands, his complexion was completely ashen. In an instant, he seemed to have withered into a frail old man in his twilight years.

"Chief Yuan, I will take my people and head back."

After a long silence, Chen Xing slowly looked up at Yuan Shan. His voice was hoarse and heavy.

"I will leave... Mingda's body here."

"Alright."

Yuan Shan nodded without saying another word.

At least Chen Xing still understood where the boundaries lay.

After speaking, Chen Xing bent over again and looked at the headless corpse sprawled beside him, his eyes filled with profound grief.

Right then, a sudden change occurred.

Amid a wave of gasps, a slender strip of bloody flesh shot from Chen Mingda's swollen, severed neck like lightning.

In the blink of an eye, the fleshy tendril wrapped tightly around Chen Xing's neck.

"Father."

Chen Mingda's voice rang out once more.

"Are you just going to abandon me here!"

Countless fine tentacles rapidly split from the surface of the fleshy strip constricting Chen Xing. They frantically extended in all directions, trying to burrow into his body.

Taken entirely by surprise, Chen Xing was instantly entangled.

Yet, he showed no signs of panic. He didn't even struggle. He simply stared fixedly at Chen Mingda's corpse, his expression completely devoid of the will to live.

Huh?

In the distance, Yuan Shan was just about to intervene when she noticed something and paused.

A moment later, an eerie distortion rippled through the air around Chen Xing.

Everything seemed to freeze. The bloody tendril instantly stiffened like stone, devoid of even the slightest movement.

Huh?

Standing off to the side, Fu Qian narrowed his eyes.

Half-kneeling on the ground, Chen Xing gave off an indescribably eerie vibe, looking just like a lifeless puppet.

Yet, one could clearly sense that the intensity of his aura was skyrocketing.

In the very next moment, the countless tentacles wrapped around his head and face instantly crumbled to dust.

And it wasn't over. This disintegration continuously cascaded outward, tracing in reverse all the way back to Chen Mingda's corpse.

Amid a shrill, agonizing scream, the corpse began to slowly dissolve into ash.

This is—!

Everyone stared at the scene before them in utter disbelief.

Chen Xing rose to his feet once more. His eyes were devoid of both joy and sorrow, and his body radiated an indescribably mysterious aura.

A Demigod?

A single thought rose in everyone's minds.

He advanced?

Under the extreme emotional pressure of losing his son, had Chen Xing actually broken through his bottleneck and directly advanced to the legendary Demigod Realm?

As the initial shock faded, the Chen Clan members who realized what had just happened could hardly suppress their excitement.

The Chen Family hadn't produced a Demigod in years... No one understood the value of a Demigod better than they did.

For the Chen Family, this was a monumental blessing.

Even if the price had been somewhat steep.

"Interesting."

Right before Chen Mingda's body completely disintegrated, the voice let out that one last remark, then faded away entirely.

Sigh.

Not far away, Fu Qian shook his head.

He had kept his eyes glued to Chen Mingda's corpse the entire time, but even as it turned to ash, he still hadn't spotted anything that could be the Blood of Thorns.

"Congratulations."

Yuan Shan let out a long breath and spoke softly to Chen Xing.

Chen Xing looked down at his own body, then at the spot where Chen Mingda had completely dissolved. His gaze was complex.

After a long while, he gave Yuan Shan a slight nod. Without even a word of greeting to the rest of the Chen Clan, he walked straight off into the distance.

He left the group standing there, feeling somewhat lost.

After hesitating for a moment, the Chen Clan members quickly hurried after him.

Nothing remained of Chen Mingda's corpse, but Poker Face still ordered his men to cordon off the area.

After staring at Henrik's corpse for a long time, Yuan Shan glanced around and walked over to Fu Qian.

"I owe you my thanks. Consider the grudge between us wiped clean."

It was obvious that Henrik being proven innocent had taken a huge weight off her shoulders.

Because of Henrik's earlier actions, Yuan Shan had indeed harbored suspicions about Chen Mingda, but unfortunately, she hadn't had any proof.

But she hadn't expected Fu Qian to just step right up and attack him, completely disregarding the consequences.

Judging from his past behavior, she knew this guy didn't do things by the book, but she still hadn't expected him to be this audacious.

Earlier, she had even been trying to figure out how to clean up the aftermath.

Sometimes, having someone willing to break the rules wasn't such a bad thing.

"Sounds good."

Fu Qian nodded casually.

The grudge Yuan Shan mentioned obviously referred to his breaking into the Base at night.

'Who is this guy?'

Hearing their exchange, the way the surrounding crowd looked at him completely changed.

He looked so young, yet he actually had a grudge with a Demigod?

And wasn't he acting a bit too arrogant when talking to her?

Everyone's attention had been focused on Chen Xing just a moment ago, but now, the group recalled Fu Qian's insane stunt.

Without a shred of evidence, he had attacked without hesitation, using some bizarre method to force Chen Mingda into revealing his true form.

And he seemed to have a tacit agreement with Yuan Shan. While he was committing the assault, Yuan Shan had helped him block Chen Xing.

Did this mysterious expert owe Yuan Shan a favor and had come specifically to help? Were his actions just now under Yuan Shan's orders?

Given their conversation, this was the subconscious conclusion most of the onlookers reached.

The crowd looked at Fu Qian with growing wariness.

"Are you sure you won't consider joining the Night Watchers?"

Yuan Shan asked again with a smile.

"No thanks. If you ever need help again, I can provide my services for a fee."

Fu Qian replied.

"Then do you want to head back to the Base together?"

"No thanks. You'll definitely be busy, so I won't get in your way."

"True. I have a mountain of reports to write, and I still need to organize the hunt for the Origin Council. Given their style, they've most likely already slipped away. But aren't you going to pick up Wen Li?"

"Why would I go pick up Wen Li?"

Fu Qian gave her a strange look.

"I'm not her bodyguard. Besides, the crisis is already resolved."

"In Shangjing, I'm just someone who runs The Bookstore."

...

Fine!

Seeing that Fu Qian was resolute, Yuan Shan didn't waste any more breath. She waved her hand and led most of the people away.

Poker Face and his men finished cleaning up the remains on the ground. Before leaving, he cast a bewildered look at Fu Qian.

He simply couldn't figure out when this guy had reached such a tacit understanding with Yuan Shan.

Soon, Fu Qian was the only one left.

Alright! The competitor was taken care of. The mission had officially begun.

Fu Qian stared in the direction the Night Watchers had left, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

This trip seemed to have yielded nothing, but in reality, he had gained quite a lot.

After proving Henrik's innocence, Yuan Shan had undoubtedly pinned the entire issue on the Origin Council.

Although they would investigate, it would most likely just add another mark to the organization's record of crimes, followed by standard operations.

Moreover, it was obvious that she wasn't overly fixated on the missing Blood of Thorns.

Under these circumstances, he could finally act without restraint.

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