Eldritch Horror Theatre

A deathly gloom hung heavy.

Following another exchange between Laywoman Tooth-Throat and Laurie, the team's morale on the other end of the connection plummeted once more, settling into a pervasive sense of mourning.

Everything came with pros and cons.

While extreme teamwork greatly boosted their chances of survival, the price was that a single bad apple could drag the entire group down.

Watching this unfold, Fu Qian could easily understand their frustration.

Their reaction also confirmed that the group lacked any way to sever their connection remotely.

Though judging from their earlier words, an exit mechanism did exist.

Before evacuating Shangjing, they had likely held a heated debate over whether to simply dispose of Jiang En to stop the rogue element from ruining the team's cohesion, only for Laywoman Tooth-Throat to veto the idea.

Of course, there had to be another underlying factor: with Fu Qian having tipped off Chief Yuan, the Night Watchers had reacted far too quickly, leaving the Greed Worms with no time to linger.

In short, that special exit mechanism allowed them to truly commit to severing one's wrist to survive without jeopardizing the rest of the group.

In fact, A Wei had already demonstrated a similar move after being banished to Unseen Hill.

While he didn't know the exact details of the Greed Worms' version, Fu Qian guessed it relied on Jiang En being executed.

The reason was simple: if there were a way to exit unscathed—regardless of whether it crippled their future advancement on the Transcendent Tier path—someone would have undoubtedly opted to cut and run from this mess by now.

Yet while morale had hit freezing point, the team's structure showed no signs of collapsing.

...

The Greed Worms' dilemma was twofold. On one hand, their newest member was steadfastly bleeding himself dry—and by extension, everyone else—with no end in sight.

On the other hand, Laurie, one of their veterans, faced a constant, looming threat of death.

It was a true disaster from top to bottom.

"A talent Jiang En himself doesn't know about?"

While Fu Qian was deeply empathizing with their plight, Wen Li seemed to struggle to understand his previous comment.

"Yeah. For instance, the drain he's putting on them hasn't lessened at all."

Fu Qian gestured toward the door.

"Huh?"

Wen Li looked genuinely surprised.

"But the decline in his life force seems to have slowed down. I thought..."

"You thought his wounds healed a bit?"

Fu Qian shook his head.

"Unfortunately, Brother Jiang En didn't leave himself an out. But as the saying goes, until you push yourself to the limit, you'll never realize someone else is out there carrying the burden for you."

"...Then should we keep waiting?"

Though the remark about carrying the burden was nonsensical, Wen Li seemed to finally grasp what he meant by 'talent.'

For some mysterious reason, Jiang En was lasting far longer than he had any right to.

There was no way such resilience came for free, but at this moment, it was undeniably helping him push his limits.

"Let's give him one more minute."

Answering her question, Fu Qian rubbed his chin, giving the matter serious thought before providing an exact timeframe.

"His body can still hold on, but his mind is nearing its breaking point."

He wasn't just talking nonsense; Fu Qian could clearly sense a trace of instability creeping into Jiang En's willpower.

The only thing more terrifying than facing death was waiting for it.

In a sense, the ordeal Jiang En was enduring was even worse than that of Old Man Laurie, who might use Meteor Escape at any second.

Without a deeper philosophical anchor, relying purely on his drive for a comeback, simply holding on this long was already a monumental feat.

How did the saying go? The more profound the ultimate art, the more philosophy is needed to temper it.

The core philosophy of the Seventy-Two Shaolin Ultimate Arts truly does not deceive me.

"Alright."

Though she couldn't sense those minute details, Wen Li clearly wasn't going to question Fu Qian's judgment. She even took a half-step back as she spoke, ensuring she wouldn't get in the way of his next move.

Though she was overthinking things.

"Done."

A moment later, there was no heaven-splitting sword strike, nor did he vanish to deliver a ghostly blow. Mr. Fu hadn't moved an inch when he turned back and spoke.

...

He wasn't just pulling a prank on a kid. In that very instant, two of the hardest pieces in Northern Jiang En's body had ceased to exist.

"A high Rank attack to shatter the anchor of his will"—from the very beginning, Fu Qian had already decided exactly how to fulfill this ritual requirement.

Given his overall policy of doing good deeds without leaving a name, there was no better tool for the job than his Calamity Authority.

Normally, without transforming into the King of the Abandoned Prison, directly applying the Calamity Authority had a rather one-dimensional effect, manifesting merely as amplified damage.

However, as his earlier test on Laywoman Tooth-Throat had proven, the effect wasn't nearly so restricted against a will that had perceived the Emblem of the King of the Abandoned Prison and its name, thereby forming a certain connection.

Ignorance truly was bliss.

For a moment, Fu Qian even thought of the Blindsight he had already expended.

In short, he had just repeated his old trick, directly detonating the teeth that anchored Brother Jiang En's will.

As for why it was two teeth?

That was exactly why he had judged the man's willpower to be nearing its limit—the locked anchor point of his will had already grown unstable.

As for the result...

"It really changed."

Prompted by his words, Wen Li had immediately sensed the room behind the door, verifying the result in clear surprise.

Jiang En's aura was rapidly transforming in that very instant.

They didn't even need to worry about him overhearing their conversation, because at the exact same time, a beastly howl ripped through the air.

It was an expression of pure emotion—a mix of crushing loss and overwhelming relief, fiercely infectious.

And it certainly wasn't from a toothache. Having one's most steadfast willpower and hardest bones simultaneously ripped to shreds in an instant—the resulting sensation could well be imagined.

But that was the very essence of this ritual.

Fu Qian was also entirely confident that the euphoria of a successful advancement would provide Jiang En with more than enough psychological fortitude to find a suitable excuse for that bizarre sensation.

"Let's go."

Having no intention of sticking around to share in the joy, Fu Qian motioned to Wen Li, and together they departed to hide achievements and fame.

...

"The Jiang Clan probably suffered the biggest loss this time. They poured so much into him, only for Jiang En to advance right after they abandoned him."

High noon had passed. On the journey back, Wen Li clearly found this little lunch-break interlude amusing, voicing her thoughts as they walked.

She was absolutely right. Having finally claimed this fortune through his own unyielding effort, the Jiang En who had succeeded in defying the heavens and altering destiny would never credit his clan for his success.

Even if he was mature enough to avoid any return of the Dragon King antics and opted for mutual benefit instead, he would absolutely fight to maximize his freedom from the clan's control.

But that was fine. Every loss comes with a gain.

While the Jiang Clan had thrown away a winning hand, Jiang En was far from the only one who benefited.

"What is going on?!"

Through the connection belonging to the King of the Abandoned Prison, a chorus of pleasantly surprised voices began ringing out in rapid succession.

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