Eldritch Horror Theatre

In fact, his visitor arrived even faster than expected.

After Fu Qian successfully whipped the arena into a frenzy and pushed his audience reputation to the intensity of boiling oil over blazing fire, an uninvited guest knocked on his door that very night.

Fu Qian opened the door to find an old man in gray standing outside.

"Hello, Mr. Fu."

The visitor was shrouded head to toe in a loose robe. He lacked a single hair, eyebrow, or whisker on his head, and a mysterious smile played across his heavily wrinkled face.

"I am Lu Ming. Do you have time to tour the Archipelago with me?"

Tour the Archipelago?

Fu Qian glanced down at the man's right hand, which was completely concealed beneath a wide sleeve.

Although it was bundled tightly, its shape was noticeably wrong. It most likely wasn't factory original.

Seeing Fu Qian agree so readily, Lu Ming chuckled and immediately turned to lead the way.

A boat was already waiting by the shore. Fu Qian and Lu Ming stepped aboard.

"You displayed tremendous might in the arena today, Mr. Fu. It was quite impressive."

Once they sat down, the boatman began rowing without a word, and Lu Ming spoke first with a pleasant smile.

"Our people were a bit impolite yesterday. I am primarily here today to apologize."

Your people? Fu Qian thought for a moment.

"The Rebirth Club?"

"Exactly. I sent them to invite you, Mr. Fu. I didn't expect things to turn unpleasant."

"I wouldn't call it unpleasant. Just a bit boring."

"Boring?"

Lu Ming looked at him.

"Do you also consider limb grafting a wicked path, Mr. Fu?"

"A question like that could fuel hundreds of debates. It's hard to find a definitive answer."

Fu Qian shook his head.

"Speaking for myself, I find it quite interesting, but it simply doesn't appeal to me."

"Understandable. Your strength is transcendent, Mr. Fu. You don't need to rely on external things like the rest of us."

Lu Ming nodded in understanding. After a few seconds of silence, he threw back his sleeve, revealing the right hand he had kept hidden the entire way.

In truth, it could hardly be called a hand anymore. It looked more like the head of a reptile.

It had no palm and no fingers. Everything below the elbow was completely covered in yellowish-brown scales, terminating in a deformed, elongated beak. Sharp fangs were even visible inside.

Lu Ming extended his arm, aiming at the rolling surface of the water.

The next moment, a bizarre cry echoed out as ghastly green flames spewed forth. They formed a magnificent fan of fire that blanketed a large swath of the water.

The torrent lasted for a few seconds before halting. Residual flames drifted across the water's surface, burning steadily like will-o'-the-wisps.

As expected of a leader. That looks much stronger than what Ji Ping had.

Fu Qian evaluated silently.

Having just shown off his abilities, Lu Ming let out a long sigh.

"People are born different, and that is especially true in this world.

"Some are born with a talent for cultivation, and some awaken abilities as they grow, while the rest remain mediocre for their entire lives.

"In comparison, I believe the existence of limb grafting actually offers a far fairer possibility than things like bloodlines and luck..."

The gliding boat soon arrived near the Central Island. Lu Ming disembarked first, with Fu Qian and the boatman following behind.

The trio quickly skirted around the White Tower until they arrived before a ring-shaped building.

Someone had just introduced this place to him yesterday. It was the legendary Grafting Laboratory, the land of rebirth in the minds of countless people.

Even at night, it remained brightly lit and extraordinarily bustling.

Lu Ming led the way, passing unhindered through one Security Door after another until they reached the depths of the Laboratory.

This was a massive underground space lined from top to bottom with transparent boxes of varying sizes, resembling a subterranean museum.

Except, the items in these display cases were rather horrifying.

Severed hands, eyeballs, tails, wings... A dazzling array of bizarrely shaped body parts filled the room.

"This is the Laboratory's Materials Repository."

Lu Ming stood before it all, spreading his arms wide.

"Through our efforts, every item stored here will eventually meet its true master."

"I understand what you mean."

Seeing the man so intoxicated by his own speech, Fu Qian casually played along.

"Heaven's mandate belongs to the worthy. The original owners of these things were merely the soil used to cultivate them."

"Well said!"

Lu Ming looked at Fu Qian with clear admiration.

"Great minds think alike."

This has nothing to do with great minds. I was just extrapolating based on your tyrannical logic, Fu Qian thought.

"Do you know what the most foolish regulation is?"

Fu Qian's response had piqued Lu Ming's interest, prompting him to ask a new question.

"The upper limit on limb grafting?"

Fu Qian replied after a moment of thought.

This limb-grafting zealot in front of me should absolutely despise that rule.

"Exactly."

A look of disgust crossed Lu Ming's face.

"Rigid and utterly stupid. It serves no purpose other than to shackle a great creation."

"They can be quite rigid in how they do things sometimes."

Fu Qian recalled his several previous encounters with the Night Watchers.

"Actually, I invited you here today primarily for another matter, Mr. Fu."

Seeing that Fu Qian wasn't overly interested in these items, Lu Ming stopped making small talk. He led Fu Qian further inside and opened a uniquely shaped Box.

"Please take a look at this."

This...

The contents made Fu Qian frown.

It was a cluster of tangled tentacles. They varied in length and were a deep, ghostly blue throughout. At that moment, they were still writhing slowly, emitting an indescribable odor.

"We found this while collecting supernatural limbs.

"We've experimented with it many times. After more than one person was devoured by this thing, we unanimously concluded that only a transcendent with formidable strength could possibly control it.

"You must understand that the more powerful a limb is, the higher the requirements it places on the recipient. Otherwise, at best, it will have no effect, and at worst, the host won't be able to withstand the backlash.

"Judging from its current behavior, we believe that if this piece is successfully fused, it would be enough to elevate a transcendent to the Demigod Realm... I wonder if you might be interested, Mr. Fu?"

"That sounds like there's far too much uncertainty involved, doesn't it?"

Fu Qian gave him a look.

"To some extent, yes, but it's high risk, high reward, isn't it?"

Lu Ming stared at Fu Qian. He firmly believed that no transcendent could resist the temptation of advancing to the Demigod Realm.

"High risk, high reward. Is that what you told those dead volunteers, too?"

"Not just them. In fact, we tell that to everyone."

Lu Ming waved a hand behind him.

"We make it unequivocally clear to everyone who accepts limb grafting that everything requires a price. If you don't have that kind of resolve, you shouldn't daydream about transcendent power."

The boatman from earlier stepped forward with head bowed. The figure gently pulled up a sleeve, exposing a left arm.

The slender arm had been cleanly severed just below the shoulder. Grafted beneath the stump was a hairless, razor-sharp claw covered in dark red stripes. It looked utterly hideous.

Wait a minute. Fu Qian's focus, however, was on a completely different detail.

He hadn't noticed it earlier, but now he was looking at this person's short blonde hair.

"Is your sister named Veil?"

Fu Qian took out the blonde woman's pendant and compared it to the photo inside.

"How do you know..."

The Beast Claw Woman snapped her head up, staring at Fu Qian in sheer disbelief.

"Your sister asked me to pass this on to you. She and the rest of your family are extremely worried about you, and they hope you come home soon."

Fu Qian looped the pendant onto her shoulder and relayed Veil's words, considering the message delivered.

"I don't need you telling me what to do!"

Five seconds later, the Beast Claw Woman snapped out of her daze. She snatched the pendant and slammed it heavily onto the ground, her tone suddenly turning vicious.

"I don't care what you say, I'm never going back!"

?

I was just entrusted to deliver an item. What does it matter to me whether you go back or not?

"Your choice has nothing to do with me, but this impolite tone of yours..."

Fu Qian looked at the rebellious girl with a faint, mocking smile.

"Did my delivering this item give you the illusion that my reputation is set to 'Friendly'?"

The Beast Claw Woman shuddered, suddenly realizing exactly who she was talking to. The color drained from her face.

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