Chapter 120

The beast-transformed elder lunged down, his claws slashing to tear the kneeling Xiang Jianxing into shreds.

Yet he felt no warm blood splashing against him, no resilient tear of muscle fibers, no sweet outburst of dreams.

He gained only emptiness.

Have I lost my original heart? Have I lost the pleasure of being the predator?

After a brief moment of self-doubt, the elder discovered the reason.

What he had torn apart was not Xiang Jianxing's body, but a paper doll covered in talismans.

The afterimage of Xiang Jianxing's body dissolved, then reformed—he appeared above the elder.

Xiang Jianxing formed a sword seal and coldly shouted: "Exterminate the demon!"

The flying sword before him became a streak of light, descending from above, piercing straight toward the elder.

As a noble flying sword, it has three advantages over ordinary cold weapons: first, its attack range is greater—a sword immortal can sever a head from a hundred li away; second, its sword techniques are endlessly variable, freed from human constraints, making its movements harder to predict and angles more treacherous.

Third, it is the "flying" part—flying means speed.

In all martial arts under heaven, speed is invincible.

Xiang Jianxing's move was so fast that by the time you saw the swordlight, you were already pierced through.

The beast-transformed elder was swift in speed and reaction, yet he could only raise his arms to block with his flesh.

Yet how could flesh and blood withstand the sharpness of a flying sword?

The flying sword effortlessly pierced through both arms, its blade sinking flush to the hilt into the elder's chest; moments later, a dull explosion echoed from within him, and crimson Extermination Fire surged from the wound, engulfing the elder.

Earlier, the elder had sought to make Xiang Jianxing's inspiration run wild, to roast Xiang Jianxing's brain with inspiration fire; now, Xiang Jianxing used Extermination Fire to ignite the elder—turning his own method against him.

The elder, engulfed in flames, looked up at Xiang Jianxing, who had launched the attack, his eyes filled with relief.

So the attack missed earlier—that scared me! I thought I'd lost interest in devouring dreams.

The misunderstanding resolved, the elder closed his eyes with a relaxed expression.

Wu Chang, who had watched the entire battle, couldn't help clicking his tongue.

After the Quiet Town, he had assumed Xiang Jianxing was just a lucky no-name who'd stumbled upon a hidden class—empty reputation.

But now that the threat of inspiration runaway was gone and he'd returned to his comfort zone, Xiang Jianxing's combat power could only be described as terrifying.

That flying sword strike was so fast Wu Chang couldn't react at all—he could only faintly sense the sword's movement through inspiration.

Even if his inspiration could register it, his agility stat simply didn't support any defense.

If he and the elder swapped places, the result would be identical—he'd be slain in one strike.

Even if he used every item, every ability he possessed, he couldn't survive Xiang Jianxing's attack.

After crushing the Quiet Town with his Whale Transformation, he'd grown arrogant, believing that stacking power to three digits would let him walk freely in the Wasteland Realm, crushing any demon cultist or Big Four organization.

He could grab them all and instantly refine them.

If the Abyss hadn't had four layers, he'd already been puffing a cigar, wearing sunglasses and a gold chain, ready to trigger his MVP animation.

Xiang Jianxing's sword strike was like a slap to his inflated ego—it knocked his cigar and sunglasses flying, and even snapped his gold chain.

Calm now, Wu Chang reevaluated the combat power of the Big Four organizations, and solidified his resolve to remain hidden for now.

He still had to keep lying low.

Xiang Jianxing may look impressive, but in the Bureau, he's merely a promising new recruit.

In the Bureau, who among those who've entered the Abyss's second or even third layer isn't a prodigy nurtured by the inner circle? After leaving the Quiet Town, Zhao Yan privately told him: Xiang Jianxing accompanied the lecture tour to Wanghai and planned to stay to train a few people—only because some high-ranking person gave an order.

Even a prodigy cultivated by the Bureau himself is treated this way—what chance does an outsider like me have?

As a scallion, a D-rank waste, even if I display B-rank or A-rank talent, it's a lucky bonus worth nurturing; even if I have a temper or am hard to command, I'm still a free gain—tolerated.

But if I join the Bureau as a mysterious new recruit, then what I do or don't do will be dictated by the greater good—I won't have a choice.

Though I see potential in the Bureau, I aspire to be a partner or an honorary advisor—not a dog for some faction upstairs.

On the other side, Xiang Jianxing, sheathing his flying sword, had no idea Wu Chang had already turned him into a cautionary tale, believing that in the eyes of the elite, he was merely a lowly lackey to be ordered about.

Xiang Jianxing picked up the mask dropped by the dead elder and said to Wu Chang:

"The system notified me—I've also received the blessing of a Minor Miracle and become a Miracle Committee member."

Wu Chang snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. "So no special kill is needed—just eliminate a Miracle Committee member to inherit their identity."

Xiang Jianxing put on the mask and asked: "How did you know he was suspicious?"

When they first entered the Special Wish Hall, Wu Chang had signaled Xiang Jianxing—while the elder wasn't looking—to warn him something was wrong, to proceed with caution.

That signal from Wu Chang allowed Xiang Jianxing to activate the paper doll in advance, dodging the elder's ambush.

The reason was simple: the moment Wu Chang entered, he saw seven or eight strands of resentment hanging from the elder.

The owners of those resentments included powerful veteran seekers—all caught off-guard, killed by the same method.

As a competent villain, the elder had the classic villain flaw: he talked too much.

He loved to slowly explain what had happened to his prey as they neared death, watching their bodies writhe in pain while their minds sank into despair.

Because of this, Wu Chang had gained unusually rich intelligence from the resentments.

From the start, there was never any such thing as facing the Great Miracle and making another wish.

Those who entered the Special Wish Hall were never reserves of Miracle Committee members—they were their food.

They used special methods to make the prey's inspiration run wild during their wish, causing the wild inspiration to fuse with the wish; under the Special Wish Hall's influence, the wish would materialize.

The materialized wish was the finest food for the Miracle Committee members.

Fulfilling the dream was merely bait—cultivating pure wish energy through the bait, then harvesting it as food, was the Miracle Committee's true goal.

No one truly believes in free pies—someone forcing you to wish, then fulfilling it?

Of course, he couldn't say this directly to Xiang Jianxing—he had to phrase it differently.

Wu Chang put on a troubled expression. "I'm not sure if there's a connection, but you know—I used a wish to kill a Miracle Committee member and inherited his identity."

"After entering this room, I sensed a malice—a malice directed at wishes—so I warned you. Now you're a Miracle Committee member too—can't you feel it?"

Xiang Jianxing closed his eyes and carefully sensed according to Wu Chang's method. After a while, he opened his eyes, shook his head, and said, "I can't feel anything."

Wu Chang: "That's really strange."

Although Xiang Jianxing had questions, now was not the time to get bogged down in trivial details. The two connected with Shi Ning and briefly described what had happened at the Miracle Committee headquarters.

Based on Xiang Jianxing's experience, Shi Ning keenly perceived the true purpose of the Miracle Committee's harvesting of wish-power.

Coordinating with Wu Chang's seemingly casual mention during his description of events — that when taking the elevator down to the underground, he had felt the summons of the Great Miracle — Shi Ning quickly made his decision.

He had the two of them head underground to uncover the true face of the Great Miracle.

(End of this chapter)