[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-ring-of-fate":3,"chapter-the-ring-of-fate-the-ring-of-fate-chapter-60":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Ring of Fate",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2298029,4496,"Chapter 60: Again (Monthly Vote Request)","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-60",60,"\u003Cp>The Noodle Man danced again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi used this to confirm that the mysterious dance truly could prevent the black thorn symbol on his chest from fully activating—meaning the pattern appeared, but the terrifying sound was nearly absent, reduced to just a faint, unreal whisper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was an immense advantage for his use of the dream’s “special” quality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet at the same time, he noticed two problems:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, the Noodle Man’s dance moves were extremely difficult, some even violating human anatomy; only a creature as unnaturally flexible as it—seeming to have no bones or fascia—could perform them. Lu Mi, though a Unique and a “Hunter” with greatly enhanced physicality, had zero confidence in himself, convinced that attempting to complete even one full round would result in torn ligaments, strained muscles, or possibly even broken bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second, the mysterious dance seemed genuinely capable of stirring surrounding natural forces, carrying an uncanny resonance, so much so that after memorizing it for a while, Lu Mi found his spirituality drained severely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After this third viewing, I need to go back and rest,” Lu Mi sighed silently, watching the Noodle Man begin its “Mystic Dance” for the third time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Hunter’s spirituality really isn’t up to the task!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And after today’s events, he was nearly certain the hidden entity corresponding to the thorn symbol was closely tied to this dream ruin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here was the same black mark as on the parish priest’s chest, and here was a dancing monster capable of triggering the thorn symbol—how could it possibly have nothing to do with that hidden entity?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of the identical symbol on the parish priest’s chest, and of how the dream ruin had restarted alongside reality, trapped in a cycle, Lu Mi grew even more convinced of Aurora’s guess:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep within here might lie the key to breaking the cycle—even if not the whole key, at least a vital part of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So that’s why the mysterious woman kept hinting for me to unravel the secrets of the dream ruin? Lu Mi thought, growing angrier by the second. He raised his left hand—the one not holding the axe—and made a vulgar gesture toward the black thorn symbol on his chest: “F**k you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t care whether he’d anger it. First, he had no idea if the hidden entity could even sense or see him; second, he was already trapped in its time loop, and everyone around him was stranger and more dangerous than the last—how much worse could things get?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After watching the dance a third time, Lu Mi rubbed his hollow-feeling head, endured the faint warmth on his chest, and retraced his steps out of the ruin, returning home on the other side of the wilderness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just before leaving the dream, he tried to solidify the dance moves he’d memorized—and nearly wrenched his lower back, snapped the ligaments in his knee, and tore the muscles along his inner calf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shit, this isn’t something a normal human could ever do!” Lu Mi cursed, collapsing onto his bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his spirituality severely depleted and exhaustion profound, he fell into unconsciousness almost instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Lu Mi woke, dawn was just breaking; the sun had not yet risen, and the red moon had lost its glow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sat up slowly, feeling the deep satisfaction of restorative sleep—his drained spirituality had been perfectly replenished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Walking to the window, Lu Mi pulled back the curtain, letting the morning light flood into the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next instant, his gaze froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That creature—bigger than a normal owl—had reappeared on the elm tree nearby, watching him from above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi snapped back to awareness and opened his mouth:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Aurora! Aurora!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Quick, the suspect’s here!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Follow it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the shout, the owl spread its wings and flew toward the village’s edge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It flew lower and lower, soon vanishing into the woods at the edge of Kordu Village.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several seconds later, Aurora entered Lu Mi’s bedroom, clad in a white silk nightgown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She asked, her face full of annoyance:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That owl?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes,” Lu Mi said, staring out the window. “Did ‘White Paper’ follow it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurora tugged at her golden hair and growled:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why does it always show up at this godforsaken hour?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I was sound asleep, you woke me up, and I hadn’t even released ‘White Paper’ yet when it flew off.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Didn’t you say you couldn’t sleep well because you had things on your mind?” Lu Mi replied instinctively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurora gave him a withering look:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Chronic poor sleep affects your mental state and triggers signs of loss of control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“People always start out tense, anxious, afraid—but after a while, they grow numb. Only proper sleep keeps you clear-headed and rational.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’ll just have to wait for next time…” Lu Mi sighed regretfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurora thought for a moment:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s summarize the pattern of its appearances. We can’t just sit by a stump waiting for rabbits to run into it—and we need rest too; we can’t watch it constantly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi recalled the previous times:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Always between the late night and early morning…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But why that time?” Aurora pressed further. “That’s just a pattern of occurrence, not a true rule. Think carefully: during the nights it appeared, or rather, during the first half of those nights, what did you do? Did you repeat the same actions?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I was exploring the dream ruin…” Lu Mi didn’t hide anything from his sister, recalling: “Before its first appearance, I killed the first monster in the dream; before the second, I’d used meditation to activate the symbol on my chest and discovered my own ‘special’ trait; the third time, I ingested a potion in the dream and became a ‘Hunter’; the fourth time—today—I found a way to partially trigger the dream’s ‘special’ quality with minimal harm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What way?” Aurora blurted out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi recounted everything about the Noodle Man and its dance, and his own attempts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurora listened while thinking about the owl; when he finished, she considered carefully:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The owl’s visits seem tied to major breakthroughs you’ve made in your dream exploration…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huh… Lu Mi recalled the sequence, his eyes slowly brightening:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“First time killing a monster, first time revealing my ‘special’ trait, first time ingesting a potion and stepping onto the path of the Unique, first time finding a way to use that ‘special’ quality…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Similar major breakthroughs in reality also trigger some reaction—the owl noticed, came to observe? Hah, it smelled something.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurora hummed in agreement:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“From now on, we can deliberately create similar opportunities and see if we can catch the owl.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I think its next appearance will be when I’ve mastered that mysterious dance and can truly use the ‘special’ quality from the symbol on my chest,” Lu Mi mused, a malicious smile forming. “Next time, I’ll tell you before I enter the dream—you get ready.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurora thought for a moment, then nodded:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I hope we can at least begin to figure out which entity the owl is connected to, and what role it plays in Kordu’s anomalies…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi asked casually:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Aurora, uh, sister—do you know anything about that dance?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You know, I’m still illiterate in the occult.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurora pulled up a chair before Lu Mi’s wooden desk and sat down, thinking for a while before speaking:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A few notebooks mention that in ancient times—specifically the early Fifth Era and the entire Fourth Era—there were grand ceremonial magics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These rituals involved not only massive offerings but also many participants who performed special dances to please the target entity and gain its response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In fact, from the very beginning, dance was widely believed to influence nature and communicate with deities, functioning similarly to the combination of occult language with herbs and essential oils.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the world where Aurora and Lu Mi lived, history was divided into five eras: the First Era was the Chaos Era, the Second was called the Dark Era, the Third the Cataclysm Era—but Aurora had once heard from a pen pal that this was also known as the Radiant Era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Fourth Era was the Age of Gods, or the Era of Deities; the Fifth Era was the present, beginning 1,358 years ago, called the Iron Age.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The history of the first three eras was lost, surviving only as myths and legends; fragments of the Fourth Era occasionally surfaced in texts, records, notebooks, ruins, tombs, and ancient cities—but overall, its history remained shrouded in mist, visible only as a faint outline, thanks largely to the theological texts of the Seven Churches, which frequently referenced stories from the Fourth Era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing his sister’s explanation, Lu Mi immediately formed a hypothesis:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Noodle Man dances to please the hidden entity corresponding to the thorn symbol, hoping for a response or blessing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is its ritual incomplete, so the effect is terrible? Or is the dream ruin itself flawed, causing failure—only able to stir a fraction of the power hidden within my symbol?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hah, it’s as if I were the god—seeing the Noodle Man’s dance, being pleased, and deciding to activate the symbol as a response.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in reality, this was entirely beyond Lu Mi’s control—an automatic reaction of the thorn symbol itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurora smiled:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re more like the vessel of the symbol—a kind of tool.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She paused, then mused:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I suspect this dance was specifically invented to please or communicate with the hidden entity tied to the thorn symbol—otherwise, why would even a mere symbol react?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And according to your description, this isn’t something a normal person could do; only a Unique with special enhancements could perform it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But I know the names and basic details of all Sequence 9 and Sequence 8 paths—none of them match this dance. And the Noodle Man doesn’t seem like a higher-sequence being—if it were, you’d never have escaped.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Maybe it’s outside the twenty-two paths—a blessing from some hidden entity?” Lu Mi recalled the mysterious woman’s words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurora glanced out the window and pressed her lips together:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could this be related to the ‘Man in the Ring’? Equal to Sequence 9 or Sequence 8 power?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Probably,” Lu Mi suddenly laughed. “I’ll name it: Sequence 9 of the ‘Man in the Ring’—the Noodle Man!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurora couldn’t help but glance upward at the ceiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a while of discussion, the siblings went downstairs for breakfast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After studying Hermes at around ten, Lu Mi took his essential tools and stepped outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: Requesting monthly votes~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1731,"2026-06-20T06:22:34.374Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","6dc6a1786d429930e0ca362ade37d91a13d0fa24d3ae52ad65712e7113d4e026","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-61","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-59",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-ring-of-fate-cover.jpg"]