This kind of situation is like rowing upstream—if you do not advance, you fall back. If you approach this matter passively, the other妖命者 are frantically preying and growing stronger. As those妖命者 become even more powerful, their senses sharper and their range of perception ever wider, once they find you, you will be nothing but food, utterly unable to resist—a pitiful fate!

Just as before, whenFrank Eastoncame looking forJason Allen.

In fact,Frank Eastonwas, just as his appearance suggested, truly a favored child of heaven! He was born into a noble family, a genuine member of the imperial clan of the Middle Tang, though from a collateral branch. At the age of nine, he passed the child student exam, even taking first place in the capital, and the essays he wrote were sung and admired in the capital’s entertainment districts (someone who barely made twentieth place at nearly twenty years old, relying on his father’s money, rolled his eyes at this).

After that, his path was even smoother. By chance, he encountered the now world-renownedEaston, and the two exchanged poetry, becoming confidants. Introduced byEaston, he entered the Wude Academy, and in just a month, he successfully passed from the outer circle into the academy’s inner sanctum, receiving true instruction.

It was in the Wude Academy thatFrank Eastondiscovered his identity as a妖命者. In only the second month after his own awakening, he encountered another妖命者 in the process of awakening, much likeJason Allen. This is the most vulnerable time for any妖命者, soFrank Eastonkilled him with ease, and his own talent grew even stronger.

In fact, before meetingJason Allen,Frank Eastonhad already hunted and killed three妖命者! This had clearly boosted his personal talent.

When fighting ghosts, he had already mastered the fierce “Three Virtues Cycle” killing technique. You should know—even the greatEaston, ranked among the Nine Ministers, could only manage a “Four Virtues Cycle” at best. Even more terrifying, his sword speed had reached the “Three-Petal Plum Blossom” level of a martial scholar!

To be honest, such performance could easily be called “monstrous”!

Yet, such a powerfulFrank Eastonfell at the hands ofJason Allen! He encountered the newly awakenedJason Allen, and by a twist of fate,

was utterly, completely defeated!

Although the red round stone that flew away in the end contained one soul and two spirits ofFrank Easton, giving him a chance to rise again, the妖星命格and blood essence of the three妖命者he had previously hunted were all absorbed byJason Allen!

During this year’s Cold Food Festival outing,Frank Eastondrew a fortune stick at the ancestral temple, which read: “Dare to boast of needlework with ten fingers, not to compete in painting long brows.” At the time,Frank Eastonthought it was a metaphor for his outstanding talent, looking down on his peers. But now, these two lines of judgment seem truly incisive!

Because these lines were excerpted from a poem, and the unwritten lines that followed were the real clincher:

“Bitterly resent being pressed by golden thread year after year,”

“Only to make wedding clothes for others!”

***

Pain swept over him like a tidal wave, as if a cigarette had been pressed directly onto his skull, even burning his nerves...Jason Allen’s consciousness rolled in a daze within the vortex of these two sensations, as if in endless torment.

He wanted to vomit but couldn’t, wanted to scream but had no voice! Who knows how long it lasted—suddenly, that familiar hallucination appeared beforeJason Allen’s eyes again. He felt as if he were speeding through clouds and mist, his body unbearably heavy, and then he was plummeting headfirst at high speed, the whole world spinning madly like a kaleidoscope, the huge, hard, pale gray ground rushing up to meet him...

ThenJason Allenwoke up.

Upon waking, he felt as if all the muscles in his body were twisted and knotted together. Even more terrifying, the two spots on his face and head that had been in excruciating pain were now simply numb, as if even if a needle were jabbed in, the muscles wouldn’t react at all. It felt as if the muscles and nerves in those places had simply “gone on strike.”

For a long time afterward,Jason Allenfelt as if his body was tingling as if electrified. Wherever this sensation spread, pain and exhaustion followed. He finally let out a hard-won groan, a sound as if it had been rusted for centuries.

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Chapter 10: Awakening

Jason Allengasped violently, feeling that although the moonlight as gentle as water was gradually fading, it still shone on him, as if warm water soaked in light gauze, soothing and slowly healing his wounds.

After a long while,Jason Allenfinally staggered to his feet, moving like a dying old man, hunched and shuffling. Strangely, though, the wounds on his chest and back had already stopped bleeding and scabbed over. This was thanks to having seized the妖命fortune fromFrank Eastonearlier.

AlthoughJason Allenvery much wanted to keep lying down forever, reason told him that he absolutely could not let anyone see him like this. Even though he didn’t yet know thatFrank Eastonwasn’t dead, he was well aware that compared to his own family, the Wude Academy was a colossal force—if it so much as breathed in his direction, it would spell certain doom.