Chapter 38: Divine Paths Retreat

In the vast wind and snow, a black trench coat walked slowly forward.

Black boots left footprint after footprint in the snow, and blood dripped from the hem of the coat, dotting the snow like a fine, long red thread.

*Click—click—click!*

The spark of a flint ignited a cigarette. He took a deep drag of the harsh smoke and exhaled slowly...

"Cleaned up most of them, just a few stragglers left... Let’s finish this in one go this time." He muttered to himself.

On the hem of his blood-stained coat, four silver patterns shimmered faintly.

Just then, in the gray-white firmament, two stars lit up simultaneously, and ethereal divine radiance descended upon the distant courtyard.

Seeing this, his eyebrows arched slightly.

"[Divine Favor]?"

"Judging by the direction, that should be Ma Zhong’s house... Among that group of stragglers, there’s actually a Divine Favored one?"

Just as he was muttering to himself, another star lit up, and a third divine favor poured down...

"Three Divine Paths of favor?" His surprise finally turned into shock. "What kind of monster is this..."

He unconsciously quickened his pace.

The snow swirled, bone-chillingly cold, and the silhouette of the distant courtyard loomed in and out of sight.

One minute,

two minutes,

three minutes...

His brow furrowed tighter and tighter.

No matter how he walked, the courtyard remained hazy and unclear, showing no signs of getting closer... like a mirage in the heavy snow.

Finally, he seemed to notice something and looked back behind him.

At some point, the footprints he had left behind had all vanished.

The cold wind wailed in his ears, and in the vast white world, it felt as if he were the only one left.

"Who’s there?" he said coldly.

His voice dissipated into the swirling snowflakes, as if swallowed by some monster, and an eerie silence hung in the air.

"...Playing tricks." A flash of murderous intent crossed his eyes. His right hand gripped the handle of the gun at his waist, and an invisible domain suddenly expanded!

He closed his eyes, the cigarette in his mouth burning silently, as if he were intently sensing something.

Suddenly, he raised his gun like lightning, aimed at a certain direction to his side, and pulled the trigger without hesitation!

Bang—!

The power of deconstruction tore through the void, shattering all the snowflakes in its path.

At the same time, everything around him seemed to ignite like paper—the earth, the sky, the snowflakes, the silhouette of the distant courtyard... He felt as if he were wrapped in a giant cocoon, and with the sound of the gunshot, the cocoon shattered!

The sense of unreality around him receded like a tide, and the distant courtyard became clear once again.

"Oh?" A soft sound of surprise came from beside the trajectory of the bullet.

He turned to look and saw a boy with a white paper mask covering his face, half-squatting in the snow. The boy held a tree branch in one hand, his eyes peering through the crudely cut holes in the paper, looking at him in surprise.

In the snow in front of the boy was a large circle drawn with the branch, and the man was now trapped in the center of this circle.

Except, where he had fired his shot, a gap had been opened in the circle.

"I thought it would take you a few more minutes to figure it out." The boy shrugged. "Looks like I underestimated you... truly worthy of being a legendary genius Enforcer."

"Who are you?"

Han Meng stared at him, frowning. He could feel that the aura on this boy was even stronger than his own; he must have already stepped into the fifth stage!

But he was already twenty-five... The boy in front of him looked at most fifteen or sixteen!

A fifth-stage at fifteen or sixteen?

He had never heard of such a genius in the Aurora Domain.

"I’ve already covered my face, and you still want me to tell you who I am?" The boy pointed to the white paper on his face. Then, seemingly feeling it was hard to breathe, he casually poked another hole where his nose would be and continued gloomily,

"You’re getting on in years, why is your brain so slow?"

Han Meng’s face turned livid instantly.

"Do you know what crime you’ll be judged for by obstructing an Enforcer in the line of duty?"

"Enforcer? Are they that impressive?"

The boy chuckled, and with the hand holding the branch, he drew a square pattern on the snow. A square frame instantly appeared beneath Han Meng’s feet, trapping him inside.

"When you can walk out of that, I’ll admit you’re somewhat impressive... maybe one-tenth as impressive as me." A smile appeared on the boy’s face beneath the paper.

Han Meng looked down. At some point, a giant playing card had appeared in the snow beneath his feet...

[Club 8]

The moment he saw the face of the card, Han Meng’s pupils contracted sharply as if he had realized something.

"...Twilight Society?!"

……

In the courtyard.

Chen Ling stared blankly at the third star that had lit up, his eyes filled with confusion.

He didn't recognize this star, nor did he know why he could attract it... If killing triggered the gaze of the "Path of the War God," then why did the other two paths come?

Chen Ling couldn't figure it out, so he simply stopped trying. For him, choosing which Divine Path to step onto was the problem he had to face now.

As long as he stepped onto a Divine Path, he could master extraordinary power... Perhaps one day, he could rely on his own strength to get rid of the "Audience"!

A person couldn't step onto multiple Divine Paths at once, just as one couldn't be split in two to walk two different roads. Chen Ling looked at the three paths and made his decision with almost no hesitation... After all, among the three, he only recognized the "Path of the War God."

Moreover, Han Meng’s [Killing Waltz] had left such a deep impression on him that he even felt the "Path of the War God" might be the most combat-oriented of all the Divine Paths.

Just as he was about to choose the "Path of the War God," an unexpected change occurred!

In the void behind him, pairs of scarlet eyes suddenly opened, like a writhing sea of shadows!

The "Audience" began to interfere with the performance!

*Thump—thump—thump—thump—*

In the theater, countless "Audience" members watching the performance began to stomp the floor simultaneously, the dull roar sounding like endless thunder!

Countless gazes were cast from the theater toward the three stars in the firmament. At this moment, "Extinction"-level power dissipated along with the scarlet eyes, like an invisible, intangible super-beast roaring silently at the three stars!!

They were rejecting the Divine Paths;

they were intimidating the Divine Paths!

The next moment, the three stars in the firmament began to tremble violently!

The divine radiance enveloping Chen Ling shattered inch by inch, like a heavenly road beginning to collapse from the very bottom...

The Divine Paths were afraid.

They saw the monster behind Chen Ling. The paths that had originally favored him now feared his existence. They didn't want that monster to step onto their roads... just as no one would invite a tiger to be a guest in their home.

And so, they severed their own paths and retreated.

The three divine radiances covering Chen Ling shattered, and the paths to godhood quickly receded. At this moment, both Chen Ling and the people present, like Qian Fan and the others, were stunned...