Swirl of the Root, Endless Sea (3K)

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Several shots struck the exact same spot in succession, and the bulletproof glass soon began to crack.

The man in the trench coat was unwilling to use his ability lightly. Even though many people now said that ever since Mercenary Tao had openly revealed the existence of Ability Users, reincarnators would no longer face such severe punishment for using their abilities in front of ordinary people.

He still did not want to take that risk. Especially since the car in front of him was being driven by Song Xian, East Xia’s hunting dog. Who knew whether the other side had secretly linked to a satellite and might broadcast footage of him using his ability through some hidden camera.

If that happened, he would be dead for sure.

At that moment, Luoshui was curled up inside the car, practically huddled in Bai Cangshu’s arms. Sweat covered her forehead as she stared at the tablet in her hands.

She watched the trench-coated man fire repeatedly before reloading. Her heart pounded faster than it ever had before.

"B-Bai Cangshu, don’t be afraid… We’ll be fine. Master will be back… very soon…"

Luoshui herself did not notice that her voice was trembling slightly. Even the hand touching Bai Cangshu’s back had been soaked with sweat.

Bai Cangshu stared at the ponytailed man crouched before the windshield. The man gave him a very strange feeling, almost like the feeling he had when he saw that long-haired version of himself.

Oh, no. That was not him. That one was Bai Cangshu. He himself was merely a clone.

"Bai Cangshu" curled his lips into his signature mocking smile.

Click.

The sound of the door handle turning made Luoshui’s heart jump. She turned around and saw the door behind Bai Cangshu being opened. She reached out to shut it, only to be pushed back by Bai Cangshu.

"Bai Cangshu, you…"

Luoshui lunged forward, but the door had already shut. Her forehead struck it, leaving her dizzy as she fell back into the car. All she could hear was Bai Cangshu’s clear voice from outside.

"It’s fine, Officer Luo. I’m not the one they’re looking for."

Luoshui did not understand, but Su Qingqiu turned his gaze toward him.

On the other side, the trench-coated man, Ruoyu, had already pressed his pistol against this Bai Cangshu’s forehead, his finger resting on the trigger.

His chest rose and fell violently. The face before him was identical to the Mercenary Tao reported by Korea.

At the thought of how terrifying someone like Mercenary Tao was, Ruoyu instinctively prepared to pull the trigger.

Click!

A slender silver sword jammed the trigger, while a fist was stopped with a muffled thud before him.

Su Qingqiu appeared beside Ruoyu once more as though through Teleportation. One hand used the sword to pin the trigger, while the other caught "Mercenary Tao’s" fist.

"Looks like you noticed it too. I’m not the one you’re looking for."

This Bai Cangshu remained calm. Although the two before him both seemed capable of killing him at any moment, he showed no sign of panic.

That display made Su Qingqiu, who had already understood the truth, click his tongue.

"Then Mercenary Tao’s rise really wasn’t an accident…"

A clone without any enhancements possessed such qualities. That meant Mercenary Tao had already been at this level before entering the space.

The instant Ruoyu had moved to pull the trigger, the clone had immediately turned and thrown a punch at Ruoyu’s throat.

The movement had been decisive, and the force was roughly at the level of a Bing-level reincarnator.

He was an anomaly.

The smile on Su Qingqiu’s face faded slightly. The more talented a monster like Mercenary Tao, one that was difficult to restrain, proved to be, the more unpleasant he found it.

Su Qingqiu was a steadfast Idealist, a Fatalist. He firmly believed that there had to be a reason he possessed talents different from ordinary people.

Before that destined reason appeared, he was willing to protect this world and all those living in peace as much as possible.

"It seems you want to replace him."

With a flick of Su Qingqiu’s right hand, the Silver Stinger Sword vanished, replaced by a cigarette between his lips.

His movements were smooth and swift, like those of a stage magician.

Bai Cangshu’s clone also possessed excellent dynamic vision, yet the other man’s movements felt like a frame-skipping animation. Rather than magic tricks, they seemed more like actual magic.

He guessed at the other man’s ability inwardly, but a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Yes. I’ll tell you where he is hiding in Myanmar. Then you can do what you want to do, while I get what I want."

"A win-win situation, isn’t it?"

Su Qingqiu frowned. This clone had chosen to betray the "original" without hesitation and harbored the ambition to replace him after they killed Mercenary Tao’s original body.

From that, he could see what kind of beast Mercenary Tao’s "original" truly was.

He was so cruel and rational even toward himself.

How could such a beast possibly feel empathy for other lives?

To Mercenary Tao, no matter how many people he killed, he probably would not feel the slightest guilt.

Su Qingqiu’s lips pulled downward. Everyone thought that reincarnator enhanced with Ghost Rider would be Mercenary Tao’s nemesis, but would that really be the case?

A person like that probably would not feel even the slightest guilt for his own crimes.

Su Qingqiu took a hard drag from his cigarette, then finally waved his hand, signaling Ruoyu to put away the gun. He accepted the deal.

When Song Xian drove back to the car after repelling those high-ranking reincarnators, all he saw was Luoshui repeatedly tugging at that student Bai, checking again and again to make sure he was not hurt.

Seeing Song Xian return, Luoshui let out a sigh of relief before saying happily,

"Master! Bai Cangshu is amazing! He actually talked those two guys into leaving!"

Song Xian swept Bai Cangshu with a wary gaze before signaling for the two of them to discuss it after they returned to Yanjing.

He had noticed that those people had not come for him. They were not vicious criminals either, and they had held back considerably during their fight with him.

From Luoshui’s words, he was certain—the group had probably come for Bai Cangshu, but in the end, they seemed to have mistaken their target.

The issue had to wait until he returned to South Heaven Gate headquarters and entered the space for verification.

"Tch, that Mercenary Tao really knows how to enjoy himself. He actually built an entire city for himself!"

Inside several off-road vehicles, reincarnators of all shapes and appearances clicked their tongues as they looked at the new city ahead, which was utterly out of place with this country’s art style.

Someone leaned out of a car window and saw that the city entrance had been built into a gate enclosed by colorful walls. Two words were written prominently above it: Paradise.

Beneath the gate stood a row of heavily armed soldiers. When the off-road vehicles approached the entrance, the soldiers not only failed to stop them, but raised their hands in salute together.

"Honored reincarnators, welcome back to… Paradise~"

Wei Yixiao sat in the back row. Hearing this, he raised his head. The next second, he saw stiff, eerie smiles spread across the soldiers’ faces.

It was as though someone had forcibly pulled their mouths apart, exposing mouths full of yellow teeth.

Jiasu felt slightly uncomfortable and said softly,

"They’re being controlled. That Mercenary Tao probably already knows we’re coming."

As he spoke, Jiasu looked at the vividly decorated gate and the Paradise beyond it. It felt like the gaping maw of a monster.

It was Mercenary Tao’s bloody invitation.

The driver was a balding man with graying temples. He wore a black shirt and had a thin frame.

Too lazy for pointless talk, he simply extended a hand and snapped his fingers.

Bang!

A Blazing White shockwave erupted through the air in an instant.

The entire row of eerie soldiers had their eyes bulge at once. Blackish-red blood poured from their mouths and noses as they collapsed dead.

The off-road vehicles drove directly into Paradise.

Almost at the same time, several black cars filed into the Paradise entrance on the other side. The soldiers at that entrance were burned into charred corpses by black flames.

"Lord Mahakala, Su Qingqiu sent word that he will arrive in half a day. He asks us to delay for as long as possible."

Inside the sedan, black flames burned behind the child clad in a cassock like a great sun.

Rather than arrogantly refusing due to his own strength, he said,

"Tell him that before he arrives, we will attempt to persuade Mercenary Tao to join the Great Sun of Finality."

Mahakala knew that Su Qingqiu was one of the rare reincarnators of the virtue faction. In a battle to surround and kill someone like Mercenary Tao, they needed to recruit as much combat power as possible.

However, whether that group of idiots led by Great Demon would make a move before then was something he could not know.

The clouds in the sky churned wildly. It was as if the weather had suddenly changed because of these reincarnators’ arrival. Dark clouds pressed downward, and the air grew oppressive.

There seemed to be no ordinary people at all in this brand-new city, nor were there any recording devices.

In other words, within this Paradise, reincarnators could use their abilities freely without worrying about triggering the Purge Rules.

Boom!

An explosion erupted from the other side of the city the very next moment, accompanied by the rise of a massive blue barrier. It was obvious that someone had already begun fighting.

Mahakala pressed his palms together, and his body began to float into the sky.

Bai Cangshu did not know how much time had passed. He felt as though he had just undergone an evolution from nothing into something.

It was as though he had been broken down into a paramecium, then gradually evolved back into a human.

Only when he regained consciousness and a sense of self was he able to think again.

"Ha~ Hahaha… Interesting…"

Bai Cangshu opened his eyes. There was nothing before him, but when he closed them, he felt as though he were drifting through an ocean where everything existed.

The density of information was simply too high for him to see clearly.

You have come into contact with · Swirl of the Root (Branch)

This message appeared before him in a form of imprint so profound that it felt as though it had been directly branded onto his retina.

Bai Cangshu gasped for breath and turned around, only to discover that the Vortex of the Heart had vanished.

Even the pink robe he had been wearing had disappeared.

The long hair behind Bai Cangshu’s head whipped about rapidly, while his heartbeat abruptly vanished without a trace.

The second stage of Limit Break Spiral was fully activated. Not only that, he frantically pushed that Spiral Power upward.

Mad greed transformed into a thirst for knowledge, a pursuit of truth, a craving for every cause and every effect.

His hair swiftly began to turn white, and his life force started to drain away.

Yet at the same time, Bai Cangshu’s Limiter, which had reached 6% activation, once more forcibly drove the evolution of his life force.

Pfft!

As though his flesh were collapsing, Bai Cangshu saw a large number of tumor-like mutations appear across his body almost instantly.

They were the result of excessive life force manifesting within him.

The Limiter’s effect had been enhanced here…

Bai Cangshu closed his eyes and began trying his other abilities. Immediately afterward, he felt endless answers and information flood into his mind.

It was countless times more powerful than the effect of using the Bodhi Leaf last time. It was as though he were wandering through an ocean of truth.

Even with martial arts, all he needed to do was visualize, and it was as if he could see the realizations that thousands upon thousands of Martial Artists had gained over their entire lives.

I want to see… I want to see everything clearly!

Bai Cangshu’s pupils began to change. Without realizing it, he started practicing one ability after another.

Specialty · Basic Footwork Specialization level increased. Current: Level 8

Specialty · Basic Footwork Specialization level increased. Current: Level 9

Specialty · Fist and Foot Specialization level increased. Current: Lv7

You may choose one advancement direction...

Ability · Shun Goku Satsu level increased. Current: Lv2

"Ha, there’s even a place like this…"

Bai Cangshu continued to drift through the void. His body became increasingly transparent, yet he remained utterly unaware.