This ti, the three ritual patterns weren’t separate but nested within one another, making the design far more complex. Even working at a brisk pace, Chen Chuan didn’t finish drawing them until noon the following day.
It required a full day of complete, unwavering concentration and stability, without a single mistake. An ordinary person would never have been able to persevere.
The person—or people—who had arranged the previous Esoteric Ritual likely hadn’t worked alone, but had two or more individuals working in shifts.
Fortunately, he was a Fighter. With the proper preparation, he could sustain a fight for just as long, so this task was nothing special.
Once he was more or less finished, he stood up and took a look. The area, spanning a radius of roughly six ters, was covered in a chaotic and intricate pattern that emanated a bizarre aura. Thick red and deep, ink-black lines swirled within, linking the three patterns together.
An uninitiated observer would feel dizzy just glancing at it. If one were to stare for an extended period, they might even see countless eyes, opening and closing on their own, hidden within the design.
He gave it one more inspection. After confirming there were no issues, he stepped out of the pattern through a space he had left for himself.
Once outside, he checked his watch. It was exactly one in the afternoon. He had finished a little earlier than expected; he’d thought it would take until later.
The exact ti the original Esoteric Ritual was perford was impossible to verify, but such rituals were typically activated within a few hours of midnight. He would wait until then as well.
There was still so ti until then, and he didn’t want to waste it. He took the dicine he carried with him and began practicing his Saber Techniques.
On the surface, his Saber Techniques still looked like the sa few moves, seemingly no different than before. The internal chanics, however, were completely transford. From a single, familiar-looking move, he could now generate entirely opposite applications of Power. Through constant, high-intensity combat, the variations in his Saber Techniques had grown far more subtle and ingenious.
His previous battle with You Xing had given him a true taste of just how tenacious a technique-based master at this level could be.
You Xing’s Power was incredibly versatile—what seed hard was actually soft, what appeared fierce was in fact vicious. Chen Chuan had found it difficult to find an opening to calmly set up any kind of tactical counterattack and had been forced to rely on improvisation.
It was thanks to the foundation laid by his prior offensive and defensive training, coupled with his own Mutated Organization’s ability to rotate and withstand attacks, that he had managed to succeed. That, and the fact his opponent’s Mutated Organization was already damaged. Those factors combined gave him the opening to counterattack and kill You Xing. Otherwise, the fight would have dragged on.
The experience of real combat had been an imnse boon to his own growth. He now had a much deeper understanding of many concepts that had previously felt unclear. Even Teacher Zheng had remarked on his significant improvent over the past few days.
But this was not his limit. Since he was essentially relearning his techniques from the ground up, he still had a massive amount of room for improvent. Once his progress began to slow, he could go take the technique assessnt.
The afternoon flew by. When the sky began to dim, he plunged his Snow Monarch Blade into the ground, sat down on a cushion he had brought, and took out the Raccoon Cat Stone Carving. Holding it in his hands, he used the cryptid’s unsettling presence to help him practice his Breathing Technique.
Several more hours passed in this state. The ti reached ten at night. Moonlight filtered intermittently through the clouds, and the only sound among the ruined walls was the howling of the wind.
He rose from the ground and followed the path he had left open into the center of the ritual pattern. Bending down, he placed the Stone Token on the ground beneath where he stood.
He then picked up his pen and added a final stroke to the innermost ritual pattern. This step was to temporarily release the restraints on the cryptid.
The very mont the stroke was complete, he glimpsed a faint, ethereal shimr appear over his Second Self. Yet, no shriek echoed through the area; instead, there was only silence.
He could feel the cryptid lurking behind him. Having suffered a loss last ti, it seed to have realized he was not to be trifled with and chose not to charge him directly again.
’This cryptid seems to possess so intelligence,’ he thought. ’But perhaps that’s the very reason it was able to be exploited in the first place.’
He paid it no mind. Straightening up, he walked toward the second, outer ritual pattern, seemingly without a shred of defense. Just then, his Second Self showed signs of violent etherealization—for an instant, it seed to have vanished completely.
This was undeniable proof that the cryptid had attacked him. Yet he acted as if he hadn’t noticed a thing, continuing forward until he reached the edge of the outermost pact-forming ritual. He then raised his pen and drew the final stroke.
Then, he tossed the pen aside and looked toward the center of the ritual.
In the very spot where he had just been standing, illuminated by the moonlight filtering through the clouds, the translucent, pearlescent white phantom of a Raccoon Cat materialized. Its body filled the central circle of the ritual perfectly, and its eyes, like orbs of condensed light, were locked onto him.
Chen Chuan calmly t its gaze.
’Now it’s just a matter of whether the cryptid will accept the terms,’ he thought. ’If it refuses, I’ll find a way to keep adding consud ritual patterns to the periphery and continue this war of attrition. It might take a long ti, but I’m confident it will yield in the end.’
Fortunately, it didn’t co to that. As if sensing Chen Chuan’s resolve and knowing it was powerless against him, the cryptid submitted to the Ritual Power of the outermost circle and returned to the Stone Token.
Chen Chuan glanced down at his feet. The pact-forming ritual pattern had completely vanished in a matter of monts, leaving behind only the faintest of traces. This ant the pact had been successfully forged.
He walked into the center and picked up the Stone Token. This was the most ferocious cryptid he had ever encountered, and also the one with the most Spirituality. With it in his possession, he could now launch an invisible counterattack against Zhao Qian.
But there were certain considerations. It was best to make his move when Zhao Qian was away from his base.
Every major corporation had its own resident Domain Creatures. Even if they weren’t active Consciousness Bodies like Pusuo or Hong Fu, they still repelled all foreign anomalous activity.
Take Wuyi, for example. People exhibiting strong anomalous reactions couldn’t even enter. Similarly, any anomalous reaction detected within the Profound Palace Building would be t with a degree of suppression.
And a Fighter at the Third Limit had an incredibly tenacious life force. If the cryptid’s attack was hampered by the Domain’s interference, and if life-saving dicine or personnel were on hand to provide tily treatnt, Zhao Qian might just be saved. Thus, choosing the right mont to strike was crucial.
After stowing the Stone Token, he returned to his car and drove directly to Gao Ming’s apartnt. He had already arranged to et with Gao Ming to discuss their next steps as soon as the ritual was a success.
One Hour later, Chen Chuan was in Gao Ming’s apartnt, where he placed the Stone Token on the table in front of his cousin.
Gao Ming couldn’t help but stare at it for a few extra monts. He knew Chen Chuan was skilled at dealing with cryptids and had even seen items left behind by them before. This, however, was the first ti he had seen a still-active cryptid up close.
He asked, "Cousin, are you confident?"
Chen Chuan said, "I can’t be sure if Zhao Qian has so form of essential protection on him, but this is our most reliable option at the mont. Even if it fails the first ti, we can find another opportunity to try again."
The ritual pact he’d made with the Raccoon Cat was this: as long as he provided an offering, and the cat itself attacked him during the binding, he could then send it to attack a target of his choosing. However, regardless of whether the target was the sa or not, he could only do this once a month.
This restriction wasn’t one he had added; it was an original component of the Old Faith ritual. The reason for it was that after absorbing enough offerings, a cryptid would attempt to break its bonds. The practitioners of the Old Faith had preemptively blocked this possibility through the ritual itself. He agreed with this approach and saw no reason to complicate things by trying to change it.
Gao Ming said, "If that’s the case, Cousin, perhaps we can proceed with our other two plans simultaneously. First, we can have the Processing Bureau put pressure on Lianwei Zhongyu. If that’s enough to take care of Zhao Qian, we won’t need to proceed to the next step. If it isn’t, then we wait for him to leave his headquarters and strike then.
I’ve looked into Zhao Qian’s travel schedule. It’s possible he will personally take part in an escort mission either this month or next. That would be the perfect ti to make our move."
At this, he added a word of caution to Chen Chuan. "In the anti, Cousin, you need to be on your guard. The last assassination attempt failed, but that doesn’t an Zhao Qian has given up. He’s likely investigating the reason for the failure. Once he figures it out, you might face another attack before you have a chance to make your own move."
Chen Chuan nodded. "I’m prepared."
Wubei had been keeping an eye out for anyone tailing him, but so far had found nothing. Besides, he spent most of his ti at either the Profound Palace Building or Teacher Zheng’s ho—in either location, there was no opportunity for an attack.
The only potential window of vulnerability was when he traveled to the Sea Realm Arena. That was when they had struck last ti. However, as long as he was careful, an ambush could be avoided.
Gao Ming said, "Since you’re prepared, Cousin, then tomorrow, I will act in my capacity as your personal Litigation Master and submit a formal complaint to the Processing Bureau. I’ll demand Zhao Qian be arrested and investigated on the grounds of harming a candidate for the Bureau’s Law Enforcer program."
Chen Chuan asked, "What’s the evidence?"
Gao Ming said, "The ssage You Xing sent you identifying ’Huan Pang’—that’s the evidence. ’Huan Pang’ is a well-known internal codena for Lianwei Zhongyu. If we submit that, the Processing Bureau will absolutely make good use of it. Regardless of the final outco, they will certainly use it as a pretext to put pressure on Lianwei Zhongyu."
"But how does that prove a connection to Zhao Qian?"
Gao Ming smiled. "We don’t need to prove it. If we absolutely must provide a source, we can say it was You Xing’s dying words. All that matters is that both the Processing Bureau and Lianwei Zhongyu know that Zhao Qian was the one who instigated this incident."
’He’s right, that’s a viable strategy.’ From Lianwei Zhongyu Company’s perspective, whether an employee actually did sothing was irrelevant. What mattered was whether they could clean up their own ss and prevent it from affecting the company’s business. If they couldn’t, they would surely be held accountable.
Gao Ming looked up slightly, a glint flashing across his glasses. He smiled and said, "Even if Zhao Qian manages to reach a compromise with the Processing Bureau and neutralize the fallout, the mont this matter is brought into the open, he won’t dare make another move against you for the ti being. And that, Cousin, is when you can use *that* thod."
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