The next morning.
Zhou Yuanjue sat cross-legged on the bed in his private ward, his eyes shut tight. His Spirit coalesced as the Nirvana Fire burned throughout his body, mobilizing his body's instincts to their fullest to repair his wounds.
His other injuries were negligible, but the piercing wound in his chest had damaged his lung. It was quite severe. Even with the help of his Nirvana Fire, it would likely take four to five days to heal completely. It was, by all accounts, a serious injury.
That said, killing those two guys at such a cost was well worth it.
Although their Martial Arts Techniques were diocre, their formidable physical prowess—combined with their extraordinary physical abilities and that abnormal spiritual entity shielding their own Spirits—made them immune to the influence of a powerful Martial Artist's will. Any top-tier Martial Artist below the Saint Awakening realm who faced them alone would have been in mortal danger.
If Zhou Yuanjue hadn't decisively risked his life for that one strike, the longer the fight dragged on, the greater his chances of defeat and death would have beco.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Just then, a knock ca from the door of his private ward.
The sound of the knocking roused Zhou Yuanjue from his Nirvana Fire state. He looked outside his private ward's door and saw Li Qingxuan and a tall man standing there, waiting for his response.
Li Qingxuan had been less affected by the infrasound last night, so after waking from unconsciousness and undergoing a full examination, she was mostly fine.
"Co in."
Zhou Yuanjue said.
The two then opened the door and walked in.
"This is Captain Lu Zhen of the Secret Inspection Bureau. He'd like to talk to you about what happened last night."
Li Qingxuan introduced him to Zhou Yuanjue in a low voice.
Zhou Yuanjue looked at Lu Zhen, who was standing beside Li Qingxuan.
The man was dressed in plain clothes, tall and sturdy, with a square, resolute-looking face. His posture was ramrod straight, and his every movent was exceedingly precise—even the length of his strides seed as if asured by a ruler, without the slightest deviation.
One could imagine this was the result of extrely rigorous and precise, repetitive training.
What was most striking were his eyes. They were bright and full of spirit, seeming to possess a soul-stirring power. When their gazes t, Zhou Yuanjue felt the hair on his arms stand up involuntarily, as if he'd received an electric shock.
"The Secret Inspection Bureau?"
Zhou Yuanjue repeated the na.
"Its full na is the Donghua Secret Inspection Bureau. In short, we handle troubleso matters. Miss Li, would you mind if I spoke with Mr. Zhou alone?"
Lu Zhen said, turning to Li Qingxuan.
Li Qingxuan nodded. She actually knew a little about this so-called Secret Inspection Bureau and understood the nature of their work. She wouldn't pry into things she wasn't supposed to know.
After Li Qingxuan had left the room and closed the door behind her, Lu Zhen turned back to face Zhou Yuanjue.
His back ramrod straight and his expression serious, he gave Zhou Yuanjue a slight bow and said, "Regarding yesterday's incident, it was our oversight. I apologize for the harm it has caused you."
This attitude took Zhou Yuanjue slightly by surprise. He had thought soone from a special departnt like this would be more arrogant.
"It is my duty to guard our country and protect its people. Sothing went wrong in the area under my jurisdiction. Although your status is different from that of an ordinary citizen, you are ultimately a citizen of Donghua Country. It is only right that I apologize to you."
As if sensing Zhou Yuanjue's surprise, Lu Zhen added with a calm expression.
"'It's my duty,' huh? Interesting. Have a seat."
Zhou Yuanjue said, gesturing to a nearby chair.
Lu Zhen nodded, pulled over a chair, and sat down. Then he asked, "Could you please describe last night's situation to in detail?"
Zhou Yuanjue didn't refuse and briefly described his fight with the two n to Lu Zhen.
"Infrasound... lung mutation... As I thought, they were two 'Symbionts.'"
After hearing the description, Lu Zhen looked at Zhou Yuanjue with a hint of admiration.
He knew full well the danger of facing two Symbionts alone, especially Symbionts whose organ mutations were geared toward killing and combat. Each one could be called a monster of slaughter.
He also deeply admired Zhou Yuanjue for making such a decisive and ruthless decision to instantly reverse the situation, despite being at a complete disadvantage while fighting two against one.
'So this is what it ans to be a "seed," a top-tier Martial Artist with the potential to reach Saint Awakening?'
At that mont, he seed to understand why the higher-ups, braving imnse pressure, had launched this underground fighting tournant.
"One more question. After those two died, you must have noticed so abnormal 'shadows,' right? Where did they go?"
Lu Zhen continued.
"They escaped. It seems those things can only be captured using one's Spirit, and I couldn't restrain them for long."
"As I thought."
Hearing this, Lu Zhen's expression turned grave.
"However, I did a simple probe on one of them and found sothing interesting. These abnormal spiritual entities... they haven't only just appeared in this era, have they?"
Zhou Yuanjue asked with interest.
"The data on them is part of a classified project. However, you're both a first-hand witness and a victim, and your status is quite special, so I can disclose so information to you."
Lu Zhen fell silent for a mont before speaking.
"They have indeed appeared in history before. We currently suspect they may be the prototypes for so myths and legends. It's said they disappeared for a considerable period of ti and only reappeared in the last decade or so. As for their specific origins, I'm not very clear on the details either. I only know that they are a type of spiritual entity that defies convention and can exist separately from a physical form."
"In their natural state, most of them are malicious toward humans. They excel at creating illusions, provoking emotions, manipulating senses, and inciting malice, then draw power from these spiritual fluctuations. There is a high probability they can cause a target's ntal faculties to degrade or even cause brain death."
"From what we've seen, they don't seem to possess high intelligence on their own. But when they encounter a suitable host, they can form a symbiotic relationship with that human. In this relationship, they gain the human's intelligence. If the entity achieves dominance in this relationship, the human becos its complete puppet. Their original consciousness is extinguished, and a new personality is born."
"During this process, the Symbiont's brain is subjected to an unknown stimulus. This stimulus accelerates the body's enhancent, and has a high probability of causing physical changes, giving them abilities beyond those of ordinary people."
"Based on this property, various countries and large organizations have conducted significant research on them in recent years, attempting to weaken their power and allow the human consciousness to take the dominant role in the symbiosis. The two Symbionts you encountered were the result of such efforts."
"Because of their fusion with the abnormal spiritual entity, Symbionts are highly resistant to external spiritual stimuli. However, because the entity's own autonomy is suppressed to allow the host to remain in control, the entity itself does not possess the ability to launch spiritual attacks on its own."
"It's worth noting that they can only be captured or destroyed using power on the spiritual level or through so very special thods. Otherwise, even if the Symbiont host dies, the entity itself will not perish."
Lu Zhen said slowly.
"Based on their characteristics and the partial descriptions of them found in history and legend, the official designation we have for them in this country is..."
"Celestial Demon."
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