Chapter 37
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Chapter 37: Occupation
Mu Xiaofeng felt a pang of despair as he glanced back at the fallen Qiao Zi. His heart was in agony, knowing that if they delayed any longer, Qiao Zi would certainly die.
Mu Xiaofeng turned to look at the five strange figures. One of them, resembling a scholar, was dressed in a black robe, holding a staff made of withered wood, and a black book in his left hand adorned with a white triangular symbol. Mu Xiaofeng didn’t recognize the symbol, but he knew this person was also highly dangerous.
The scholar raised his staff and unleashed his energy. At that moment, a small black square suddenly appeared before him, from which five cards flew out. The scholar held these five cards up for Mu Xiaofeng to see, revealing five “Kings.”
Mu Xiaofeng finally understood. These people weren’t after the “Kings.” They had already completed their mission. They were here just for the fight, or more accurately, it wasn’t a fight for them—it was entertainment, a game.
However, the scholar’s bizarre magic was something Mu Xiaofeng had never seen before. Even his teacher and the director of Kaga Academy had never mentioned it. The unknown always breeds fear. Mu Xiaofeng felt a surge of internal fear, not from external pressure but from within.
“That’s a spatial spell, a form of secret art. They belong to the Six Great Families,” a voice behind Mu Xiaofeng pulled him back to reality. He turned to see the masked priest, who seemed to be the least injured, still half-kneeling and able to speak.
The mysterious masked figure slowly told Mu Xiaofeng, “The Whispering Dead’s sorcery, the Wu family’s combat skills, the Chen family’s marksmanship, and the Theo family’s secret arts. The remaining person must be from the Mo family, who specializes in machinery.” The masked figure pointed to the smallest person in the corner, who looked insignificant, with no distinctive features.
“How do you know all this? Aren’t there six families? Is there another one here?” Mu Xiaofeng asked urgently, fearing that there was an enemy hiding beyond his view.
Before the masked figure could answer, the scholar laughed heartily and said to Mu Xiaofeng, “The Blood Spirit family’s life magic, the last family, and the lowest in rank among the Six Great Families. Their value lies in trading their lives for the lives of important individuals, or rather, in reincarnation. The poor Blood Spirits are raised like cattle, their fate doomed to die at the right moment.”
The scholar’s disdain for the Blood Spirits was evident, and he kept his gaze fixed on the masked figure, making Mu Xiaofeng realize that this person was indeed from the Blood Spirit family.
Ignoring the scholar’s ridicule, the masked figure moved to Mu Xiaofeng’s side, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. Mu Xiaofeng felt his energy flow improve, and his wounds rapidly healed. As a natural priest of the Blood Spirit family, his healing effect was several times stronger than that of an ordinary person.
While treating Mu Xiaofeng, the masked figure explained, “The Six Great Families are the world’s greatest secret. We do not belong to any particular race or nation; we are hybrids of all races, so you are unaware.”
The masked figure then turned and glared at the scholar, saying, “Don’t forget, the abilities of your five families can be learned, only our Blood Spirit family’s power is innate. You fear others having your abilities and keep them confined, monopolizing them. How selfish.”
Indeed, the life magic of the Blood Spirit family was innate, while the abilities of the other five families were basic, such as the scholar’s “Fade” spell. The Six Great Families send four teams every decade to the Weapon Forest on four continents. The six people before Mu Xiaofeng were part of the team sent to the Land of White.
This made Mu Xiaofeng recall the words of the Yun family member he encountered in the Central Treasury, realizing that the appearance of these six people in the Weapon Forest was closely related to the spirit summoning activities he had heard about.
The masked figure finished healing Mu Xiaofeng and turned to the dying Qiao Zi. As he crouched to treat Qiao Zi, Wu Xiaotian suddenly charged at him and struck him, sending him flying. As the masked figure stood up, he was about to confront Wu Xiaotian, only to find himself unable to move.
Mu Xiaofeng looked back and saw the scholar’s staff emitting black light, pointing at the masked figure and grinning maliciously, “Ha ha, don’t waste your life. Even if we kill these people now, no one can touch us. Even the king of the empire can’t move against the Six Great Families.”
The masked figure urgently shouted, “Bastard! Why kill these innocent people? If you don’t save her now, that woman will die soon. Let me go, time is running out.” The Blood Spirit was far kinder than the five families, but he could no longer save Qiao Zi, whose life was slipping away.
Mu Xiaofeng felt utterly hopeless, like holding a handful of sand that slipped through his fingers, powerless to stop it.
He seemed to block out all other sounds, unable to hear the bickering among the Six Great Families, only the faint heartbeat of Qiao Zi. That heartbeat grew weaker and softer until, in an instant, it ceased. Qiao Zi’s chest stopped rising and falling, and she stopped breathing.
Mu Xiaofeng was stunned, tears streaming down his face. His heart was filled with sorrow, anger, and hatred. All he wanted now was to kill the five people before him. But without the strength to do so, he could only watch helplessly as Qiao Zi died, praying desperately for strength.
“Do you crave power?” A voice suddenly echoed in Mu Xiaofeng’s mind. He looked up to see darkness all around and a black shadow standing before him.
Mu Xiaofeng recognized the voice. He had heard it before. Without hesitation, he answered, “Give me power. I want revenge. I want to kill those five bastards.” Mu Xiaofeng’s teeth were clenched, his rage so intense it seemed it could spark fire.
“No. You cannot listen to him. Even if you get revenge, do you think the five families will spare you? It will only lead to endless slaughter.” Another familiar voice came from behind Mu Xiaofeng. He turned to see a white shadow standing in stark contrast to the blackness around.
Before Mu Xiaofeng could respond, the black shadow laughed heartily, “Ha ha ha, look around. The surrounding darkness is so thrilling. What are you dreaming of? This child has already chosen me. You have no chance now.” Mu Xiaofeng was bewildered by their words, feeling utterly confused.
The white shadow stopped speaking and just stood there, but its words made Mu Xiaofeng slightly calm down. He began to hesitate.
He felt someone gently tugging at his hand. To his surprise, a purple figure of the same size as him appeared before him. Unlike the other two figures, this one was smaller and its outline was very distinct, making it clear it was a human shadow.
The purple figure softly said, “I don’t know about the others, but I know that Qiao Zi was important to you. Now that she’s dead, you have lost her.” The calm tone of the purple figure ignited Mu Xiaofeng’s anger, burning away his last bit of rationality. The black shadow trembled with delight, while the white shadow trembled in fear.
The black shadow merged into Mu Xiaofeng’s body and gave him one last instruction: “As long as you remove the jade pendant from your chest now, I can transfer the power to you.”
Mu Xiaofeng slowly removed his armor, reached for the jade pendant on his chest, and forcefully took it off. Suddenly, he felt countless things drilling into his body—darkness, coldness, screams, pain, and rot. All his senses perceived the world descending into corruption.
Mu Xiaofeng’s convulsions caught the attention of the six arguing people. They saw Mu Xiaofeng’s eyes closed, his body trembling, and black light spreading from his chest.
At this moment, Bell of the Whispering Dead realized it was a curse, a branch of sorcery, and knew that Mu Xiaofeng was afflicted with a parasitic spell, a very malicious form of sorcery. The things inside Mu Xiaofeng were about to take over his body.
Bell felt an intense unease, sensing the evil and powerful nature of what was inside Mu Xiaofeng.
Mu Xiaofeng was enveloped in black light, which gradually seeped into his body and disappeared. Bell realized that Mu Xiaofeng’s body had been occupied by the dark entity and quickly warned the others, “This guy has something inside him, and I sense it’s very powerful.”
The members of the Six Great Families were now alarmed. Although strong, they were not invincible and knew they were still just children.
Suddenly, Mu Xiaofeng opened his eyes, touched his arms, and looked at his hands, laughing maniacally, “Ha ha ha, I’m finally out. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a beautiful moon.”