Lord of Prayer

He leaped down the stairs, but his momentum was too great. He lost his footing, twisted his ankle, and tumbled to the ground with a THUD. The sharp pain made him grunt, but an intense will to survive forced him back to his feet. He continued to flee, limping.

But as his flashlight beam cut through the darkness, he screamed. Another black-robed figure had appeared ahead, blocking his path. The monster reeked of a foul stench. Its outstretched hands were swollen, as if they had been submerged in water for a long time, and its long, black fingernails were as hard as blades.

Trapped from both front and back, the boy’s face filled with despair. He leaned against the wall, trembling all over, his mind a complete blank.

Suddenly, a pale flame flared to life, illuminating the dark corridor. Zhou Chen leaped out of a fiery vortex, his fists glowing. With two quick punches, he sent the two Corrupters flying.

Both punches were secretly infused with the technique of My Style Secret Technique: Rock-Breaking Force. A terrifying power and Essence penetrated the Corrupters’ bodies, instantly causing them to crack apart. Beams of white light shot out from the fissures.

With two loud BOOMS, the Bursting Ability activated. The two Corrupters exploded into a mist of blood in mid-air, splattering flesh and gore across the walls and floor.

Before the boy could even react, Zhou Chen grabbed his shoulder and pulled him over. He had the three of them hold hands, then casually touched one person and teleported all three away with Flame Jump.

The Essence cost of teleporting other people was terrifyingly high. If not for the Wish Bottle allowing him to recover at any moment, Zhou Chen wouldn’t dare pull off a move like this.

Soon, they arrived at the location of the last companion. To everyone’s surprise, the young boy, covered in blood, had actually managed to kill the Corrupter that was hunting him!

Using a sharp wooden stick he had picked up, he had engaged in a life-or-death struggle with the Corrupter for several minutes, ultimately trading injury for its life by pushing it off a ledge.

This level of courage even surprised Zhou Chen. After all, most ordinary people would be so terrified upon seeing a Corrupter that their minds would go blank. They would only know how to flee in a panic, unable to make any rational decisions.

With his keen eye, he could naturally tell that these Corrupters were quite weak and possessed little intelligence. As long as one was mindful of their sharp claws, it wouldn’t be difficult to kill them. But people who could remain calm and analyze the situation in a crisis were few and far between, let alone those who would pick up a weapon and fight back against a monster.

Without wasting any more words, Zhou Chen led the group out of the abandoned factory and back to the car parked outside.

“Is that… Du Tao?” Li Xiye’s best friend saw the mangled, half-eaten corpse nearby. Her face turned white as a sheet, and she threw up with a GAG, tears and snot streaming down her face as she broke into loud sobs.

Fear completely consumed her, shattering her spirit. That horrific corpse was her classmate, her secret crush—a bright, handsome boy. Just an hour ago, they were laughing and talking, but now he was nothing more than a mangled body. Dead just like that.

Overwhelmed by such a massive shock, her mind was already showing signs of breaking down.

Li Xiye and the young boy tried to comfort her softly. The faces of the other two also showed sorrow, fear, and the profound terror of a near-miss.

“Sir, we still have three more companions…” Li Xiye began, hoping Zhou Chen could save the other three.

But Zhou Chen just shook his head. “They’re already dead.”

The group fell into silence.

Zhou Chen took the initiative to walk over to the young boy and inspect his injuries. He had the courage to fight a Corrupter, but he was still an ordinary person. Getting hurt was inevitable.

Corrupters usually carried all sorts of viruses, curses, and contaminants. Wounds had to be treated as quickly as possible, or the physical infection could cause the injured person to degenerate into a Corrupter as well.

“I’m going to clean the contamination. It’s going to hurt a lot, so brace yourself.”

“Okay!” The boy’s gaze was resolute as he nodded and clenched his jaw.

Zhou Chen flicked a ball of Cyan Flame into the boy’s bloody wounds to burn away the residual contamination. It was the simplest and most effective method. The boy’s face instantly turned deathly pale from the pain, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, but he didn’t make a single sound.

“Good kid. What’s your name?” Zhou Chen asked, clearly impressed.

“He Qingsong,” the boy answered, enduring the agony.

“He’s Yuqing’s younger brother,” Li Xiye said from the side. Her best friend was named He Yuqing; the two were siblings.

Zhou Chen nodded. He retracted the Cyan Flame, materialized an Alchemy Potion in his hand, and poured it onto He Qingsong’s wounds. Then he patted the boy’s shoulder and said earnestly, “From this day forward, you are an Ascender.”

He Qingsong looked confused.

“Haven’t you noticed? After you killed that Corrupter, your Soul underwent a metamorphosis, and you awakened,” Zhou Chen instructed. “Now, follow that impulse in your heart. Release your Extraordinary Abilities.”

He Qingsong seemed to find it hard to believe, but when he calmed his mind, he truly did feel a strange palpitation deep within him that had never been there before. Following his instincts, he acted on that impulse.

A layer of transparent, crystalline material rapidly covered his body, encasing him completely in hard armor that glittered like a diamond.

Zhou Chen stroked his chin. ‘Looks like a defense-type Extraordinary Ability… Afraid of pain, so you put all your points into Defense Power?’

He Qingsong looked at the Crystal Armor on his body with pleasant surprise. As a teenager in his chuunibyou phase, becoming an Ascender and possessing Extraordinary Abilities was something he had always dreamed of. That was why he was so interested in fields like Extraordinary Studies and Mysticism and had joined his sister on this expedition. He just never thought his dream would actually come true.

“Ah!” Suddenly, He Yuqing screamed. She pointed frantically into the distance, repeating herself as if she’d lost her mind, “They’re coming… They’re coming… They’re coming…”

Three Corrupters were running out of the abandoned factory. They were fast, as if rushing toward a delicious feast.

Zhou Chen casually materialized three sharp iron shards. Flinging them out using the techniques of My Style Secret Technique: Rock-Breaking Force combined with his Bursting Ability, he produced a force no less powerful than a heavy-caliber bullet.

The air shrieked as the iron shards, burning with pale flames, sliced through the air. Like cutting through candles, they decapitated the three Corrupters, which fell to the ground with a THUD.

Zhou Chen materialized a scalpel, walked over, and sliced open the Corrupters’ robes, preparing to dissect them. He then called out:

“He Qingsong, come over and learn. This is a required course for you now that you’re an Ascender.”

The young He Qingsong froze, a conflicted look on his face. But in the end, he made his decision, gritted his teeth, and went over.

Li Xiye also drew closer. Zhou Chen glanced at her imperceptibly but said nothing, then immediately began dissecting the Corrupter.

“Corrupters are all degenerated from humans. Look, this one has retained the same physical structure as a human, but most of its organs have already rotted away. Only the digestive system is functional. They have to eat to survive…”

“Hmm… besides that, there’s nothing special about it. This is a low-level Corrupter with no special abilities. Aside from its mutated claws, it’s actually weaker than an ordinary person in other respects, acting only on instinct…”

“…These two are the same. Judging by their appearance, it’s more like they were mass-produced by someone…”

Zhou Chen pondered for a moment, then looked at Li Xiye. “Contact the Star Association… Oh, and let me borrow your phone for a second.”

Li Xiye didn’t think much of it. She took her phone out of her pocket, unlocked it, and handed it to Zhou Chen. “Speaking of which, I still don’t know your name.”

Zhou Chen took the phone and opened the calendar directly.

[New Calendar Year 174, July 3rd, Tuesday]

He lowered his gaze, staring at the date on the calendar in silence for a long time.

‘This is…’

‘Hong City… sixty years in the past!’

“Zhou Chen.”

After a long pause, he said softly, “My name is Zhou Chen.”