Chapter 230 - 224: [Great Medicine]

Chapter 230: Chapter 224: [Great Medicine]

A great mass of thick shadow, like a living ooze, completely swallowed the falling Toad Demon in mid-air, forming a constantly churning and twisting pitch-black sphere.

It hung suspended for a few seconds, then... burst apart without a sound.

There was none of the expected thunderous boom—only a heart-stopping vacuum, as if all sound had been utterly stripped from the air. Everyone present felt a cold hand clench around their heart, a suffocating pressure that made it almost impossible to breathe.

In the instant the shadow burst, an invisible, miasmic wind swept through the entire station. The light abruptly dimmed, shadows spilled across the platform and tracks like quicksilver, and the sky seemed to revert from dawn to the dead of night in a single instant....

Of course, this distortion of light and shadow lasted for only a fleeting instant.

When their vision returned, everyone was horrified to discover a tall, slender figure standing atop the massive Demon Toad, which lay belly-up in the center of the platform. He was slowly withdrawing his arm from a massive gash in the creature’s abdomen.

Thick, inky shadows mixed with dark-purple Demon Blood slid viscously down his well-defined forearm....

Fu Juemin had already exited the Four Souls in One Body state. The large, scale-like patches of black on his body were peeling away, receding as if he were shucking off a suit of sinister, ornate armor.

The last of the unearthly markings on his handsome face were also slowly fading away....

He paid no mind to the shock this scene might inflict on onlookers. At this moment, his full attention was immersed in his character panel.

——The Golden Energy he had obtained from killing the two modified men from the Western World had already filled the bar nearly halfway. Now, the numbers on the panel were skyrocketing, filling and overflowing twice in a row under his gaze!

This meant that the Toad Demon had yielded nearly two full Skill Points.

’So all that effort wasn’t for nothing!’

At the same time, in the Talent Bar, a brand-new Talent icon was rapidly coalescing and lighting up.

Upon seeing the white glow that signified a common-quality Talent, Fu Juemin let out a barely audible sigh.

’It was expected, but ever since I got [Shadow Control], every new Talent has felt like a lottery. Not getting a high-tier one this time is still a little disappointing.’

However, when he got a clear look at the new Talent’s name, his gaze hardened, his expression turning strange and curious.

"[Great Medicine]?..."

.....

Bai Hexing stood frozen amidst the overgrown weeds by the tracks, like a clay statue.

What he was seeing now was even more soul-crushing, more reality-shattering, than stumbling upon the corpses of Yu Zhonggui and the other Toad Palace masters two days prior.

’The Toad Immortal... The Toad Immortal, worshipped by everyone in the Toad Palace for years, revered as a god... It just died? Just like that?’

’It didn’t die to a barrage of artillery from the Western World or some advanced piece of modern technology. It was killed by a "man"—beaten to death with his bare hands in the most primal, violent way imaginable!’

’How is that possible?!’

’Is this a nightmare?’

’The Toad Immortal is dead. How am I supposed to explain this to the Toad Palace? To Her Ladyship?’

Countless chaotic thoughts roiled and burst in his mind, until the figure on the platform beside the Demon Toad’s corpse finally shed the last of his inhuman traits, revealing his true form and face.

The moment he saw the man’s face, Bai Hexing froze as if struck by lightning.

His eyes flew wide, his face a mask of utter shock and disbelief as he let out a choked, hoarse cry.

"It’s you?!"

The cry jolted everyone from their stupor. Even Fu Juemin’s attention was caught. He turned his head slightly, his gaze falling upon the man.

TAP, TAP, TAP...

Fu Juemin began to walk toward Bai Hexing, his pace unhurried.

A figure vaulted nimbly onto the platform—it was Cao Tian. He held a snow-white shirt and a neatly pressed, beige plaid suit, which he had prepared earlier. With respectful efficiency, he began to help Fu Juemin change.

"You recognize me?"

Fu Juemin stopped at the edge of the platform, looking down on Bai Hexing, who sat slumped in the overgrown patch of earth by the tracks.

As Cao Tian draped the suit jacket over his shoulders, he began to slowly and methodically fasten the mother-of-pearl buttons of his shirt.

"Oh, I almost forgot..."

Fu Juemin said as if suddenly recalling something, a cold smile playing on his lips as he fastened the last exquisite cufflink. "We did meet once before, Gang Leader Bai, back at the Xuanwu Platform."

Bai Hexing stared intently at the handsome, cultured Young Master before him. Even after witnessing everything firsthand, it still felt utterly absurd. He couldn’t reconcile this man with the demonic, fiendish figure from moments ago.

"It really was you! Does that mean... the Demon Elephant was you, too?!"

Bai Hexing’s words came in a rapid, near-frenzied snarl. "No wonder Zhao Jigang died!

Incredible. Truly incredible!

You fooled all of Shenghai! You played everyone for a fool... Ding Moshan has a good eye, taking in a nephew like you!"

Fu Juemin watched without a word as Bai Hexing’s face twisted into a mask of tear-streaked, manic laughter.

Once his attire was perfectly arranged, down to the expensive dress watch on his wrist, he calmly extended a hand toward Cao Tian.

Cao Tian paused for a second, then quickly pulled a cigarette and lighter from his coat, moving to light it for Fu Juemin.

But Fu Juemin just smiled and shook his head. In one smooth motion, his arm shot out and plucked the heavy black pistol from Cao Tian’s waistband.

CLICK.

He chambered a round with practiced ease. His gaze slowly shifted back to Bai Hexing’s face.

Bai Hexing’s face instantly turned white as a sheet.

He instinctively stumbled back two steps, his eyes darting around in panic. His trusted subordinates were already pinned down by the men in black; not one of them could move.

From the dark depths of the distant tunnel, he could feel the faint vibration of the rails. A rhythmic RUMBLE... RUMBLE... grew steadily closer.

The train he had waited so long for was finally about to arrive.

But it was too late.

Deep despair filled Bai Hexing’s eyes, but it was instantly replaced by an even more intense, venomous madness.

He glared at Fu Juemin, his eyes crimson, and snarled through clenched teeth, "You killed Lord Yu, and you killed the Toad Immortal...

Her Ladyship will never forgive you! The entire Toad Palace will hunt you to the death!

Sooner or later, you will..."

BANG!—

A single, clean gunshot cut Bai Hexing’s voice short. A crimson dot blossomed in the center of his forehead.

An expression of dazed resentment still lingering on his face, he fell slowly backward.

Fu Juemin casually tossed the pistol, its barrel still trickling smoke, back to Cao Tian. His orders were delivered in a flat, even tone.

"Hurry up. Make it clean."

"Yes."

Cao Tian acknowledged the order and leaped from the platform. A moment later, a volley of short, sharp gunshots rang out, cutting through a chorus of desperate pleas for mercy.

All the Blue-clothed Gang members present were disposed of. The men from the Ghost Camp worked with grim efficiency, one group collecting the human bodies while the other hurried to move the Toad Demon’s corpse from the platform....

「Several minutes later.」

From the deep, dark tunnel, a steam train emerged, chugging unhurriedly along the tracks and spewing white smoke.

Just as it was about to pull into the station—

BOOM!!!!!

An earth-shattering explosion erupted from the center of the platform!

The roiling fireball instantly engulfed more than half of the dilapidated platform, along with the remains scattered upon it!

A searing shockwave, laced with shrapnel, blasted outwards in all directions. The train screeched to an emergency stop, the piercing shriek of its brakes and whistle echoing across the countryside—

「Meanwhile, on a rise in the distance.」

Fu Juemin stood, his beige plaid suit utterly spotless.

He squinted, looking down silently and expressionlessly at the small station below, now a scene of raging fire and chaos.

"Let’s go."

After a brief glance, he lost interest and turned, signaling for his men to leave.

The Ghost Camp men following close behind now looked at him with an awe reserved for gods and demons.

In this broken, chaotic world, nothing captured the loyalty and respect of desperados more effectively than absolute power.

Especially when that power was shrouded in a layer of unfathomable, treacherous mystique connected to Demon Fiends.

From this moment forward, the fragile bond between Fu Juemin and the remnants of the Ghost Camp—a bond held together by money and minor favors—began to slowly transform. It was hardening into something far more solid, a relationship of subordination that bordered on fanatical devotion...