Chapter 353: The Last NPC

Chapter 353: Chapter 20: The Last NPC

In this world, Divine Spirits were no different from ghosts and monsters—all were malevolent, heretical beings. The only difference was that their power was greater and, in a way, more orthodox.

However, as they were all heretical beings, Duan Fei’s Talent caused them to completely overlook him.

But the figures Duan Fei summoned were not subject to this limitation.

From start to finish, it took Duan Fei only a single second to fully equip himself.

A translucent longsword slashed toward the Divine Spirit. The blade, burning with Spiritual Power, cut through the Divine Spirit’s body, causing its own power to rapidly incinerate.

But even for a Divine Spirit that had ascended from a malevolent demon, it was still a Divine Spirit.

The slash seemed to have wounded the Divine Spirit, but its true form remained completely unharmed. It instead turned, stomped on Hancock, crushing him underfoot, and only then did it turn to face its greatest enemy: Zero.

Zero was now clad in a combat suit. The skin-tight material only accentuated her imposing physique, making her look even more powerful. Her well-developed muscles were as chiseled as a statue’s.

Her black combat suit was filled with a nanoscale coolant. Her ‘mecha-muscles’—forged through tens of millions of cycles of ripple breathing—combined biological resilience with mechanical strength, becoming her greatest weapon for unleashing the Mecha Technique.

She glanced at Duan Fei and smiled faintly. “Duan Someone, I have answered your call from afar. Now, it is time for me to repay my debt.”

If Zero’s Level were converted into a Professional Level, she would be around Level 50.

This legendary figure had been immersed in the Mecha Technique since she was a child. Her actual age was likely over a hundred, and so many years of practice had brought her Mecha Technique to the pinnacle of perfection. The moment she entered the fray, she unleashed an incredible destructive power.

With a single tap of her foot, a ripple spread across the entire ground. The earth before Zero began to shift and flow like water.

Harnessing the power from that single tap, Zero flew before the Divine Spirit and pressed her palm against its face.

Then, the power of the ripple began to spread. The Divine Spirit’s head exploded from the force, spattering silvery liquid in all directions.

But Duan Fei knew this was far from enough.

He now possessed Divinity and had gained knowledge of it, so he understood just how terrifying it was.

Even in the weakest of divine beings, the Divinity within them would cause weaknesses to vanish and grant damage reduction. A body transformed by Divinity had almost no vulnerabilities.

Just as he’d expected, though its head had been shattered, it grew right back. After a few shakes, it looked exactly as it had before.

Though it hadn’t suffered any major harm, the Divine Spirit was still somewhat enraged.

This was a provocation.

An ant provoking a god.

It changed direction and pursued Zero, preparing to crush the insignificant creature.

But Zero’s Reaction speed was beyond imagination.

The defining trait of mecha-muscles was its focus on agility and Reaction. After all, the ripple effect produced by the Mecha Technique could destroy matter from the inside out; excessive Power was actually a burden.

Thus, this cybernetic martial art had evolved entirely toward flexibility and speed, and Zero was its foremost practitioner.

While evading the Divine Spirit’s repeated attempts to capture her, she began following Duan Fei’s instructions. She retreated in a specific direction, luring her opponent into running circles around the forest.

Once he confirmed Zero was in no danger, Duan Fei took off at a sprint.

There were only two living people in this entire instance: the Little Daoist and the Elder Daoist.

After hearing their stories, Duan Fei had a hunch that a third NPC was lurking somewhere in this instance.

The Heavenly Dao.

But he still needed to verify this. He had to find a clear clue.

And that clue was the ‘Cultivation Chapter.’

The ghosts and monsters had been searching for a long time. They’d found piles of various Daoist Scriptures and even unearthed the Old Dao’s treasured stash of pornography, but they had not found the ‘Cultivation Chapter.’

The town wasn’t large, and the ghosts and monsters probably weren’t slacking. The reason they couldn’t find it wasn’t that they were too scared to look, but because the book was hidden in a place they dared not go.

The Old Dao’s coffin!

As he descended, Duan Fei saw paper-effigy soldiers rushing toward the mountainside, commanded by the Evil Corpse to surround and capture Zero.

Facing these paper soldiers, Duan Fei simply swung his longsword with calm deliberation.

Searing Spiritual Energy crackled along the blade. Everything nearby was burned away by the sword’s Spirit. The paper soldiers were incinerated before they could even react, leaving behind nothing but scorched shadows on the ground.

Arriving at the Daoist Temple in Water Town, Duan Fei saw that all the paper soldiers had been sent out. Inside the coffin, the Old Dao sat up, looking at Duan Fei with a smirk.

His head was back in place, but a thin red line remained on his neck. It was also twisted a full one hundred and eighty degrees, making his posture exceptionally bizarre.

Of course, it wasn’t just his body that was twisted, but his mind as well.

The more time passed, the more bizarre the Evil Corpse’s behavior became.

He leaped up, landing on all fours. Scuttling like a giant spider, he giggled as he lunged at Duan Fei.

In mid-air, he cackled strangely, “Hee hee, you came for me! You couldn’t stay away, could you!”

The longsword flashed, cleaving the airborne Evil Corpse in two. But instead of crying out in pain, it roared with delight, “So good! That feels so good!”

The Evil Corpse had already subverted the cycle of life and death and the natural order of the world. Its very existence was a font of evil, making it nearly impossible to destroy.

Even wounds that would be fatal to any normal person were like a game to the Evil Corpse as it continued its charge toward Duan Fei.

While the effects of his [Spiritual Armor] still held, Duan Fei raised his longsword and swung it with all his might.

The Old Dao was shredded in mid-air, every part of his body dissolving into ash, but his maniacal laughter lingered.

“A fine kill! A very fine kill!”

A gale swept through, carrying the ash with it. The particles swirled and rose, reforming the Old Dao’s body into that of a giant as his crazed laughter filled the air.

“Come on, then! Kill me, kill me, kill me! Let’s see what’s faster—your killing, or my reviving!”

Ignoring the taunts, Duan Fei leaped directly into the coffin and smashed it to pieces. At last, he saw what lay within.

The all-important Daoist Scripture: the ‘Cultivation Chapter.’

Upon seeing Duan Fei’s true objective, the Old Dao’s expression finally changed.

He charged down in a frenzy, trying to snatch the Daoist Scripture from Duan Fei’s hands. But Duan Fei, empowered by his superior speed, quickly fled and rushed outside.

The effects of the [Spiritual Armor] began to fade, the Power in his body slowly draining away. But Duan Fei had already put enough distance between himself and the Evil Corpse. He seized the moment to open the Daoist Scripture and began to read the ‘Cultivation Chapter.’

When he read that all Magic was a form of Cultivation that borrowed power from the Heavenly Dao, and that one attacked others through the Heavenly Dao, he finally confirmed his earlier suspicion.

‘There really is a third NPC here.’

‘And it is the Heavenly Dao.’