Chapter 1 – Back Alive

Volume 4: When the Demon Tide Rises

A month later.

One month and three days, to be exact.

Wen Yu and Kuangliu stood on the thousandth floor of the Demon-Suppressing Tower, looking dead inside as they listened to the Notification Tone they had heard far too often.

"Ding! Congratulations to both challengers on clearing the thousand-floor Demon-Suppressing Tower. The Treasure Land exit is now open."

Something stirred in their eyes.

The joy of surviving a catastrophe.

"We lived. It's finally over…"

Tears glistened at the corners of Kuangliu's eyes as he muttered almost incoherently.

Beside him, Wen Yu twisted his neck hard, producing a series of loud cracks.

"My heartfelt fucking thanks to eight generations of your ancestors…"

Silver Light flickered ahead, slowly forming a huge Silver Vortex. Neither man hesitated. They accelerated to full speed and sprinted for the exit.

After bathing Mutated cats, picking parasites off a Mutant Bear, and shoveling a Mutant Dog's shit, their expressions and behavior were hardly surprising.

…

Fresh air washed over them, carrying the fragrance of soil and the rotten stink of Demon Qi. To Wen Yu and Kuangliu, it felt wonderfully familiar.

The smell of home.

Kuangliu dropped flat onto the ground. Squinting, he grabbed an unfamiliar plant and chewed it vigorously, ignoring its bitter green juices as he gazed up at the great sun overhead.

Wen Yu opened the Second Soul Realm and Third Soul Realm.

One-Eye and Xing squeezed laboriously out of the Soul Realm Space in their miniature forms, looking as though life held nothing for them anymore.

They had spent over a month in the tower with Wen Yu. Their usual meals had been things like High-Protein Energy Bars. For two carnivores, that was enough to keep them from starving and little more. They were desperate for something with flavor.

"Go! Eat! Play! Enjoy yourselves!"

Wen Yu swept his hand out excitedly. Xing shot away at once, his tiny body trailing sonic booms and gusts of wind as he plunged into a small wood ahead. An uproar broke out among the creatures there.

"You're not going?"

One-Eye lay quietly on the ground. Wen Yu couldn't help asking. He was genuinely afraid their long confinement had left the two depressed.

One-Eye blinked at him twice and sent a mental message.

"Boss, I want to eat shit…"

"Get lost!"

Wen Yu kicked him a long way off.

…

Both pets were now hunting in earnest.

Wen Yu and Kuangliu had no idea where they were, but the area held plenty of Mutant Creatures. Enough to give One-Eye and Xing a proper feast.

Wen Yu lay down beside Kuangliu, narrowed his eyes, and took stock of his Physical Attribute.

Wen Yu: Level 5 Peak Class Holder!

Physical Attribute: 2,000 Points!

Yes. Two thousand.

The peak of Level 5!

The thousand-floor tower might have been a colossal pain, but its rewards were real. The first few dozen floors offered almost nothing. Later, however, the Point rewards became extremely generous.

Only Points, though.

Wen Yu had converted that wealth of Points into Physical Attribute. By the time he left, he had reached the peak of Level 5 and could faintly sense the Level Shackles.

Unfortunately, that applied only to him.

Little Soul Beast, One-Eye, and Xing had no right to spend Points. They came out exactly as strong as they had gone in.

Kuangliu had fared even worse.

"Let me look at the mirror again."

Wen Yu took the Leiguhart Magic Mirror from his Spatial Ring.

Kuangliu touched it lightly. A mental message entered his mind, entirely imperceptible to Wen Yu beside him.

"Well? Feel like you've got a long road ahead?"

Kuangliu squinted in thought for a long while, then nodded helplessly.

The Leiguhart Magic Mirror was unquestionably a powerful item. Its benefits were immense, but it brought plenty of drawbacks too.

Kuangliu's current situation was a case in point.

When they entered the tower, Wen Yu's Physical Attribute in his Non-Combat State had been 1,000 Points. Kuangliu's had been 600.

Now Wen Yu stood at 2,000.

Kuangliu hadn't even reached 700.

Because of the mirror's guidance, he had been using Special Attribute Magic Crystals for Enhancement. The cost was astronomical.

Both men sighed helplessly.

Kuangliu for himself. Wen Yu for his three Soul Pets.

…

Breathing the fresh air with its faint rotten undertone, feeling the warm sunlight on their bodies, they fell quiet.

Only One-Eye and Xing's "excited" roars in the distance disturbed the peace.

At last, Kuangliu spoke.

"We agreed in the tower. Once we're back in Yanjing Settlement, you're lending the Leiguhart Magic Mirror to the Military. No strings attached."

"Yes. Could you stop ruining the mood?"

Wen Yu rolled his eyes.

When he first lent Kuangliu the mirror, he had only meant to help him grow stronger. Their interests didn't conflict. A stronger Kuangliu did Wen Yu no harm.

As soon as Kuangliu understood what the mirror could do, he thought of the effect it would have if the Military could use it. He offered a long list of benefits in exchange.

Mutant Beast meat. Military research products. Status within the Military. And much more besides.

But on floor 563, Wen Yu had traded those benefits for Kuangliu's physical labor.

The Trial on that floor involved hauling manure for a huge flock of Mutated birds.

The rain of bird-shit bombs nearly broke them both. Then came the bargaining.

After floor 625, where they had to find Magic Crystals in a Mutant Beast dung pit, and floor 842, where they cleaned a Mutated skunk's den, along with other equally "impossible" challenges, Kuangliu had secured the Military's right to use the Leiguhart Magic Mirror.

Free of charge.

Perhaps reminded once again of the terror of life under the Trials, both men fell silent with ugly expressions.

Then Kuangliu abruptly sat up.

"Wen Yu. Something's wrong…"

"What?"

Wen Yu was too comfortable to want to talk.

"The time doesn't seem right…"

"Hm?" His face grew more serious. "How so?"

"My watch says it's 1:28."

Wen Yu looked at the sun.

"Sounds right. What's the problem?"

"It's 1:28 a.m. on October 27, 2017…"

After a long hesitation, Kuangliu looked at the sun again and added:

"Yanjing time."