"A Sacrificial Artifact?!"
The two law enforcers beside him widened their eyes in shock as they saw the finger bone exposed to the air. An inexplicable heat began to spread inside and outside the room, and the falling snow was blocked outside the courtyard, as if an invisible barrier had been erected.
Qian Fan gripped the finger bone, his eyes flashing with murderous intent as he watched the figure in red wreaking havoc in the distance.
This Sacrificial Artifact was something he had bought two years ago in the black market of District Five, spending nearly half his fortune. It was said to have come from the corpse of a law enforcer contaminated by the convergence of the Gray World. For years, it had been his trump card for survival, never used until now.
But this time, he had no choice.
"Capture him!!" Qian Fan roared, plunging the finger bone into his palm.
As blood flowed onto the bone, it seemed to come alive, voraciously devouring Qian Fan's flesh. At the same time, a shadow flickered across its surface.
The ground in the courtyard, buried under snow, began to tremble!
Chen Ling's vision blurred as the snow beneath his feet exploded. A pale, rib-like spike shot out from the ground, piercing through his shoulder like lightning!
The searing pain of his flesh being pierced shot through his shoulder, causing Chen Ling's movements to falter. Then, a second and third rib burst from the ground!
Chen Ling's body was already impaled by the first rib, leaving him almost no room to dodge. He could only barely shift his body, narrowly avoiding the ribs, but this further reduced his mobility.
By the time the fifth rib appeared, Chen Ling was completely immobilized, trapped like a prisoner in a cage of bones.
"What... is this?" Chen Ling's face darkened as he stared at the finger bone in Qian Fan's hand.
As the bone continued to devour Qian Fan's flesh, his body shriveled, resembling a malnourished scavenger. But once the ribs stopped emerging, his body ceased to wither.
Seeing this, Qian Fan immediately pulled the bone from his palm and shakily wrapped it back in oiled paper, a pale smile spreading across his lips.
From the looks of it, the money had been well spent... This was equivalent to the destructive power of a second-tier divine path.
Witnessing how easily Qian Fan had subdued Chen Ling, the other two law enforcers were both awed and terrified. Under their admiring yet fearful gazes, Qian Fan slowly made his way into the courtyard.
"How does it feel?" Qian Fan sneered. "Did you enjoy your killing spree?"
Bodies lay scattered across the snow-covered courtyard, their blood staining the ground a dark red...
Chen Ling, imprisoned in the bone cage, coldly stared at Qian Fan, his eerie and bloodstained face betraying no emotion.
"Think you're special just because you received [Divine Favor]?"
"Even if you're a quasi-Judge, you still ended up in my hands."
"Kid, I don't care what grudge you have with Ice Spring Street... You're dead. Do you have any idea how many people's interests you've harmed?"
Qian Fan slowly drew his gun, the black muzzle pointing directly at Chen Ling's forehead. As he spoke, his gaunt face twisted with malice.
"This is bad. We can't let him kill Chen Ling."
Seeing this, the shadowy man observing from outside the courtyard frowned and prepared to intervene.
"Wait." Chu Muyun suddenly spoke, his eyes glinting strangely behind his glasses. "Something's not right..."
The shadowy man paused. "What do you mean?"
---
Inside the courtyard.
With the gun pointed at his head, Chen Ling remained unmoved, his eyes as calm as an abyss.
Just as Qian Fan was about to pull the trigger, two stars in the sky suddenly blazed with brilliance. A majestic divine light, like a colossal pillar, crashed through the snow, enveloping Chen Ling within the bone cage.
Boom—!!
The surging divine aura rippled through the void, forcefully pushing Qian Fan back several steps until he stumbled and fell to the ground.
He stared in disbelief at the two divine pillars descending from the heavens.
"[Divine Favor]?! How is this possible?? Didn't he already receive [Divine Favor]?!"
"The black one is the 'Path of the Soldier,' and the purple one is... the 'Path of the Witch'?" The other two law enforcers were equally stunned.
"To be courted by two divine paths at once... What kind of monster is this kid?"
Under their astonished gazes, Chen Ling, covered in blood, slowly raised his head to look at the two stars above, their divine radiance extending like ribbons. A flicker of surprise passed through his eyes...
He had already prepared himself to die again, as his [Expectation Value] was sufficient, and he could likely revive even after death... But he never expected to attract [Divine Favor].
And not just one, but two.
Come to think of it, when he killed Bone Blade earlier, he had felt a strange sensation—not joy or disgust, but a feeling that... this was something he was born to do.
According to what Chu Muyun had said, this was his first kill, yet he had attracted the favor of the "Path of the Soldier." He was a prodigy of that path.
But Chen Ling didn't understand... What was the second purple star?
As Chen Ling pondered, a third star slowly lit up in the sky!
It was a vermilion star, twinkling like translucent glass. Its divine radiance, like a ribbon, passed through the void, joining the other two divine paths in enveloping Chen Ling.
Chen Ling was stunned.
"Another divine path?!"
"Three divine paths bestowing their favor at the same time... How is this possible?!"
"Wait, which divine path does this star represent? I've never seen it before..."
Qian Fan and the others were completely dumbfounded.
At the same time, the two observers outside the courtyard were equally bewildered.
"Vermilion in color, translucent like glass... It can't be wrong. That's the 'Path of the Performer,'" the shadowy man murmured thoughtfully.
"The 'Path of the Performer'? That's incredibly rare." Chu Muyun frowned slightly. "But what does he have to do with the 'Path of the Performer'?"
"Is he skilled in acting or performing?"
"Not that I know of... But the brother he imagined is."
"Three divine paths bestowing their favor simultaneously... Under normal circumstances, he would be a top-tier genius. But..." The shadowy man shook his head. "Unfortunately, he's a Fusionist. He can never walk the divine path."
"With three divine paths manifesting at once, someone in Aurora City is bound to notice. They'll definitely send people here."
"No need to wait for Aurora City..."
The shadowy man slowly turned his head, looking in a certain direction through the snowstorm. "A law enforcer has been approaching this place. He's almost here."
"We can't let him interrupt this. I'll go stop him." Chu Muyun turned to leave.
"No need."
"Why not?"
"...Someone's already gone to intercept him."