Chapter 57: Fifty-seven spirits, [build]

Yin Que and the others’ next destination was Sky Island.

The most top-tier research institute in this world was located on Sky Island; there, there was a high probability of finding information related to human experiments.

Yin Que needed more information to judge what Qi Sigui had actually been doing these past years.

Compared to Qi Sigui himself, he cared more about these experiments.

No sooner had they left than Qi Sigui’s people caught up.

Qi Sigui himself even arrived in person.

The Legion Commander of District 192 personally received him.

“Commander, the Deformed Species have retreated for now. District 192 declares itself safe.”

Qi Sigui’s entire attention was on Ting Rui’s group.

“Where is that spiritual body—the Sentinel of the Lord of Storms?”

Recently, all sorts of chaotic news had landed on Qi Sigui’s desk.

At first, they said Ran Fu had reappeared, then there was talk of a new Lord of Storms.

Whether it was Ran Fu or not, he simply used “Sentinel” as a stand-in.

The Legion Commander looked utterly astonished.

“He’s gone.”

“Gone? When did he leave?”

“They just left not long ago.”

After speaking, the Legion Commander of District 192 couldn’t hold back his curiosity, probing,

“Commander, may I ask why you’re looking for him?”

“Don’t ask what you shouldn’t.”

It was Qi Sigui’s adjutant who replied.

Yin Que and his companions had lingered at the front line for too long.

So he had already considered everything that might happen next—including the possibility of being pursued.

But this wave of pursuers wouldn’t be too many, not enough to make things difficult.

That was indeed the case.

Qi Sigui brought only thirty Sentinels in pursuit this time.

In his calculations, thirty Sentinels were enough; even if Ran Fu was resurrected, thirty Sentinels would be sufficient to hold him back.

But he obviously hadn’t expected the group to be only four people, and among them, besides Ting Rui, two were old acquaintances he’d known for years.

Sunset.

Ancient Road.

A flock of crows flapped their wings as they passed across the horizon.

The two sides met on a narrow road.

Qi Sigui’s men surrounded the vintage car where Yin Que was sitting, at a distance neither too near nor too far.

All four got out of the car in turn.

The moment he saw Yin Que, the wild arrogance on Qi Sigui’s face vanished, replaced by an intense stare as if he didn’t want to miss the slightest detail of Yin Que’s expression.

“Yin… Que…?”

The words tumbled from Qi Sigui’s teeth, laced with disbelief, jealousy, hatred, and utter confusion—a mixture so tangled it was impossible to distinguish.

Qi Sigui wasn’t the only one shocked.

The thirty elite Sentinels at his side all looked on in awe.

Was this the former Commander, Yin Que?

It really was Yin Que!

Yin Que’s handsome face was utterly calm.

Compared to Qi Sigui’s shock, he was obviously much more composed.

“Long time no see.”

Indeed, it had been a long time.

Five years had passed between them.

Qi Sigui stared at him fiercely, even ignoring Pei Yujiu who stood to the side.

“You didn’t die? No, that’s impossible, you must be dead. How could you not be dead?”

No one answered his question.

Countless thoughts flashed through Qi Sigui’s mind.

Panic, confusion, vigilance, fear, resentment…

That suffocating sense of oppression once again swept over him like water, choking his breath and making him feel as if he would suffocate.

He had lost to Yin Que too many times.

From childhood, from the very moment Yin Que entered his life, he had never won again.

The teacher he respected most admired Yin Que.

The woman he loved secretly had a crush on Yin Que.

The power he craved was easily within Yin Que’s grasp.

Thankfully, Yin Que had died five years ago.

He perished together with the King of Deformed Species.

It was unexpected by everyone.

Naturally, Qi Sigui hadn’t expected it either.

He feared Yin Que so much that he didn’t even dare expose his own secret thoughts, much less plot to send him to his death—because if he failed, his own end would be tragic.

“Why did you have to come back to life!”

Why!

After he finally married Xi Dian, after he became the Commander, after he thought he could finally rest easy—why did Yin Que have to appear again?!

With a wave of his hand, his tone darkened.

“Take them all down!”

But except for his adjutant and the Captain of his Personal Guard, no one made a move.

Qi Sigui turned in fury.

“Are you all rebelling?”

A group of people instinctively lowered their heads, avoiding his gaze.

That was Yin Que, after all.

If every era had its strongest Sentinel, then Yin Que was undoubtedly the most dazzling Sentinel of this era—strong, gentle, tolerant, compassionate, radiant as the sun.

To others, he wasn’t just a Sentinel; he was Faith itself.

How could one raise a hand against their own Faith?

That would be betraying their own beliefs, a violation of the Faith of the Sentinel.

“Sorry, Commander, I can’t do it.”

“Forgive me, I can’t either.”

One apology after another rang in Qi Sigui’s ears.

They simply couldn’t attack Yin Que.

It was as if the Nightmare of the past had returned.

Wherever Yin Que was, no one would ever notice Qi Sigui.

No one cared about him—even now, when he wielded so much power.

“You all want to quit?”

Still, none of the Sentinels moved.

“If you want to dismiss me, go ahead.”

“I’m willing to leave the Personal Guard.”

“I also volunteer to leave the Personal Guard…”

Qi Sigui:

“Ha. Ha. Ha. Fine!”

He pulled something from his pocket and slammed it down heavily.

“Yin Que, they may not want to fight you, but that’s fine—I still have soldiers! I still have soldiers!”

“I haven’t been doing nothing these years. I’ve done a lot. I’ll be stronger than you!

“No, no, no, I’m already stronger than you!”

Opposite him, Yin Que remained silent.

He didn’t seem to have any desire to converse with Qi Sigui at all.

Which made Qi Sigui’s outburst seem all the more pitiful.

Very soon, everyone understood what Qi Sigui meant by “soldiers.”

A group of creatures—part human, part Deformed Species—emerged, their numbers reaching into the thousands.

They moved so quickly they left only afterimages, and it took them only a short time to arrive.

Qi Sigui had likely kept them nearby for a while, ready to summon them at a moment’s notice.

They no longer possessed human reason; only killing remained in their minds.

Yin Que’s peaceful expression darkened for the first time in twenty-four years; for the first time, he was truly angry.

“All these years, you’ve been doing these experiments?”

“Experiments… So you do know about them. You must’ve learned something at the abandoned building!”

Qi Sigui’s eyes were gloomy, his expression grim.

“Since that’s the case, I absolutely can’t let you live!”

With a wave of his hand, thousands of hybrid Deformed Species surged toward Yin Que’s group.

They were fearless, nearly impossible to kill—at least, much harder than ordinary Deformed Species.

This was also Yin Que’s first time facing such opponents.

These hybrid Deformed Species still bore some remnants of human features.

They could have had peaceful lives, but instead, they’d become part of the Deformed Species…

All these years, Qi Sigui had been carrying out these experiments…

“Qi Sigui, you’re insane.”

“That’s right, I’ve been insane for a long time. So what?”

Qi Sigui looked at the Deformed Species, utterly loyal to him, a trace of satisfaction in his eyes.

“They obey only me. They’re my most loyal soldiers.”

“Yin Que, maybe you can take on ten at once—but can you fight a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand?!”

The two sides were sharply divided.

One side had only four people.

The other side, nearly a thousand hybrid Deformed Species.

These were Qi Sigui’s life’s work over the years.

This would be a bitter battle.

Yin Que did not look back.

He spoke quickly, but everyone knew whom he meant:

“I’ll get you out of here. Find somewhere to hide. I’ll come find you.”

“Find her? Yin Que, you won’t have the chance.”

More and more hybrid Deformed Species surrounded them.

Their forms were terrifying, mindless, left with only the instinct to kill, obeying only Qi Sigui—a private army for himself.

Ting Rui’s face changed as she attacked the nearest hybrid Deformed Species, but her strikes vanished as if dropped into the ocean, making not a sound.

“Commander, these Deformed Species are so hard to kill!”

Qi Sigui gave her a look of ambiguous meaning.

“Commander? You’ve got the wrong person.”

With that, he threw back his head and laughed.

“Of course they’re hard to kill. These are higher-form Deformed Species—I call them Perfect Deformed Species.”

Ting Rui muttered, “Commander wasn’t wrong. You really are insane.”

The petals of the Cosmic Rose were swept high by the wind, which cruelly harvested lives.

No matter what, these could no longer be called human.

They had become part of the Deformed Species.

Species that could be slain with a single blow before, now needed two, even three hits.

The combination of Cosmic Rose and the Lord of Storms was indeed powerful.

But Qi Sigui relied on sheer numbers.

Yin Que would be ground down, little by little, just like in the first and second dreams.

Every time.

Whether it was Ran Fu or Qu Feng, in the end, they were all worn out and killed.

The tactic of throwing waves of bodies always worked—one person’s strength was limited.

The wind formed a wall, temporarily holding the others at bay.

Yin Que grasped Ning Li’s wrist, his fingers gently brushing over her bones.

“I’ll find a way to get you… out.”

“Yin Que.”

Ning Li interrupted him, and under Yin Que’s patient gaze, she finished what she wanted to say.

“I’m not Ran Wu. And you’re not Ran Fu.”

So he didn’t need to carry all the burden himself.

She was not the Ran Wu who needed only his protection.

She was Ning Li.

“We’ve already died together twice.”

The second time she died, she had already thought:

if there is a next time—if there really is another chance—she would absolutely, absolutely never end up like that again!

“There will not be a third time.”

Never again.

Suddenly, the calm ground began to rumble, the world letting out a resonant hum, as if some ancient being was slowly awakening.

The earth trembled.

It shook.

It quivered.

People standing on the ground could barely remain upright, swaying and stumbling, barely managing to keep their feet.

“What’s going on?”

“Commander! Something is climbing up from underground!”

“There are so many! They keep coming out of the earth!”

The twenty-eight elite Sentinels who had refused to join the battle looked at each other, while Qi Sigui’s adjutant and the Captain of the Personal Guard stood protectively at his side.

His adjutant lowered his voice, “Commander, what are those?”

Yes, what were those?

“They’re my Skull Army.”

As the earth roared, a mass of jade-colored skeletons crawled out from the ground, their enormous movement drowning out Ning Li’s reply.

In an instant, the world changed color.

The once-bright sky turned dark, the entire area nearly engulfed by the endless horde of skeletons.

The land closest to the front line had buried countless bones.

Now, they saw the light of day once more.

In a way none of them could have imagined in life.

No one else heard Ning Li’s answer—only Yin Que and Ting Rui, who were closest to her, caught it.

[Skull Dread].

This was the third skill Ning Li obtained after completing her second cycle in the Reincarnation Sphere.

During the second entry into the Reincarnation Sphere, she had said she wanted power.

And so, she had gained power.

And today, she was using it openly for the first time.

“Ming—Qi Sigui.”

The sounds made by the Skull Army filled the area, rustling and rattling as if they would never die again. Yet Qi Sigui managed to pick out those three syllables amid the chaos.

He looked at Ning Li with shock and suspicion.

Was she calling him?

The dim light enveloped her, and Qi Sigui seemed to see something that utterly terrified him, making his eyes widen, his lips tremble.

A Guide?

How the hell could that be a Guide?

How could a Guide have the aura of an apocalyptic villain?

“The Reincarnation Sphere is very useful. Thank you for your generosity.”

All around fell silent, except for the noise of the skeletons.

Many present heard her words and looked on in shock and doubt.

The power of a God-given item was greater than she had imagined.

She had gotten what she wanted.

Trust.

And strength.

Now, the strength she’d obtained was being turned back upon its original master, Qi Sigui—what could be more generous than that?

What does it mean to strike someone down and destroy their spirit as well?

This was exactly it.

Qi Sigui: !!!

“The Reincarnation Sphere is in your hands?!”

He gnashed his teeth, utterly incredulous.

Ting Rui, that useless thing!

He’d taken the Reincarnation Sphere from him, and it had ended up with someone else?!

How could the Reincarnation Sphere have landed in Ning Li’s hands!

He’d rather it went to Ting Rui, or Yin Que—anyone but Ning Li!

Because Ting Rui and Yin Que would never be as arrogant as her.

They would never say to him, “The Reincarnation Sphere is very useful. Thank you for your generosity.”

“Commander! These skeletons can’t be killed!”

“Skills barely affect them at all!”

“Even if the skeletons are temporarily scattered, they can still move!”

“Commander, the skeletons are fighting the Perfect Deformed Species!”

Skeletons were, by nature, not living beings.

They were already dead—how could they die again?

Skeletons, in a sense, were undying and indestructible.

So long as their master lived, they would never perish—they were the most indestructible soldiers, fighting for Ning Li until the last second of the world.

But the most terrifying thing was their sheer numbers—far beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

The dead always outnumbered the living.

After all, the Sentinels’ world had thousands of years of history.

She could command an entire Skull Army capable of destroying the entire Sentinel world, one day, when her spiritual sea was vast enough!

Ting Rui and Pei Yujiu looked at Ning Li in utter shock.

Before today, Ning Li had always seemed rather one-dimensional in their minds.

A student from the Frontier Guide Academy.

Her spiritual body was a Queen of Flowers.

The Queen of Flowers was a bit dazed; as for the owner, she didn’t seem dazed, but she wasn’t lively, as if there were always many negative emotions pressed in her heart, and she never shared the carefree innocence of her peers.

She was wary of the world.

Didn’t easily trust anyone.

And was slow to get close to teammates.

Perhaps the only person she trusted was the Commander.

But that wasn’t unusual.

The Commander had such charisma that everyone could trust him completely, never needing to fear betrayal.

His very character was as bright as the sun—light, dazzling.

That was all Ting Rui knew about Ning Li.

Not much.

Every time he saw the Commander close to her, he always felt a little puzzled—why would the Commander favor such an ordinary Guide?

Her skin was always pale, her lips just as colorless.

Her features were delicate.

Together, it made for an attractive face.

She wasn’t ugly—maybe even a bit pretty.

Her height was average for the Sentinel world, just over 1.7 meters.

There were plenty more beautiful than her.

Take Xi Dian, for example: the most beautiful woman in the Sentinel world, stunning since childhood, impossible to look away from, a top-tier Guide, lively, outgoing, warm, generous, getting along with everyone, and so much more radiant than Ning Li.

During all these days together, he’d exchanged only a handful of words with Ning Li, none of them very meaningful.

Her personality wasn’t exactly likable.

Certainly not as likable as Xi Dian.

If it were Xi Dian, the group would never be silent—she could always find something interesting, and always took care of everyone’s feelings.

He’d thought that was all there was to Ning Li.

Until today, when he saw a different side of her.

Powerful.

Shocking.

Unfamiliar.