Above Destiny

Chapter 617 One problem solved, another arises

The illusion vanished in a flash.

But that distant and menacing gaze seemed to pierce through nothingness and reality, staring straight at Ji Jue, making him feel a chill run down his spine.

Even more terrifying, he discovered that... with just a trace of the resonance brought by the Blood Alliance, the Wolf Blood Poison had silently eroded and penetrated deep into his soul!
The wolf's stealth and malice are truly all-pervasive. With just one glance, it had already planted the seeds of a distorted future in Ji Jue, subtly transforming him into a member of the wolf pack.

Ji Jue's expression changed involuntarily. He sensed it—the blood-red wolfsbane was rapidly absorbing Ji Jue's spiritual essence, quickly sprouting and about to entwine itself around... his matrix.

Dude, are you serious?

Ji Jue was almost amused.

Even before he could react, the matrix of non-aggression flickered, a wisp of light from the edge of change appeared and disappeared, and the wolf blood oath that had come close to stick together was chopped into minced meat like cutting melons and vegetables.

What the hell? Don't get involved!
The severely damaged and shattered wolfsbane instantly dissipated, fled and wandered, and then reassembled, attempting to hide within Ji Jue's body!

In the blink of an eye, it flowed along the blood to the heart, leaped into the Thunder Pool, and collided head-on with Zhanlu, which was quietly transforming amidst endless lightning...

The Zhanlu Lu, which had transformed into a spirit, hummed slightly for a moment, a sound that was difficult to comprehend.

What the hell is this?
Burn it!
Snapped--

Before they could even react, the Blood Alliance was completely torn apart by the lightning that erupted from Zhanlu the moment they met, burned to ashes, and the remaining blood color dissipated again, as if trembling with fear and disturbance, and decisively changed direction.

This time, after abandoning the matrix and the physical body, it attempted to hide within the soul.

And so, within Ji Jue's soul, Chun Jun seemed to slowly type out a question mark.

【? 】

Why be polite when cookies are delivered to your door?
One sip and it's instantly refined.

Suddenly, a faint crimson wisp appeared within the rising black flames.

Right above the hole where black flames rose from the chest of the Demon Shadow, a blood-red thorn silently meandered and grew, entwining itself around the void, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

The sudden change left Ji Jue stunned and unable to comprehend it—how could the wolf blood oath have been suddenly absorbed by his demonic form?
Good news, the Demon form seems to have grown stronger.

Bad news: I think I'm turning into a wolf!
If it were an ordinary demon, it would probably have already attracted the attention of the Great Demon Wolf, its body sprouting black fur. But because Ji Jue's demon is self-reliant, it has no connection with the Great Demon at all, and only imitates and borrows from its competitors... purely freeloading.

After swallowing and digesting the blood oath of the rotting giant wolf, he immediately unlocked a brand new skill tree... and it was a complete copy of Wolf's Blood!
Then what am I?
Is it a wolf or a dog?
In the midst of the tedious finishing touches, he intentionally or unintentionally moved closer to the window, mustering his courage to circle around the An brothers and the Dragon Tongue Hunter a few times, but the White Deer Hunter didn't seem to react. The two brothers were just gesturing and talking to him with their arms around the Dragon Tongue Hunter, seemingly saying something to him.

There was no hostility whatsoever.

But Ji Jue's senses seemed to have increased significantly and become much more acute. Based on his intuition, his reaction speed should have also increased considerably.

At the same time, and crucially, the detection of malice has become much clearer!

Just like right now in the conference room, the witnesses from the Imperial Security Service are chatting and laughing with Fan Yun, and even...

—Fan Yun?!
【? ? ? 】

Ji Jue suppressed the urge to twitch his face, finding it hard to understand: No, buddy?

I wouldn't say I risked my life for the Federation, but I've at least made contributions, achieved output, and met KPIs, right? My reputation should be at the "Friendly" level by now, so what do you mean by this?!

I may have done some bad things, but you old dog, you're a real ingrate!
Noticing Ji Jue's gaze, Fan Yun nodded slightly and smiled warmly at him during their conversation.

Anyone who didn't know better would think this old bastard was being respectful and courteous to scholars.

But in that instant, the malice that Ji Jue sensed reappeared—although it wasn't quite to the point of being irreconcilable enemies, it was still something to be called disgust and loathing.

To put it simply, it's like encountering a slow-moving car on the highway, being delayed in line at the checkout, or having someone holding up their phone screen while you're watching a movie and your little karaomis suddenly dig out a bomb...

It's an eyesore no matter how I look at it!
It was fleeting, disappearing very quickly.

Business as usual.

So Ji Jue straightened up with gratitude and smiled in response.

Ah, Tengen!

After the dissection, there will be communication and discussion, followed by a summary and report.

In this kind of situation, it's not up to Ji Jue to interrupt or show off. He just needs to fulfill his role as a quiet, unassuming person and listen attentively.

Ultimately, at the meeting following the dissection and analysis, Egonu made a conclusion that no one wanted to see—the transformation of monstrous beings into wolves is indeed a real phenomenon, and it is replicable and feasible.

Simply put, it's not just the one who was dissected who can transform; everyone else can too. Moreover, anyone from the White Gang can transform!

According to analysts' deductions: given specific conditions, a sacrificial ritual aimed at the Great Abomination is performed, and then supplemented with specific bait and catalysts, any member of the White Nation can instantly transform themselves...

It goes without saying which great calamity it refers to, and the specific content of the ritual is even simpler—'eating'.

All they need to do is eat.

eat!
The law of the jungle prevails; this is the enduring nature of the wilderness.

The specific bait and catalysts required for the ritual are too broad to determine at the moment, and the final result will vary depending on each person's individual aptitude.

But the most crucial prerequisite—that specific condition—is something that almost everyone in the entire White State possesses!
What other conditions could there be?
"The blood oath of the former White Kingdom priest king."

Egonu stated decisively, "As long as one is within the scope of the High Priest King's Wolf Blood Alliance, everyone has the potential to transform into a wolf."

"..."

For a moment, the entire conference room fell into a deathly silence.

Before the priest king died, wolf blood, following his curse, infected all the people and members of the entire White Kingdom. In a sense, the entire White Kingdom became his wolf pack.

As long as the wolf pack exists, and the alpha wolf remains, it will one day return. Similarly, as long as the alpha wolf exists, the wolf threat will linger over this land, and there is no way to resolve it.

The wolf-transformation technology possessed by the Restoration Front may seem frightening, but once understood, it turns out to be quite insignificant in essence—it is nothing more than forcibly activating the wolf blood oath hidden in the soul through sacrifice and then completely assimilating the sacrificer into an avatar of the wolf lord.

Its principle is not to turn people into wolves, but to make people be devoured by wolves and become part of the wolf.

Even if this technology were used to turn everyone in the entire White Kingdom into wolves, in the end, there would only be one wolf—the priest king who is the lord of wolves!
Because of the limitations imposed by the priest king's own condition, and the brutality of the transformation and sacrificial rituals, the transformed product was completely brainless. However, being brainless is not a flaw; rather, it is the most troublesome and threatening aspect.

Now, everyone can be a priest king.

Imagine, overnight, the entire White State, everyone turns into mad wolves, a scene of rampant chaos... —Sweating, aren't you, you brat?
Sweating.

In the quiet conference room, the central air conditioning was blowing cold air, but everyone immediately felt a burning heat as if they were in a furnace, and they were sweating profusely.

In the silence, the deathly silence, no one spoke.

It's like the computer has crashed.

But what else can I say?
[Great! Finally, we have an excuse! Let's go and slaughter those damned White Nationalist bastards!]

are you crazy!
Who can afford such a price?
Federation? Empire? Or Wasteland?

Tianyuan simply couldn't withstand it, and Bailu couldn't take it either.

The connection between the wolves and the tower is intricate and impossible to unravel. The Empire and the Federation cannot accept the expansion of the tower's shadow as a result, nor can the Wasteland allow the wolves' corruption to grow stronger once more.

Moreover, the more he kills, the greater the death and curse become. As a result of this karmic retribution, the faster the priest king recovers. He might even come back to life before he has finished killing everyone, once again attempting to reach the realm of saints and dragons, and becoming an integral part of the great calamity.

If left unchecked and the White Kingdom Restoration Front continues down this path, the High Priest King will still be resurrected.

Now, things have gone from being one-track mind to being blocked at both ends.

The fusion bomb issue hasn't even been resolved yet, and new troubles are already piling up.

This is absolutely infuriating!
No one spoke in the conference room, but the secretary who came in kept whispering something to Fan Yun and Dordonville, conveying urgings and instructions from the central city and the capital.

The two men's expressions grew increasingly grim.

Until they finally discovered that, under the guise of power and violence, the order and stability that the Federation and the Empire wanted to promote had no foundation whatsoever.

The 'peace plan' jointly decided and implemented by the highest levels of both sides has no chance of being realized in Bai State.

Furthermore, the execution errors in Tacheng could potentially affect the entire Central Plains.

The only remaining chance is to take remedial action.

"Then let's fight."

Fan Yun stubbed out his cigar in the ashtray and exhaled the last wisp of smoke.

"beat."

Dordonville's face was ashen, his eyes clouded with gloom: "Fight until the so-called Restoration Front ceases to exist."

The two exchanged one last look, then stood up and left together.

Then, and then, everyone finally came to their senses, and everything went black again. In that instant, it seemed as if they heard, in the deathly silence, the thunder that had just been unleashed by the Federation and the Empire!
Before I could even react, I had already instinctively gotten up and followed the two figures.

The crowds were overwhelming.

In less than half a minute, the once crowded conference room became completely empty.

"Fighting and killing, it's such a hassle."

Lin Shouyi lowered his eyes, seemingly lost in thought, yawned, and walked away with his hands behind his back.

Throughout the entire ordeal, the An brothers and the Dragon Tongue hunters remained silent. Now, having finished their dried fruit and sharpened their arrows, they walked away as if they hadn't heard a thing, hands in their pockets, swaggering away.

What else can be said?
We're sharpening our weapons and preparing to kill the wolves!
Only the scholars who had nothing to do with this remained, supplementing medical records and data, writing summaries with their heads down, and exchanging ideas in hushed tones.

Finally, Egonu closed the notebook and stood up.

"It's been quite fruitful. Although the technique is a bit rough, the ideas have some merit."

He sighed, then, noticing Ji Jue beside him, suddenly suggested, "Why don't we come back to the association together and have a seminar to exchange ideas?"

Ji Jue shook his head and sighed regretfully: "Thank you for your kind offer, but unfortunately, life science is not my forte, and I don't have the energy to deal with this aspect at the moment, so let's forget about it."

"Really, what a shame."

Egonu nodded, patted him on the shoulder one last time, and turned to leave.

Whether it's a seminar or not, it's just a pretext.

If Ji Jue intends to withdraw, he can take this opportunity to return to the association with Egonu.

Although the Taiyi Ring has a hefty commission rate, expensive authorization fees, an ugly business practice, bloated personnel, and a bunch of useless people, it is still reliable in this situation, at least it can keep Ji Jue from getting involved.

But since Ji Jue didn't have this plan, Egonu wouldn't waste any more words—when did it become his business to worry about the tides? This kid might just be waiting for this opportunity to gather some materials!

Doesn't he already have the advantage of starting first?
In any case, it is foreseeable that the Central Plains, known for its mudflats, is about to face a new storm.

Amidst the turmoil, countless people will be drawn in, and how many in the entire White State will be able to remain unscathed?

And so, in the silence, Ji Jue finally got up and walked out of the empty conference room.

One last look back.

Gently, the door was closed.

Click.

A soft sound.

From then on, the winds of war swept across the entire city of Tacheng...
.
Whether there was wind or not, whether it had blown throughout Tacheng, Ji Jue didn't know, but he knew he might be in trouble.

Because he had just left the federal military base when Ye Xian called.

There were no formalities, no pulling or tugging, and no pretenses or cover-ups.

As always, he was straightforward and got straight to the point, asking a question that was obvious and left no room for doubt.

Then, Ji Jue started sweating.

Ye Xian asked:
"—You're in Baibang, right?"

(End of this chapter)