A heretical cultivator in Bureau 749, I'm the fiercest at pulling out tendons and skinning peop

After much effort, Ji Zuodao and Gouye finally managed to dismember the bear into eight pieces and sort them properly.

With the bear dealt with, all that's left is Zhou He, still hanging by the door, looking almost like dried bacon.

It has to be said that this guy is really resilient. He was hung there bleeding for half a day and still had a breath left.

"Tsk, pretty tough."

Ji Zuodao walked over and tilted his head.

"That's good too. Doggy likes to eat fresh food. If it's dead, it just doesn't taste right."

Zhou He seemed to have calmed down, or rather, he had regained some clarity in his last moments of lucidity.

He struggled to open his heavy eyelids, his unfocused gaze momentarily focusing on Ji Zuodao's face. A hoarse, bellowing sound escaped his throat, broken and incoherent:

"No...no...the future...shouldn't be like this..."

"The future I 'saw'... wasn't like this..."

"There's someone... who will save me from the black bear... He'll wear the same epaulets as you... I'll join you... I'll use my ability to see the future... to solve many problems for you and make great contributions... This is... this is the best future... a future that's good for everyone..."

He spoke with difficulty, yet his eyes burned with the last glimmer of almost obsessive light, as if he were reciting a passage of scripture he deeply believed in.

Ji Zuodao listened without much expression on his face. Only after he finished speaking did he slowly and deliberately offer a sarcastic, almost monotonous, compliment:

Wow.

"That's awesome!"

Then, several thick, dark tendons suddenly emerged from his sleeve, deftly untying the knots and setting the limp Zhou He down.

Before the glimmer of hope on Zhou He's face could fully take shape—

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

The sickening, dense sounds of bones dislocating and cracking, like popping beans, echoed through the deathly silent corridor!

Ji Zuodao's technique was so skillful it was almost cruel. His large tendons worked in tandem with his movements, twisting Zhou He's limbs backward, compressing his torso, and contorting his neck as if manipulating dough...

A perfectly healthy person was forcibly turned into a bloody, fleshy ball that barely retained a human shape amidst a few short, shrill screams that were inhuman!

Then, he casually tossed it—

The "ball of flesh" traced an arc and landed precisely in the mouth of Dog Master, who was already wide open with a greedy and excited gleam in his eyes.

Dog-Grandpa swallowed it whole, even licking the blood from the corner of his mouth with a hint of lingering satisfaction. A satiated expression appeared on his dog face, and he let out a bloody burp.

"Hiccup~"

"Dog, this kid's gone mad. He was still talking nonsense at the very end."

"whispering sound."

Dog-Grandpa curled his lip, his dark dog eyes full of disdain.

"Using Supernatural to watch his own 'death replay'—who wouldn't go crazy if not?"

It took two steps, its tail swaying leisurely.

"That's why people are so stubborn. Instead of wasting their time thinking about how they're going to die, why can't they learn from me—"

"Using this skill to amuse others?"

"That's so interesting."

At this moment, Dog was grinning widely, his back teeth almost showing.

It wasn't because I inexplicably acquired some scrap of "the power of predestination"—

That divine power was shattered like dumpling filling, and it would take a lot of painstaking effort to slowly piece it together and refine it.

It was pure joy.

Thinking about it, the guy who went through all that trouble to "plant" this supernatural power had painstakingly used Zhou He's unlucky fate as a breeding ground, carefully "nurturing" it for so many years, and now it was only a few months away from being ready for initial harvest and final shaping...

The results of it?

Hey! The peaches were almost ripe, but a passing dog snatched them all up in one bite!

This feeling is more comfortable than drinking a bowl of ice-cold plum juice on a sweltering summer day, and more exhilarating than snatching the fattest piece of braised pork from a brat's bowl!

The dog paws scratched the ground contentedly a couple of times, its tail wagging enthusiastically.

If the scapegoat who uses supernatural powers but ends up benefiting it is one of those bald monks it dislikes the most...

Hehehe...

Then it would be even happier.

Just as Doggy was happily preparing to close his eyes and digest the unexpected destiny he had gained, he suddenly stopped.

"Um?"

"Something's not right... Who wrote something on Dog Lord's supernatural power?"

It stared intently inward, carefully "smelling" it for a moment, then its dog eyes widened and it began to mutter curses:

"Hey! Damn it! This filthy, smoking thing! Who are they trying to protect themselves from? They even put a bell on the bait?"

Ji Zuodao, pondering whether to braise or stew the enormous bear paw, didn't even look up when he heard this:

"What's wrong? Why are you so angry?"

"His supernatural powers have been cursed."

Dog spit out a mouthful of disgust, his face full of sullen resentment.

"It's useless, it only has one effect—once this power of destiny is forcibly removed, that bastard who cast the curse will immediately know!"

"What, scared? Why don't you just throw it up?"

"Scared? Do you think I'm the kind of dog who'd be afraid of my owner coming after eating meat?"

That's what they say, but Dog Master was indeed a little scared, as the opponent might be a Divine Power Realm expert.

Its eyes darted around slyly, and it moved closer to Ji Zuodao, lowering its voice and raising its eyebrows sharply:

"Hey kid, how's it going? Got a big one?"

Ji Zuodao glanced at it, his eyes not even moving: "How big?"

"Hehe, Divine Power Realm!"

Goodbye.

Ji Zuodao answered crisply and turned to leave.

"Hey! Don't go!" Dog-Grandpa panicked, grabbing his trouser leg in his mouth. "Listen to me! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"Remember that old geezer from the Wang family at the Dharma Aspect Realm last time? He got beaten into a pulp by your Uncle Liu and ended up in my stomach, wasn't he? That one bite...tsk tsk, it's equivalent to how many years of my arduous cultivation!"

It spoke with great enthusiasm and persuasion:

"Not to mention this is a cultivator at the Divine Power Realm! If we catch this... what a fat 'fish' it would be!"

Ji Zuodao pulled his trouser leg out of the dog's mouth, dusted it off, and remained expressionless.

"Dog Master, you know that's the Divine Power Realm. I fish to fill my own stomach, not to catch a dragon to fill its stomach. With our small bodies combined, they wouldn't even have enough to fill a tooth gap."

"You're so stupid!"

Dog looked at him with a disappointed expression, slapping the floor with its paws.

"The two of us aren't enough. Why don't we find a capable big shot to carry you?"

"Your Uncle Liu, Deputy Director Liu, spends all his time lounging in his office drinking tea and reading newspapers. I reckon he's practically rusting from boredom!"

"This..." Ji Zuodao frowned slightly, seemingly somewhat tempted, but still hesitant. "Wouldn't this be inappropriate? To disturb the old man over such a trivial matter..."

"What's wrong with it!"

Dog-Grandpa's voice suddenly rose, becoming righteous and self-assured, his face radiating an air of "righteous indignation":

"Are we doing this for ourselves? We're doing this for justice! For the reputation of Bureau 749!"

It stood upright, one paw on its non-existent hip, the other pointing and gesturing:

"Just think about it! That bastard who came out of nowhere dared to use living people as flowerpots to 'cultivate supernatural powers' on our Moonsea District's soil! How utterly depraved is that? How utterly disrespectful is that to our Bureau 749?"

"Today he dares to use random passersby to cultivate supernatural powers, tomorrow he'll dare to use Aunt Liu who sells pancakes downstairs to refine magical artifacts! This is a slap in the face to our 749th Bureau! It's a slap in the face to your Uncle Liu! A slap in your face!"

Dog Lord became more and more excited as he spoke, as if he had transformed into a messenger of justice:

"Listen to me, get your Uncle Liu here! The three of us will join forces and lay a trap, just waiting for that bastard to sneak over here following the curse!"

"At that time—"

It grinned, revealing an extremely snobbish and greedy smile.

"Let your Uncle Liu take the lion's share and bear the brunt of the beating! We'll just stand by, offering support, adding insult to injury, and picking up the scraps..."

"That's enough for us to eat our fill and feel perfectly content for quite a while!"

It stuck out its tongue and licked its lips, its dog eyes gleaming with the shrewdness of "making a fortune with a small investment" and "getting something for nothing".