A priest in North America, what the hell is the Demon Gate system?

As soon as Li Ang uttered those words, a strong gust of wind swept behind his head!

However, Li Ang's consciousness had been on alert all along. His body subconsciously turned sharply to the right, dodging away from the tombstone's location, and his foot kicked a ditch in the grass of the cemetery.

"call!"

A gray shadow brushed past the edge of his coat.

In that instant, Li Ang saw an arm with nails stuck in it, slashing across like a claw, and those terrifying, bloodshot eyes—it was James!

Then, using the momentum from the sidestep, Li Ang reached into his suit pocket with his right hand and grasped the handle of the Sacred Judge's gun.

He drew his gun, turned around, and the movements were all done in one smooth motion.

Under the moonlight, James stood about two meters behind where he had just been, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Li Ang.

Li Ang raised the Sacred Judgment, aiming the muzzle at James's forehead.

"Good evening, Mr. James." This was the first time Li Ang had ever pointed a gun at someone, if he could even be considered human.

James didn't answer, but slowly lowered his injured arm and leaned closer to the tombstone.

Li Ang didn't fire; instead, he pressed the muzzle of his gun down and revealed his signature smile.

"Well, well, well, Mr. James, can we talk? For example, tell me, who turned you into this? And why are you keeping an eye on Mayor Joel?"

However, what responded to Li Ang was James's fist, the size of a sandbag, his right fist striking Li Ang's face with incredible speed.

Li Ang didn't have time to fire; he could only raise his left arm to block.

"Thump!"

A muffled thud echoed through the cemetery.

Li Ang felt as if his forearm had been hit by a hammer, his bones were trembling, and he was pushed back half a step by the force.

"The password? Is the power of a third-level Qi Refining cultivator this strong?" he cursed inwardly, while raising the Holy Judgment with his right hand and smashing the butt of the gun hard against James's temple.

James didn't dodge or flinch; instead, he raised his left hand and suddenly grabbed Li Ang's wrist.

Li Ang felt that the hand was like a vise, impossible to break free from.

"Damn it, I'm not Shirou, why are you making such a fuss!"

Li Ang cursed and slammed his right knee into James's abdomen.

James immediately released his grip and retreated, stepping back a meter or more, staring intently at Li Ang.

Li Ang shook his numb wrist and suddenly laughed: "Well, it seems you learned quite well in the army."

"I just wanted to test the effect of Constitution 2 in actual combat, but it seems that it's still not enough against an opponent who is two realms higher than me," Li Ang thought to himself.

James' strength, speed, and resilience completely overwhelmed him, so don't blame him for embodying the American spirit.

"Behold the traditional martial arts of America!"

Without hesitation, Li Ang instantly locked the gun to James and pulled the trigger.

"Buzz—!"

But instead of the expected gunshot, a deep and loud hum erupted from the muzzle of the Sacred Judgment Gun, like someone chanting scriptures in unison.

The silver-white patterns on the gun instantly lit up, flowing with a pale golden light.

A golden bullet struck James precisely in the left chest.

"puff!"

James looked down at his chest. There were no bullet holes, only a small patch of golden light, and then... that was it.

The golden light quickly dimmed and dissipated. James raised his head, and a hint of doubt flashed in his blood-red eyes.

He reached up and touched the spot on his chest where he had been hit, then looked at the weapon in Li Ang's hand and froze for a moment.

Li Ang was also stunned.

He stared at the Holy Judgment for two seconds, then looked at James's unharmed chest, his lips twitching: "What the hell... so this thing of yours really only targets spirits?"

He recalled the system's description: "[This magical artifact can cause enormous damage to the soul and spirit]."

I initially thought it was additional damage, after all, I've played Dungeon Fighter Online for so many years, it turns out it's an exclusive weapon?!

"So, we can only use zombies and refining corpses, which are physical things, as fireworks?! My contribution points!!" Li Ang felt like he was about to spit out a mouthful of blood.

James seemed to have come to his senses as well, roared, and pounced again!

"Hey! Is it possible to reconcile?"

Li Ang dodged the attack with a quick step, while noticing a detail in the process.

From the moment he approached Daisy's tombstone, James's attacks became unusually impatient, and he would even abandon the pursuit and instead stand between the tombstone and Li Ang.

When Li Ang is away from the tombstone, James becomes very conservative.

With this in mind, Li Ang had already made up his mind. He rolled to the side to dodge the attack and stood up behind Daisy's tombstone.

"Honestly, I'm starting to admire you." Li Ang smiled slightly and put the Sacred Judgment back into his inner bag.

"Even in death, he doesn't forget to fulfill his filial duties; this kind of quality makes him a truly filial son, regardless of social status."

But then Li Ang changed the subject, a more terrifying smile spreading across his face. If Shirley were here now, she would definitely be terrified.

"But unfortunately..."

Li Ang suddenly turned around, raised his foot sharply, seemingly gathering all his strength into that leg, and kicked hard at Daisy's tombstone!

"I'm a deacon at the Demonic Sect's stronghold now! Hahahaha!"

"roar!!!"

James let out an almost desperate roar!

He lunged at the tombstone with lightning speed, trying to block Li Ang's foot with his body.

However, Li Ang's foot stopped in mid-air and did not kick down. Instead, he suddenly exerted force in his waist and spun around on the spot.

A Soul-Suppressing Nail slipped from Li Ang's right sleeve; it was the very one Li Ang had just redeemed from the system.

Immediately afterwards, Li Ang gripped the Soul-Suppressing Nail in his right hand and plunged it downwards like a thunder god!

"Pfft!"

With a muffled thud, the Soul-Suppressing Nail pierced James's back, leaving only less than half an inch of its tail protruding.

"Ugh!!"

James opened his mouth in agony, spewing out large amounts of white smoke centered on the Soul-Suppressing Nail, as if he were being burned from the inside by flames! He lay sprawled on the ground, convulsing wildly.

Li Ang stepped back a few paces, creating a safe distance, and watched this scene unfold.

However, soon, as if enduring immense pain, James used his last bit of strength to crawl towards Daisy's tombstone.

However, this brief respite didn't last long before James lay completely still on the ground, his face pressed against the cold grass, his eyes still open, gazing in the direction of the tombstone.

The bloodshot in his pupils was fading rapidly, losing its last trace of luster.

Li Ang stood there, looking at James who was no longer moving on the ground, when a notification sound popped into his mind.

[Ding! Emergency sect mission completed: Exterminate the Corpse Refiner]

[100 contribution points have been awarded]

[Sect Mission: The Search for the Roots is not yet complete, please continue exploring]

"So, what's your situation..." Li Ang muttered to himself.