The undead have descended upon the world? I possess a sword that can cleave the heavens once more!

After finishing his meal, Wu You drove into another area.

The streets in this area are a bit narrow, with old residential buildings on both sides. The walls are peeling and the storefronts on the ground floor are mostly closed, with rust stains on the roller shutters.

Several cars covered in dust were parked on the side of the road; it was unclear how long they had been there.

He parked his car at the intersection and started walking around the area with his sword in hand.

Each time the four-colored, translucent longswords lightly slashed past, a corpse species turned to ashes.

Experience points +10

Experience points +10

Experience points +10

. . .

According to the law of conservation of happiness, when one person is happy, another person must be unhappy.

Just as Wu Youmei was happily reaping experience points, the senior class (1) of No. 5 Middle School...

The afternoon sun slanted in through the window, falling on the desks and warming them up.

The classroom was quiet, with only the scratching of pens on paper and the hum of the fan.

With the college entrance exam approaching, everyone is burying themselves in practice questions.

Hua Linlin lay on the table, her chin resting on her arm, staring blankly in one direction.

That seat is empty.

It's been empty for almost a month now.

The table was spotless, there was no coat draped over the back of the chair, the papers stuffed in the desk drawer had been removed, and even the textbooks were gone. It was as if this person had never existed.

Hua Linlin stared at the empty seat, her mind a jumble of thoughts.

How did he get accepted early?

Does being accepted early mean you don't even have to come to school?

Her fingers unconsciously drew circles on the table.

Damn it! I haven't even settled the score with him for standing me up twice yet!

How awful!

That damn early admission!

And then there's that despicable... Wu You...

She rolled over and buried her face in her arms.

She didn't know why she kept looking in that direction.

You've just gotten used to it? Yes, you must have gotten used to it.

There used to be someone sitting there quietly, but now it's suddenly empty, and it feels like something is missing.

"Linlin".

A voice drifted over from the side.

Hua Linlin didn't move.

"Linlin?"

Still nothing.

"Linlin!"

"Huh?" Hua Linlin suddenly looked up and saw her deskmate Xiaoman holding a pen, looking at her with a helpless expression.

"Going to the toilet?"

Hua Linlin blinked her big eyes, her mind still a bit foggy: "Ah... okay..."

Xiaoman put down her pen, stared at her for two seconds, then followed her gaze to the empty seat and sighed.

"Linlin, even though she has already been accepted by a university in advance, I think you should try to find out which school she was admitted to."

Hua Linlin was stunned for a moment: "How could I...?"

She was halfway through her sentence when she suddenly realized, "Uh... Xiaoman, what are you talking about?"

Xiaoman shook her head: "Let's not even talk about this month, just this week, you stare at that place blankly several times a day. Linlin, I'm a normal high school student, after all."

Hua Linlin's delicate face flushed red instantly: "What?! That's completely untrue! I don't know Wu You at all! It's just that guy is so awful! Xiaoman, you have no idea what kind of person he is..."

Just as Hua Linlin started rambling on and on about Wu You.

Xiaoman looked at her and sighed softly, "You're in trouble."

Hua Linlin was slightly taken aback: "Huh? What's so terrible?"

Xiaoman looked at her blank expression and suddenly found it a little funny, but she swallowed the words back.

Getting back to the main topic: "Hey, Linlin, wanna go to the bathroom together?"

"OK."

Hua Linlin stood up and followed her outside.

After taking two steps, I looked back at the empty seat again.

. . . . . .

Time always flies when it's time to reap the rewards.

When Wu You sheathed his sword, it was already dark. The setting sun had sunk behind the building, leaving only a sliver of orange-red afterglow on the horizon. The streetlights were not yet on, and the alley was dimly lit.

He glanced at the Sword Manual panel.

Allocable experience points: 400.

I gained over a hundred experience points in one afternoon, which is pretty good.

However, the zombies in this area have been mostly cleared out, so it's time to move on to another location tomorrow.

Then Wu You had a thought.

Allocable experience points: 400 → 0

Phantom Cloud Sword Technique (Mastery) (521/3000) → (921/3000)

A familiar feeling welled up, and many insights flowed through Wu You's consciousness like water.

With 400 experience points, the Nine Shadow Steps became more stable, the Shadow Slash's transition between reality and illusion became smoother, and the special power within the body also increased slightly.

Wu You clenched his fist.

Great, you've gotten a little stronger.

He opened the car door and got in. Just as he placed the sword on the passenger seat, his phone rang twice.

It was a message from Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan: "Xiao You, the Martial Arts League starts in a little over half a month. You can sign up now to be a judge for the league, which means scoring the participants and overseeing the competition. There's not much else to do, it's quite easy, and the contribution points reward is not bad. If you're interested, you can sign up on the survey platform."

After reading it, Wu You thought for a moment and typed a reply: "Thank you, Uncle Lin. I'll think about it."

He put down his phone and started the car.

Being a judge in the martial arts league... it's easy, but you still get a fair share of points.

For other torchbearers, contribution points mean cultivation resources and an increase in strength, but for him, contribution points are not that important, since his strength improvement mainly relies on the Sword Codex, not energy stones.

Instead of wasting time, it's better to kill more zombies and earn more experience points.

Therefore, Wu You does not intend to sign up to be a judge for the martial arts league.

. . . . . .

When I got home, dinner was just being served.

Braised fish, stir-fried vegetables, and a bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup. Mr. Wu sat in his usual spot, pouring himself a drink. Mrs. Wu came out of the kitchen carrying the last dish, and a smile appeared on her face when she saw Wu You.

"You're back? Wash your hands and eat."

Wu You washed his hands, sat down, and picked up his chopsticks.

Aunt Wu picked up a piece of fish belly meat for him and began to say, "Xiao You, don't work too hard at your part-time job. Now your parents have changed jobs, the pay is high and the work is easy, so there's no financial pressure at home."

She paused.

"Since you've already been accepted early, why don't you take advantage of this free time and go on a trip? You can also broaden your horizons."

Mr. Wu nodded in agreement, "Your mother is right, it's good to go out for a walk."

Mr. and Mrs. Wu were naturally aware that Wu You had been admitted early, and they were very happy about it.

During this time, Wu You used the excuse of doing tutoring work to go out.

"Let's talk about travel later." He picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks. "This is a part-time job, it's not tiring at all, not as tiring as going to school."

Wu Jing, sitting opposite, rolled her eyes silently upon hearing this.

What do you mean by not being tired as much as going to school?

She glanced at Wu You, then lowered her head and continued eating.

This person has changed since the last car accident, changed a lot, and even got early admission to a university.

Although I don't know which university it is, a university that can recruit students in the early admission round can't be a bad one.

She had mixed feelings, but her parents were happy, so she didn't have much to say.

. . . . . .

Just as Wu Youzheng was enjoying dinner with his family.

In a palace shrouded in black mist, several enormous stone pillars stand on either side, their surfaces engraved with twisted patterns that resemble some kind of ancient script or struggling limbs.

Deep inside the palace, the light was dim, with only a few eerie blue will-o'-the-wisps floating in mid-air, casting a pale white light on everything.

Several people with skin so pale they didn't look human stood in the hall.

One of them was wearing a long black dress, with her long hair flowing down her back, and her pure black eyes were devoid of any emotion.

It was the black-clad zombie that attacked Wu You that night.

At the very head of the table, on a chair formed from condensed black mist, a figure draped in a black cloak stood with his back to the corpses.

The cloak was so large that it covered his entire body, leaving only a pale finger visible, resting on the armrest and tapping it repeatedly.

Its sound was completely flat, like an echo coming from underground.

"There is less than a calendar month until the correct star orbit arrives. This plan must succeed."

He paused for a moment.

"All for the great God of a Thousand Faces."

Below, the group of zombies shouted in unison:

"All for the great God of a Thousand Faces!"

The sound echoed in the empty palace, lingering for a long time.

The black-cloaked corpse tilted its head slightly, revealing a section of its pale chin.

"Xuan Li".

The black-dressed zombie raised its head.

"Keep a close eye on those Lustful Clan members lately," the black-cloaked voice remained flat. "Once the plan succeeds, eliminate them all."

Xuan Li nodded expressionlessly.

The ghostly blue flames in the hall also flickered, casting her long shadow on the stone pillar behind her.