On the subway platform, Yang Baicheng said gratefully, "Thank you for saving me, Mr. Huang. I will never forget this immense kindness!"
Huang Tian waved a hand. "It was merely in passing. Don't take it to heart."
Yang Baicheng thanked him repeatedly, while Liu Dong invited Huang Tian to stay briefly in Shenghe City, offering lavish hospitality to express his gratitude. Huang Tian declined, however; he was eager to refine the surging spiritual qi he had just absorbed and had no desire to waste time.
After a simple farewell, Huang Tian boarded the car bound back for Qingyang City.
Watching the car drive into the distance until it vanished from sight, Liu Dong sighed with emotion. "How fortunate... how fortunate Mr. Huang came to assist. Otherwise, you probably wouldn't have survived. Headquarters simply couldn't spare much strength to send reinforcements."
Yang Baicheng shook his head. "It wasn't 'probably wouldn't survive'—death was an absolute certainty. That Death Train was far too terrifying. Even a veteran Rank 2 dream expeller would likely have suffered a catastrophic defeat. Even if headquarters had sent someone, they never would have deployed a Rank 3 dream expeller."
Within the State of Dongping, there were only four Rank 3 dream expellers affiliated with the authorities in total. Three of them belonged to the Dream Expeller Association: the president and two vice presidents.
These three held immense power and prestige, and each was tasked with garrisoning an entire region. How could one of them drop everything and rush off to Shenghe on short notice just to save a mere Rank 1 dream expeller? To have someone dispatch a Rank 2 dream expeller would already have been quite generous.
Liu Dong clicked his tongue in wonder. "So according to you, Mr. Huang truly is a Rank 3 dream expeller?! The information coming out of the Qingyang City branch wasn't mistaken?"
Yesterday, after resolving the Shande Nursing Home nightmare, the members of the Qingyang City emergency squad had been beside themselves with excitement, speaking proudly of Huang Tian to their colleagues and declaring him a Rank 3 dream expeller.
Naturally, Shenghe City had caught wind of the news as well, but hardly anyone believed it. The reason was simple: everyone's growth and cultivation journey left a clear trail. How could an utterly obscure young man suddenly leap into becoming a Rank 3 dream expeller overnight?
Yang Baicheng said slowly, "He definitely is—and even among Rank 3s, he ranks among the strongest. Otherwise, it would have been utterly impossible for him to resolve the Death Train nightmare with such ease."
From the moment Huang Tian stepped onto the train to the moment he resolved the nightmare, only a few minutes had elapsed. With strength like that, no one would believe it if you claimed he wasn't a Rank 3 dream expeller.
Liu Dong looked delighted. "To think Mr. Huang possesses such strength and such fine character. Even though he hasn't joined the association yet, with him holding the fort, the surrounding cities won't have to worry nearly as much about nightmares suddenly descending."
"Perhaps..." Yang Baicheng let out a long sigh. "The frequency with which nightmares descend is growing higher and higher, and their threat levels are rising as well. In the past ten years, our Shenghe City has never seen a nightmare incident as terrifying as the Death Train, has it?"
Liu Dong's expression froze. The joy that had just surfaced in his heart evaporated instantly. He opened his mouth. "Maybe it was just a fluke—"
Yet once the words left his lips, he found it difficult to go on. It wasn't just Shenghe City seeing nightmares descend with ever-greater frequency; other cities were experiencing the exact same thing.
Take Qingyang City: in the past, a Xie-rank nightmare had never once appeared there. Yet in just over a single year, two had struck in succession. One incident had claimed the lives of two dream expellers, while the other was the Shande Nursing Home nightmare, resolved by Huang Tian.
Yang Baicheng looked up at the sky. The sun hung high above, and its warm rays seemed capable of dispelling all gloom and chill. Yet in the depths of his heart, a cold dread lingered—a profound despair for the future.
Was the apocalypse truly about to descend? Did humanity still possess any hope of survival?
Following his gaze, Liu Dong looked toward the horizon, up at the warm, gentle sun. Then, he lightly patted Yang Baicheng's shoulder. "The road is long and difficult. Let us take it one step at a time."
Yang Baicheng gave a slow nod, speaking no further.
***
The car drove along smoothly. Sitting in the vehicle, Huang Tian appeared to be resting with his eyes closed, but in truth, he was silently guiding the spiritual qi through celestial circulation within his body, gradually refining that sphere of pure spiritual qi comparable to a superlative spirit medicine.
Over an hour slipped by.
"Mr. Huang, we've arrived," Xiao Zhang called back after bringing the car to a steady halt beneath the residential building.
Huang Tian opened his eyes, a divine gleam flashing within them. He nodded and stepped out of the vehicle.
"If you ever need a ride, just call me anytime!" Xiao Zhang said cheerfully.
"Thank you for the trouble."
"No trouble at all, not one bit! I'm thrilled to do it!" Xiao Zhang beamed.
To be on familiar terms with a Rank 3 dream expeller and serve as his dedicated driver was a coveted assignment countless people could only dream of. He couldn't be happier—how could he possibly find it troublesome?
After exchanging a couple of pleasantries, Huang Tian turned and walked into the residential building. Out of habit, he cast his divine sense out in a sweep. His expression shifted slightly, yet he climbed up to the third floor at an unhurried pace. Reaching the hallway, he saw a middle-aged man in sunglasses standing outside the door to Apartment 301. The man's hair was salt-and-pepper, but his frame was remarkably robust, exuding an imposing sense of pressure.
Upon seeing Huang Tian, he took off his sunglasses and offered a faint smile. "Xu Yicheng. Rank 2 member of the Holy Light Society, deputy head of the External Affairs Division."
*The Holy Light Society?*
Huang Tian arched an eyebrow. He knew of this organization; it was an authentic heretical cult whose members worshipped and had faith in nightmares. They went about preaching the impending arrival of doomsday, stirring up trouble throughout the State of Dongping, and were a prime target of the Dream Expeller Association's crackdowns.
Xu Yicheng said with a smile, "I imagine you must have guessed my purpose here. Indeed, I have come to invite you to join our society. What do you say?"
"What benefits come with joining you?"
"Wealth, glory, money, beautiful women—whatever you desire is yours for the taking. Beyond that, should you render meritorious service, the society will bestow suitable dream relics upon you to help enhance your strength."
"Everything you mentioned, the Dream Expeller Association can give me as well."
"No, no, no. Doomsday approaches. Only those who place their faith in nightmares will endure. If you join them, you will die sooner or later. But if you join us, even when the end of days arrives, you will still be able to revel to your heart's content!"
Huang Tian let out a soft laugh. "Do you even know what truly lies behind nightmares? Where does such confidence come from?"
The smug look on Xu Yicheng's face faltered slightly. "Nightmares are naturally the creations of God. We worship the God who created nightmares. When God descends to the mortal realm, He will naturally favor us and place great trust in us. We shall become the masters of the new age, shepherding the masses on God's behalf!"
"In other words, you still have no idea why nightmares are truly descending, do you?" Huang Tian remarked understandingly.
Xu Yicheng's expression stiffened, and he forced out, "That is a secret of the society. You will only learn it once you join."
"And if I refuse?"
"All who stand in the way of doomsday will suffer divine retribution, cast forever into the boundless abyss!" Xu Yicheng tilted his head slightly upward, delivering the words like a dramatic aria.
"So, anyone who disobeys is your enemy?"
"You could look at it that way."
Huang Tian nodded in comprehension. "Then you can go die!"
With those words, a fist cleaved through the air and struck Xu Yicheng's upturned, terror-stricken head with a thunderous roar! Brain matter erupted instantly, and vile red-and-white filth splattered across the floor!
With a flick of his sleeve, the foul remnants, along with Xu Yicheng's corpse, were reduced to flying ash and scattered with the breeze, leaving behind not even an odor.
However, as Huang Tian swept his gaze across the floor, he found no leftover dream relics. As a Rank 2 member of the Holy Light Society—equivalent to a Rank 2 dream expeller—it was impossible for Xu Yicheng not to have fused with dream relics.
*So he isn't dead yet.*
Huang Tian had already anticipated this. Had he not possessed some means of self-preservation, how could a Holy Light Society member like Xu Yicheng dare to come see him in broad daylight?
*Still, did you really think you could escape?*
With a single thought, numerous voice lines crossed the void toward him. In an instant, Huang Tian singled out one that was as black as ink.
He had only been in this world for a few days. Aside from the Xu Yicheng he had just encountered, he hadn't offended anyone; there was no one who wished him dead. Therefore, this black voice line clearly originated from Xu Yicheng.
Shifting his gaze, he "looked" along the black voice line across the void, and a scene manifested before his eyes:
In the living room of a small villa on the outskirts of Qingyang City.
Xu Yicheng collapsed into a chair, his face pale as he panted heavily, his gaze venomous. "Damn it! To strike at me so decisively! Huang Tian, just you wait. One day, I will slaughter you with my own two hands to avenge this humiliation!"
As a Rank 2 dream expeller, he possessed three dream relics in total. One of them allowed him to maintain a corpse avatar; as long as the distance did not exceed fifty kilometers, he could remotely control the avatar's actions. The one sent to meet Huang Tian had been precisely that avatar.
"Now that the avatar is dead, nurturing another one will take two whole months. Damn it! Damn him to hell!!"
Just as he was cursing furiously, a call suddenly rang out beside his ear.
"Xu Yicheng!"
The familiar voice sent a shudder through his body. He sprang to his feet, terror on his face as he looked wildly in every direction. "Huang Tian?!"
"It's me!"
The moment those two words reached his ears, a five-colored great handprint abruptly manifested above his head. As soon as the handprint formed, five colors cascaded down like a celestial waterfall, crashing directly onto Xu Yicheng!
Terror twisted Xu Yicheng's face. He tried to flee the reach of the handprint, only to find the space around him utterly frozen—he could not move an inch. Panicking, he attempted to channel the power of his dream relics, but they yielded no response whatsoever, as though completely sealed away.
"Spare m—"
*Boom!!*
Amidst a scream of sheer terror, the five-colored great handprint crushed down atop him. In an instant, his head burst like a watermelon smashed by a sledgehammer. Bones, flesh, and viscera were compressed with brutal force into a single mass before detonating with a dull blast!
Nothing remained on the spot except a mound of crimson, viscous minced flesh and blood, along with three dream relics emanating an eerie aura.
With a sweep of Five-Colored Divine Light, the three dream relics instantly vanished into wisps of smoke, and their pure power surged back along the voice line into Huang Tian's body.
***
Inside Room 301, having settled this trivial matter, Huang Tian sat quietly in meditation, continuing to refine the pure spiritual qi within his body and push for his breakthrough to the Golden Core!
Meanwhile, outside the suburban villa, several Holy Light Society sentries looked back at the building in shock and bewilderment.
"Did I just hear Section Head Xu scream?" one asked uncertainly.
"I heard it too!"
"What's going on in there? Should we go check?"
"Come on, let's go have a look—"
The men trotted into the villa. The moment they stepped inside, they saw a pool of viscous, shredded flesh and blood on the living room floor, with shredded clothing mixed among the gore.
The men froze instantly, staring at one another in disbelief.
"Where's Section Head Xu?"
"That pool on the ground is probably him... *urgh!*"
"It has to be. Those clothes belong to him..."
"How could Section Head Xu die so suddenly? There weren't any enemies around! Could someone have used a dream relic to kill him across the void?"
"Stop guessing! Report this to the higher-ups immediately. Let's just hope they don't take their anger out on us..."
The group hurriedly reported the news of Xu Yicheng's death up the chain.
Compared to these sentries, the section heads and the vice president of the Holy Light Society guessed who had killed Xu Yicheng almost immediately.
In an ordinary small town over a thousand li from Qingyang City, nestled against the back of the mountains, lay an agricultural estate. Inside a brightly lit conference room within the estate, several people sat gathered.
Seated at the head was the vice president of the Holy Light Society, Jiang Yuanzhong. He was around forty years of age, wearing silver-rimmed glasses and looking quite refined and scholarly.
Seated to his left and right were the section heads of the Holy Light Society, each of whom was a veteran Rank 2 dream expeller.
"Vice President Jiang, Xu Yicheng undoubtedly died at Huang Tian's hands. In Qingyang City, no one else could touch him, let alone slay him across the void," the head of the External Affairs Division spoke up. "Should we retaliate immediately?"
Another chimed in, "Of course we must retaliate! If a Rank 2 member is killed and we don't even dare to strike back, wouldn't we become a laughingstock?"
Another scoffed, "Who's going to kill Huang Tian? Previously, we estimated that he was a veteran Rank 2 dream expeller, but now it seems there is an eighty percent chance he is a Rank 3. Aside from Vice President Jiang and the president, who is currently in seclusion preparing to fuse with a dream relic, who among us here can deal with him?"
The head of the External Affairs Division wore a cold expression. "Does that mean Xu Yicheng died for nothing? And the dream relics on him—those were of no small value either..."
Seeing them argue endlessly, Jiang Yuanzhong raised a hand to stop them. "We don't even fear the Dream Expeller Association, so why would we fear a mere Huang Tian? But now is not the time for retaliation. Everything can wait until the president finishes fusing with his dream relic."
Though they were a heretical cult, they were not raving madmen who had lost their minds; rather, they acted with considerable caution. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to thrive under the crackdowns of the Dream Expeller Association for so long.
As for Huang Tian, they would certainly seek revenge, but matters had priorities. The president fusing with a dream relic was undeniably far more important. At such a time, stirring up extra trouble and clashing with a Rank 3 dream expeller would only invite unforeseen complications.
***
*Whoosh—*
Inside Room 301, Huang Tian wore a placid expression. The spiritual qi inside his body surged like rivers rushing toward the sea, pouring into the Huangting sea of qi, where it finally condensed into a Golden Core shimmering with five colors.
As the Golden Core rose and fell, spiritual qi surged in tandem, and his vitality roared like a dragon, nourishing every single inch of his flesh until it turned crystal-clear and translucent, as though born anew. His bones and sinews radiated bright luminescence, resembling indestructible vajra lapis lazuli!
"The Golden Core is achieved!"
The instant Huang Tian opened his eyes, a profound, wondrous aura rippled outward from him.
Up above, an omen abruptly manifested across the heavens!
Across the vast expanse of the sky, sweeping sheets of magnificent, multi-hued light surged forth from the void. The radiant glow shone in gold and silver, azure and violet, crimson and orange—every hue imaginable, layered one upon another like the most exquisite aurora poured down from a celestial palace by immortals. It blanketed nearly half the city's sky, resembling a celestial river and draping like ribbons of colored silk, so breathtakingly beautiful that it scarcely seemed of the mortal realm.
Chapter 171