Radiance and Blasphemy; Re-Entering the Reflected Ruin Realm!

"Aren't people from Blue Star supposed to love gold and luxury goods? Turns out there really are things gold can't buy." Perched atop a humming external air conditioner unit in the rainy night, Bai Zhou held up an umbrella and casually complained, "I couldn't even rent a room. No wonder back in Wancheng, natural gold from Blue Star was only worth a single bowl of braised pork." "...That's not quite it." Crow paused with a strange expression. "Is there any chance you terrified her because you offered too much?" "These aren't war-torn times. In Tinghai, at least, people don't trade with raw gold. Everyone uses Federation currency." "Federation currency?" Bai Zhou curled his lip. "Paper money, right? It's not like I didn't want to use it. I also thought whipping out gold bricks and luxury watches looked pretty suspicious... but bringing that up just depresses me." With that, he fished a crumpled handful of paper bills from his coat. "Those pursuers had guns, blades, luxury items, even gold bullion on them, but hardly any of them carried cash." "Because everyone is used to digital mobile payments," Crow replied without hesitation. "...The 'forbidden items' you once saw in Wancheng." "Phones?" Bai Zhou blinked. He reached into his coat once more, dug around twice, and quickly pulled out... an entire string of phones! They were all name brands, too—either bearing an emblem of a half-eaten pineapple or stamped with a label reading "Supreme Huami Special Edition." "These?" Bound together by a cord, there were roughly thirty of them—enough to set up a stall at a second-hand market. Yet Bai Zhou eyed them with deep skepticism. Could a thin sheet of glass really be more useful than gold bullion? "No, not like this..." Crow fell silent. As the saying went, it took ten years to grow a tree, but a hundred years to educate a person. Re-educating Bai Zhou on basic common sense was truly an arduous and lengthy undertaking. Otherwise, who knew what jaw-dropping stunts he would pull in the future? And why in the world was he carrying so many phones around! Some were even stained with flecks of blood. If he took them to a second-hand market, security would arrest him on the spot. "First a gold-heist bandit, and now a serial phone thief? Bai Zhou, you're looking more and more like a hardened outlaw every day." *Thank goodness he didn't pull these out earlier, or poor Classmate Fang might have fainted on the spot...* Pursing her lips, Crow shook her head with a soft sigh. "To think I would end up teaching a student like this. Back in the day, I was at least..." Mid-sentence, Crow abruptly went quiet, her lashes lowering. Her hesitation only piqued Bai Zhou's curiosity. "What did you do before, Teacher Crow? And why were you picking on me earlier anyway? Honestly, I think you look far more like an old hand on the most-wanted list, ridiculously experienced." Bai Zhou quipped, but Crow, seated beside him, gave no answer. The air conditioning unit groaned and vibrated beneath them, while Bai Zhou held the small umbrella overhead. Rain pitter-pattered against the black canopy, and the misty drizzle reflected the distant neon lights. Side by side on the outdoor unit, Bai Zhou and Crow gazed out over the city until the storm clouds parted and the dawn broke. The night's encounters had made Bai Zhou realize that this was not Wancheng after all. Blue Star was vast, and Tinghai was bustling. Although someone had once welcomed him home, nowhere in this metropolis truly belonged to him. He stormed across Tinghai, clashing and stirring up waves, an outlaw giving the authorities headaches and leaving the Major powerless. Yet no matter how grand his deeds were, when he dragged his exhausted body into the dead of night where no one cared, he still had to return to this buzzing outdoor unit to watch the wind and clouds roll by. Sure enough, the loyal air conditioner unit was Bai Zhou's eternal sanctuary... The rainy night before dawn was freezing, a damp chill seeping to the marrow. Homeless young beasts would huddle close by pure instinct. Just like now, Bai Zhou and Crow sat with their shoulders almost touching. They were so close that the aroma clinging to the girl—a mix of roasted coffee and the sweet tang of citrus—wafted over boldly, teasing his senses at every breath. The deep chill of the late night was heavy, yet with Crow beside him, a comfortable warmth enveloped Bai Zhou, as if he were holding a small stove in his arms. It left his thoughts in a tangle of contradiction, shifting between solitude and peace. Perhaps there was an important variable in between. Tinghai's rainy night was cold, but with Crow at his side, it was not cold at all. Still, having said that... Glancing at Bai Zhou, whose shredded coat let the wind whistle through his exposed back and thighs as he sat high above, hugging his arms and seemingly shivering, Crow blinked and couldn't help but speak up: "The trench coat is made of regenerative materials. It heals on its own when damaged, though it takes time... but channeling spirituality will speed up the process." With that, Crow casually tapped his shoulder. A gentle surge of warmth bloomed instantly, as though a flame had been sparked within him, completely dispelling the chill. "So that's how it works." Realization dawning on him, Bai Zhou immediately poured spirituality into his battered trench coat. *Hum!* Across the black fabric, threads began to knit together visibly. Caught by the breeze, the hem of the mending coat fluttered, melting into the shifting shadows of the night. "By the way, was that girl earlier the original host of the Fang Xiaoyan you mentioned?" Crow suddenly asked. Heaven only knew how much facepalming Crow had held back while listening to Bai Zhou and Fang Xiaoxia talk completely past each other. Yet she had also noticed an unusual, unspoken familiarity between them—one she knew nothing about. When had Bai Zhou picked up such a little secret? While she was asleep...? "Yeah, that's her." Bai Zhou nodded. When he turned to look at her, he was met with a half-smile and a deeply probing gaze. "It seems... there's more to it than that?" Crow's words were light, laced with casual curiosity. Still, admitting he had been picked up like an injured stray cat was far too embarrassing to say out loud. Bai Zhou let out a dry laugh and smoothly shifted the subject. "Right, Crow, there's something I wanted to ask you." Beneath the drum of the rain on the umbrella, Bai Zhou's expression grew serious. "What is it?" "Have you ever heard of... the 'Radiant Pathway' and the 'Blasphemous Pathway'?" "The Blasphemous Pathway?" At the phrase, Crow fell into an uncharacteristic hush. Her expression grew heavy, as if hearing something utterly forbidden from his lips. After a long moment, she asked, "Who told you about that?" "So you do know!" Bai Zhou's eyes lit up, and he proceeded to give a broad summary of the mysterious incantation he had received when accepting the Moon Wolf Totem. After listening quietly, Crow shook her head with a helpless sigh. "Strictly speaking... this isn't 'knowledge' you should be exposed to right now." "Still, since you've encountered it, I'll give you a brief overview." Pausing slightly, Crow directed her gaze toward the distant expanse of the city. "Remember what I told you before about the Twelve Destiny Pathways that stand above all the 'fringe pathways,' like the [Painter] and [Mechanical Walker]?" "In truth, the Twelve Destiny Pathways are the twelve strongest and most complete pre-civilization pathways that Extraordinaries of our era unearthed and compiled from the Reflected Ruin Realm during the long 'Great Ruin Realm Discovery' period." "Even though parts of them were gradually lost or fractured over time, to this day, they remain universally recognized as the most stable, the highest-ceilinged, and the most mysterious extraordinary pathways." "My [Hunter] Pathway and your [Adventurer] Pathway are among them." "However, back then—during the Great Ruin Realm Discovery—the pathways humanity unearthed were not just twelve." "—There were twenty-four!" *Twenty-four Destiny Pathways!* Bai Zhou perked up, holding his breath to listen closely. "The Twelve Destiny Pathways should have been twenty-four," Crow continued in a cool tone. "The twelve we know today were referred to back then as the Radiant Paths... while the other twelve were called the Blasphemous Paths!" "Every Fate Principle was meant to correspond to two pathways: one Radiant Path, and one Blasphemous Path." Crow shook her head slowly, uncertain. "Even I don't know the exact differences between them." "What is certain, however, is that an immense catastrophe must have occurred—one so severe that Extraordinaries united to purge those twelve Blasphemous Paths from the pages of history!" "Today, the world has never even heard the term 'Blasphemous Pathway,' let alone what they entailed." "Even I only learned that such things once existed through a stroke of coincidence." "Names and meanings carry extraordinary weight in the occult, and the Blasphemous Paths..." "Just by the name alone, one can tell they were likely steeped in chaos, bound to unimaginable calamity and ill fortune!" Before her voice had faded, Crow turned to face Bai Zhou, her tone stern with warning. "So, forget that incantation. At the very least, don't dwell on it." "If needed, I can teach you a ritual to temporarily seal away your memories." "In the sealed records containing that secret history, an ancient Extraordinary left behind a personal note. He wrote..." Crow's voice rang softly in Bai Zhou's ear: *"Blasphemy is to stir unhuman desires buried deeper than the heart; corruption is to become the hideous shape one most desires to be."* *"Humanity is but a rough sketch—neither radiant, nor blasphemous."* "..." Listening to Crow's grim recitation, Bai Zhou blinked twice. After pondering for a moment, he shook his head. "Didn't catch a word of that." "That's fine." Crow didn't mind in the slightest and gave a serious nod. "I don't understand it either." "—Still, Bai Zhou." Crow turned her head, meeting his eyes with an inscrutable, inquiring look. "What lies at the deepest depths of your heart? What is your truest desire?" To have caught even the faintest trace of the Blasphemous Paths meant Bai Zhou's path was balanced on a tightrope far more treacherous than Crow had imagined. Did he realize what was at stake? What burden was he truly carrying? Before Crow's eyes, the youth's clear gaze reflected the neon glow of the rainy night, calm like a tranquil lake after a downpour. Yet no one knew the depth of that unrippled water. And no one could tell if beneath the surface... Lurked a slumbering leviathan capable of upending the world with a single turn. "Wait, if it's deeper than the heart, wouldn't that just be the stomach?" Bai Zhou blinked and muttered a dry complaint. "It's getting chilly. How about we go get some steamed buns for breakfast?" Crow: "..." Fine. What hidden lake monster? It was all in her head. It was like watching the water's surface for ages, waiting for ripples, only for the roaring, earth-shaking wave to break and reveal... A cute little rubber ducky?! No one could predict what shape Bai Zhou's future would take. To this strange world, he was merely an inexperienced novice, an adventurer who had just walked out of the starting village... Whether he would become a monster or a hero was for him to decide, and for the world to shape. "Don't worry. I never planned on using that incantation in the first place, and hearing that makes me even less inclined to touch it." Bai Zhou gestured to reassure her. If there was one area Crow never needed to worry about him, it was caution. He cherished his own life more than anyone. After all, if he didn't care about it, nobody else would... *** Rain fell through the night, piling autumn leaves along the chilled streets. They said every autumn shower brought a drop in temperature; each persistent drizzle swept away another batch of yellowing leaves until the branches were stripped bare. Dawn broke with a faint glimmer of light as the skies cleared. Having changed into fresh clothes, Bai Zhou satisfied his craving at the same stall as before, enjoying hot steamed buns paired with spicy jellied tofu. Afterward, he took on no further tasks, holing up to rest and conserve his energy. Not until twilight settled once more and his trench coat had finished mending did Bai Zhou open his eyes atop the twenty-third-floor air conditioning unit. *Hum!* The air seemed to tremble! As Bai Zhou's eyes snapped open, a wisp of translucent white light flickered and darted through the air, flashing out of existence like a streak of lightning. When water brimmed, it spilled; when breath filled, it burst forth. In this instant, Bai Zhou's condition had returned to its absolute peak. With a rustle of fabric, Bai Zhou rose to his feet and slipped back into the black trench coat, his hands sliding slowly from the sleeves. His coat flapped in the wind as he methodically donned the silver necklace and custom gold-rimmed glasses, followed by his wristwatch. Then, he secured his saber, revolver, short club, and the *Dead Sea Secret Scrolls*... Everything proceeded with practiced precision. Before Crow, Bai Zhou demonstrated the very definition of arming oneself to the teeth! —Fully geared, it was time for battle! Eleven o'clock arrived swiftly. Bai Zhou waited in the desolate outskirts ahead of schedule. *Hum!* Once he confirmed that any potential compass tracking had ceased, Bai Zhou quietly slipped away. After crossing three streets, he ducked into an alley and transformed into the [Life-Stealing Spirit Cat] once more. *Swish!* Through the deep shadows, the black cat's chilling pupils gleamed. Treading with an elegant yet swift gait, he navigated the hidden nooks and crannies to vanish silently into the dark. Bai Zhou had no interest in tangling with whatever pursuers the Major might send, though he figured the Major had his hands too full to bother with him anyway. Tonight, they shared a far more pressing, common objective... *Beep! Beep! Beep!* The alarm on his wristwatch chimed, the display ticking to 24:00. At the very same moment, the long-prepared ritual was successfully triggered atop a skyscraper's rooftop. *Hum!* "Safe travels." Even as Crow's parting words echoed by his ear, the scene before Bai Zhou shifted abruptly— A bizarre cityscape spread before his eyes. Blackened buildings cast clawing, twisted shadows across the pavement, and the surrounding streets were eerily desolate. Sickly green trash cans stood silently by the curb, waiting for prey to draw near. Under the dim, yellow glow of an aged streetlamp, the gaunt, upright silhouette of a shadow stood stiffly frozen. "I'm back." Subconsciously, Bai Zhou brushed his fingers against his waist, sweeping across the saber, the short club, and the revolver. A wave of reassurance settled over him. One hundred and eight units of spirituality surged through him, primed to unleash, while the three secret art marks branded upon his Fate Principle stirred restlessly. Though only a few days had passed, unlike the black cat that had fled in disgrace past the school gates last time, Bai Zhou had undergone an earth-shattering transformation! "Phew..." Bai Zhou let out a long breath, venting the lingering fatigue and tension from his chest. Turning, he conducted a simple tracking ritual and began walking toward Yuanmeng Middle School. He imagined the entrance of that school was bustling with activity right now, swarming with crusaders hired at great expense by the Disaster Response and Investigation Agency. *How do I slip past the lockdown and blend in...?* Bai Zhou pursed his lips, mulling over the problem in his mind. *Tap, tap...* Hurrying his pace, he paid no heed to the traffic lights in the center of the road that flashed red, yellow, and green simultaneously. With the utter lack of etiquette fitting an uninvited outsider, Bai Zhou crossed straight through the intersection. Looking up, the corner of his vision caught the towering clock tower in the distance, illuminating a familiar landmark beneath an eerie blue flame— *Tinghai Rejects You!* "Heh." Leaving behind a faint chuckle, the figure cloaked in the black trench coat dissolved quietly into the night of this bizarre metropolis. —And so, the Level 3 [Adventurer] Bai Zhou stepped once more into the Reflected Ruin Realm. A new adventure had begun!