Abundant Martial Arts Virtue

"He seemed to be reporting to someone just now, that person is on—"

"The eighty-seventh floor," Ya added.

"Let's go!"

With a light leap toward the window, Wu Xiaode turned into a crow and after circling the building a few times, he found the eighty-seventh floor.

The crow observed briefly and spotted the office with the light on.

A man was seen sitting with his legs crossed, one hand holding a cigarette, the other holding a cellphone, spitting while speaking animatedly on the phone.

The windows here were open.

Still, Ya chose not to go in and hid outside the window to listen.

"Director Wang, things over here are pretty much taken care of. Whether that fugitive is caught or not doesn't really matter anymore, but I am definitely a man of my word."

"The agreement stands, the goods are ready, and my secretary will bring them to you momentarily."

"Right... kill him after you catch him, to avoid future troubles. Your location is—"

"Binjiang Road? Where are you playing cards?"

"Food God Restaurant, Room 308? Great, I'll send him over."

The call ended.

The man swiped on his phone a few times, sending a voice message: "Go to the Binjiang Road Food God Restaurant. Director Wang and his group are playing cards there. Take care of the matter."

The voice message was sent.

The man threw his phone on the couch, took a puff of his cigarette, and heaved a sigh of relief, "Finally, everything is settled."

"Perhaps not yet."

Another voice echoed in the room.

The man suddenly turned his head to look.

By now, the window was open, and a youth was sitting on the windowsill, looking at him with interest.

"Wu Xiaode!" the man exclaimed.

He rushed to the desk, reaching to press a button.

Smack!

The man's hand was struck, and he was sent reeling backward almost as if struck by lightning, stumbling several steps back.

Wu Xiaode stood in front of the desk, retracting his hand, curiously inspecting the button on the desk before turning back to look at the man.

"You must be quite the important figure, otherwise you wouldn't have the power to issue such a bounty on me," Wu Xiaode said.

The man's face went through several changes as he tried to step forward but found his body hadn't recovered yet.

What was that just now?

Why couldn't he move his feet after being hit with just one palm?

"You misunderstand, we were only trying to find Xia Huilan. We meant no harm to you," the man said, forcing a smile.

He smiled, and Wu Xiaode smiled back, even stepping forward and patting his shoulder affectionately, saying, "Actually, you got one thing wrong."

"Please enlighten us. If there's something incorrect, we will definitely change it," said the man earnestly.

"On TV you say that I set fires, kill people, and am extremely violent, even having killed several ordinary people, but you've overlooked one very important thing," Wu Xiaode said.

"What's that?" the man couldn't help but ask.

Wu Xiaode looked into his eyes and said softly, "Is it possible... I really am that kind of person?"

The man froze.

Cold sweat began to drip from his forehead and back.

"We don't understand anything, please, be magnanimous and don't take it out on us little guys—right, compensation! Ask for whatever you like, I will definitely make up for your losses," he blurted out, all smiles.

"A woman was affected by evil magic and tied to a chair. I'm curious, who performed that magic?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"It was someone Teacher Xia Huilan found! He spent a sum of money, found some thugs on the black market to do it!" the man hastily replied.

"And who is it above the Food God Restaurant on Binjiang Road?"

"It was Director Wang of the Imperial Garrison Bureau who issued the bounty."

Wu Xiaode nodded silently.

The Imperial Garrison Bureau was a higher authority than the police, governing both the military and the police.

For such a high-ranking figure, issuing a nationwide manhunt was incredibly easy.

"All right, I've asked what I needed, now on your way—"

"Wait! I have a secret to tell you! It's about the ultimate secret on the 130th sub-level of our company." The man spoke urgently.

"I'm not interested," Wu Xiaode said.

The man said loudly, "This could let you know the real secrets behind the world! I offer it to you in exchange for sparing me; it's actually a huge bone—"

Wu Xiaode's expression changed as he covered the man's mouth with his hand, pushing him against the wall and saying:

"Shut up! Do you think I am curious?"

The man's eyes darted about, his mouth making muffled noises, but he couldn't utter a word.

"Sister Lan mentioned that your company has too many secrets, many of which are national top-secret experiments—if such things are disclosed publicly, any information terminal nearby will immediately activate and connect to the central brain to assess the extent of the leak."

He shook his head, lowering his voice, "I don't care about your secrets. I came to calm things down."

Wu Xiaode dragged the man towards the window, peeking out first to ensure no one would be hit below, and then threw the man out—

The man screamed as he plummeted, tracing a parabola through the night sky toward the ground.

Wu Xiaode stood at the window, waiting several moments.

Finally, a few faint lights drifted up from the street below the eighty-seventh floor and converged before him.

"Too few, not enough to share, might as well set this building on fire," the Crow Spirit complained.

"Innocent people cannot be touched," Wu Xiaode murmured.

"Sigh, what to do then, it really is too little," the Crow Spirit said.

Suddenly, a lamp of Illusion appeared in the Void.

The moment the lamp appeared, it burst with a loud "clang" and quickly transformed into a starburst.

Wu Xiaode stared blankly.

—What's happening here?

In the Void, breezes began to whisper, swirling ceaselessly in the room.

The wind formed a vortex around Wu Xiaode, emitting soft and prolonged whistling sounds, as if whispering secrets.

Wu Xiaode's expression became solemn as he turned to look at the Book of the Dead.

The Book of the Dead had opened by itself, revealing lines of ice crystal letters:

"You have completed two killings, both of whom were people with enormous Merit and heavy karma."

"The countless spirits that lingered over this building have finally had their wishes fulfilled, no longer bound to this place by resentment and pain."

"They are about to find rest."

"At this moment of departure, they jointly blessed you."

"You have received 'The Final Blessing of the Departed'."

"Your merit has increased by one point."

"Current Merit: 1."

"Merit is an extremely rare intangible force, it cannot drive moves like Soul Power, but it is the threshold for many things."

"In the future, when you issue commissions, you will be able to use it."

Wu Xiaode was dumbfounded.

Incredibly, there were "countless spirits" wandering in this building.

What on earth had they done to cause so many people to die here?

In light of this, Xia Huilan's decision to leave was absolutely right; otherwise, who knows, she might have ended up dead here one day.

But then again, it was a technology company, why were there "countless spirits"?

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!"

Ya suddenly started to clamor.

"What's wrong?" Wu Xiaode asked in surprise.

"I sense the presence of my kin... We have to rescue it!" Ya said as he flapped his wings.

"Do you know where it is?"

"It should be above, we need to fly up."

"Let's go."

Wu Xiaode jumped out the window, transformed into a black bird, and flew up along the wall.

"Stop! Right here," Ya said aloud.

Wu Xiaode landed on the windowsill, placed his hand on the glass, and pushed gently.

Crash!

The glass shattered instantly.

He entered the room and took a careful look, only to see that it resembled a warehouse, a vast empty space.

Ya re-transformed into a bird and perched on his shoulder, looking around anxiously.

"Quick! Quick! Quick!" it called out.

"Don't rush, let me check the situation here first."

Wu Xiaode walked to the door and surveyed the series of markers beside it.

At this moment, the memories of Xia Huilan and that female corpse flashed through his mind.

Although they endowed Wu Xiaode with highly specialized knowledge, it was inevitably reliant on the company's various devices to demonstrate the application of that knowledge.

Thanks to this, Wu Xiaode naturally came to understand some things about this place.

"The meaning of this symbol is... temporary storage room."

Wu Xiaode explained: "The items here are to be quickly used in experiments, they're just kept here temporarily, soon to be moved."

"I've already sensed it, there's a presence of my kind inside the wall on the left," Ya urged.

Wu Xiaode closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then placed his hand on a certain part of the wall.

"I remember... all temporary storage rooms are constructed like this..."

He pressed his hand against the wall.

A small control panel popped out and floated in front of him.

Wu Xiaode looked at several mechanical icons and tapped on one of them.

The wall opened slowly.

Inside the wall was a wire mesh cage with a crow locked inside.

Perhaps because it had been locked up for too long, the crow looked listless, and even when Wu Xiaode appeared, a glimpse of despair flashed in its eyes.

Ya's voice suddenly softened and it whispered softly, "Ah, look how beautiful she is!"

"She? You mean a male or female she?" Wu Xiaode asked cautiously.

"Female—she's still alive, quick, get her out!" Ya urged loudly, standing on his shoulder.

"You're a spirit, she's alive, you are on wholly separate paths," Wu Xiaode couldn't help but say.

"Idiot, her spirit strength is extremely high, after death she has the chance to become a Heroic Spirit—she is a one-in-a-million exceptional woman, do you understand? Hurry, save her!" Ya urged again.

Exceptional woman...

How many human films have you actually seen?

Amused in his heart, Wu Xiaode reached out to rescue the crow, but then he stopped.

"What's wrong? I'm begging you, is that okay? We spirits cannot affect reality, only you can save her," Ya said, lowering its pride and pleading.

Wu Xiaode frowned, as if pondering over some issue.

Ya spoke again, "Your Iron Wire Fist can definitely break this iron cage, it is but a simple effort to set her free."

Finally, Wu Xiaode spoke, "That's not the issue."

"What is the issue then? I'll give you some more Soul Power; help me out, brother," Ya said.

"No extra Soul Power is needed, actually, I was just thinking... at such an important moment, why not let you save her yourself?" Wu Xiaode said.

"What? You want me to act the part?" Ya couldn't help but exclaim.

"—It is to let you reveal your divinity in person, to prepare in advance for her transformation into a Heroic Spirit," Wu Xiaode corrected it.

Ya was stunned for a moment, then turned to gaze at Wu Xiaode.

Wu Xiaode had a resolute and determined look on his face and nodded seriously at it.

Without warning—

With a "clang!" a loud noise, countless illusory starlights burst from Ya's body, spontaneously condensing into three stars.

The radiance of the stars shone on the Book of the Dead and quickly transformed into lines of ice crystal text:

"Congratulations!"

"You have earned the recognition and appreciation of the Crow Spirit."

"Current Recognition Level: Three Stars."

"This book has resonated with the Crow Spirit and will randomly extract something valuable from it."

"Talent Attribute Acquired:"

"Sub-level Agility (Passive) (Permanent)."

"In any battle, your movements and strikes will be more agile, and the enemy's attacks will be less likely to hit you."

"Explanation for this event:"

"You have grasped one of the secrets of using the Book of the Dead:"

"Helping one to reveal their divinity will surely win hearts!"