Fang You's words not only made Master Mingdeng's blood boil, but also impressed An Jianyou, who was a witness.
She wished she could ignite herself and burn everything.
But now, the protagonist was Master Mingdeng.
An Jianyou remained silent, only her conviction grew stronger. This path might be incredibly difficult, but she had fellow travelers, a mentor, Instructor Heidao, and Hei Tong.
To embark on this path, to be a torchbearer in the darkness, she… felt honored.
…
"Ding!"
"Notification: Contract has been established."
Fang You's phone in his pocket vibrated.
The words spoken earlier constituted most of the contract. Apart from the secrecy regarding Xin Huo, Fang You had not imposed many other restrictions.
The emphasis was on what he had said: fighting for humanity.
Of course, also fighting for Xin Huo.
It was the same thing.
It was a contract, a bond, and the foundation of everything, the seed of power.
Fang You instructed Heidao to take Master Mingdeng to the training grounds and returned to his own resting room.
…
Putting aside his mentor duties, he could finally take a closer look at Master Mingdeng's data. The game interface provided more detail than the 'Detect' skill.
He opened the Apostle list.
His, Heidao's, and An Jianyou's panels were in the first row.
Now, another row had appeared below, showing a secondary apostle. The character box looked much smaller and simpler, akin to the difference between a temporary worker and a permanent employee.
Above it was a muscular monk in Buddhist robes.
Master Mingdeng!
His Physique and Spirit attributes were as he had detected, and his skills were much more detailed.
"Skills: Basic Palm Technique (Proficient: 32.2%), Basic Staff Technique (Proficient: 11.6%), Basic Buddhist Teachings (Master: 90.9%)"
"Potential: Blue"
Fang You: "..."
He had only recently learned what the Master rank meant.
Novice, Skilled, Proficient, Expert, Master!
Considering Master Mingdeng's profound understanding of Buddhism, he truly deserved the title of Master, a genuine master!
But,
These Buddhist teachings were merely ordinary Buddhist teachings, just like palm techniques, staff techniques, saber techniques, and sword techniques, none of which contained any supernatural elements.
Master Mingdeng's Buddhist knowledge was profound, and what he had cultivated was merely a high state of mind, perhaps slightly enhancing his spirit—state of mind and spirit were not the same thing, and Basic Buddhist Teachings were not some form of supernatural meditation.
In the future, he might acquire extraordinary Buddhist teachings, but for now, Basic Buddhist Teachings were merely for cultivating the mind.
It seemed to have little practical use.
"Hmm, not necessarily. Someone with a high state of mind might be better able to resist that mysterious calamity during awakening, much like willpower."
Willpower and state of mind were not displayed on the panel and typically did not show their effects.
But at a critical moment, this could be a chance for survival.
…
On the other side,
As Master Mingdeng walked into the base corridor, he couldn't hide his astonishment.
This was the true headquarters of Xin Huo? A base built in a spatial rift, what kind of concept was that?
The master was greatly impressed.
He didn't ask any questions. He had come here seeking a way to save the world, and Xin Huo had given him hope.
Following Heidao, Master Mingdeng arrived at Training Ground Number One.
The entire training ground was as large as a football field, with a running track around the perimeter and weapon racks and common training equipment mounted on the sides.
Master Mingdeng immediately spotted the black sandbag.
"Can I try it?"
"You are now a reserve member, and you can enter and use the training facilities here freely from now on."
Hearing the instructor say this, Master Mingdeng immediately stepped forward.
Rolling up his sleeves to reveal his bronzed, muscular arms, he took a deep breath, his muscles bulging. He half-turned his waist and threw a punch.
Boom—
The sandbag shook violently. Master Mingdeng's eyes lit up, "What a sandbag!" He fell in love with the sandbag, his fists continuously swinging, striking the sandbag in front of him with a series of thuds.
Like a storm, yet the sandbag remained intact.
After a round of punching, Master Mingdeng was slightly sweaty and felt incredibly invigorated.
Heidao said, "Later, the mentor will grant you the seed of power. For now, you can do some warm-up exercises."
With that, Heidao picked up his beginner's combat saber. A red glow emanated from the blade as he also began his daily training.
Each swing cut through the air!
Master Mingdeng's eyes burned with fervor as he watched.
This was the power he sought, the power to subdue evil.
However,
What exactly was this seed of power?
The instructor had said that with this seed of power, even before awakening, one could cultivate the strength to deal with the wicked, and it was the foundation for awakening.
What kind of seed was it?
Master Mingdeng was still contemplating when he suddenly froze.
He felt as if he had been pulled into a peculiar space, and some unseen force was descending upon him.
When he snapped back to reality from his daze, he found that his strength had actually increased.
And,
Within his heart, he seemed to see a red seed.
Within it, a killing intent towards the wicked was brewing.
Heidao glanced over and said, "From now on, train with me."
…
Donghuang Nation, Huangdu, Investigation Bureau Headquarters.
In one of the conference rooms.
"The frequency of wicked entity appearances this month has increased by 886% compared to last month!"
"There are more and more disasters!"
"We must be prepared to deal with impacts from all sides."
"According to current intelligence, wicked entities tend to appear in uninhabited areas. The probability of a major wicked entity appearing in urban areas is much lower. To this end, the Investigation Bureau, in conjunction with various parties, has begun the gradual relocation and resettlement of rural populations."
"However, the construction of civilian defense projects has hit a bottleneck."
"The emergence of wicked entities is unpredictable; they can spawn anywhere. The construction of large civilian defense projects cannot guarantee internal safety. We currently seem to be lacking some essential elements."
"For now, maintaining stability still relies on investigators, awakened individuals, and local Investigation Bureaus."
"For cities that have performed exceptionally well, such as Baijiang City… Last month, Baijiang City had the fewest wicked entity disaster incidents in our Donghuang Nation. It can be rated as the safest city, and other local Investigation Bureaus should learn from it."
"The current situation is grim, but it's not without good news."
"Our research institute has made technological breakthroughs, giving investigators more means. At the same time, due to the increasing frequency of wicked entity appearances, the number of newly awakened individuals this month is significantly higher than last month. However, the awakening probability has not increased, and it remains perilous."
"Has the research institute not yet developed a method to increase the awakening rate? If the awakening rate cannot be improved, reducing the death rate would also be beneficial."
"A slight breakthrough has been made in reducing the death rate. As for increasing the awakening rate… there is! However…"
The leading cadre projected an image, pixelated, revealing only the vague outline of a statue.
"This is a powerful wicked object. A ritual performed using this object can significantly increase the success rate of awakening. This ritual is also known as—the Wicked Ritual."
"That's right, as the name suggests, awakened individuals born through this ritual have more unstable mental states and can also hear whispers from distant places. Examination has shown that their behavior is subtly changing."
"This ritual carries significant uncertainty and danger and has currently been halted."
"We will now move on to the next agenda item…"
…
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
Baijiang City remained peaceful and tranquil, with many investigators dispatched to support neighboring cities.
At this moment,
Fang You returned from outside and immediately opened the Salvation Game.
The displayed Destiny Point value was: 85.6!
He could perform the fifth Destiny Draw!
"Destiny Draw (5): Current probabilities for each tier are: White (10%), Green (20%), Blue (40%), Purple (28%), Gold (1.99%), Red (0.01%)"