Chapter 260 Resentment Detection and the Essence of Divine Powers (7200)

May 24, 2016, 2:19 AM.

Hong City, Zheng Country, high in the sky.

Beneath the clouds, Su Zhou overlooked the modern city, where countless lights still twinkled even in the dead of night, forever devoid of tranquility.

In his hand, Su Zhou held the phone he used specifically for Security Bureau work, scrolling through photos of wanted criminals and dangerous cultivators.

"There are quite a few dangerous elements in the south. Although most are near the border, and Hong City is mostly free of them, we can't underestimate the threat."

Su Zhou swiped through the photos and information at lightning speed. An ordinary person would only see a blur of colors on the screen, but Su Zhou could memorize everything in a single glance.

Ten years prior, Zheng Country had already networked information on all domestic wanted criminals and dangerous individuals into a vast database, accessible to patrol officers and relevant personnel nationwide. If they dared to appear in a major city, under the gaze of official cameras, their capture was inevitable.

In the past two years, with the resurgence of spiritual energy, the official Zheng Country had once again strengthened the national monitoring network. However, methods to change one's appearance, even to completely replace one's face without leaving a trace, had also become increasingly common. There were even special espers who could directly interfere with electronic signals.

Monitoring and counter-monitoring, the battle in cyberspace, was the main conflict between criminals and the authorities in the age of spiritual energy.

"Looks like I'll have to apply for an official terminal from the Security Bureau next time – that thing connects directly to their database. With my clearance, I can access a lot of content."

Putting away his phone, Su Zhou, prepared, lowered his head, gazing intently at Hong City in the dead of night.

Unlike ordinary patrol officers, he didn't need to go through so much trouble to find wanted criminals and dangerous individuals.

Two thousand meters above the ground, Su Zhou directly activated his Evil Exterminating Demon Lord Divine Power. Cyan-purple spiritual light burned deep within his eyes, scanning the entire city.

When activating the Evil Exterminating Demon Lord Divine Power, Su Zhou could see the amount of malevolent energy surrounding an enemy, allowing him to determine the nature of their wickedness. He could even vaguely discern what they had done to be cursed, resulting in the lingering aura of resentment.

He had previously used it as a means to distinguish friend from foe. But on second thought, it wasn't very effective for that purpose. The Evil Exterminating Demon Lord essentially only judged the aura of resentment, and Su Zhou's enemies weren't necessarily all bloodthirsty devils. If they hadn't committed any actual evil deeds, Su Zhou wouldn't be able to see anything of note.

Conversely, if the enemy *was* a bloodthirsty fiend, cursed by countless people, there was no need to use the Evil Exterminating Demon Lord to judge them at all! Instead, he could simply lock onto them from afar. No matter where they ran, how deeply they hid, or even if they burrowed into the earth, the aura of resentment, clinging like a leech, would guide Su Zhou to them.

Having advanced to the Overlord Realm, Su Zhou felt his Divine Power had been strengthened, and his detection range had greatly increased. Flying high in the sky, he could quickly scan the entire city.

"Mm, everyone's pretty good."

Transforming into a shadow in the night sky, Su Zhou silently manipulated the wind with the Aegis Shield, speeding through the air. In his eyes, the entire Hong City was a dense mass of 'green names,' with only a few points being slightly darker, but nothing significant.

In fact, even ordinary people have some resentment. Ordinary employees might be disliked by colleagues, complained about by their spouses, and resented by scolded children. Leaders, if they were strict and unapproachable, or simply had awful personalities, were even more likely to be secretly resented by their employees, resulting in them being surrounded by an aura of resentment.

News occasionally reported stories of company leaders being killed by their employees. In Su Zhou's eyes, this level of resentment and mutual hatred was extremely dangerous, enough to dim the light.

Of course, since such cases made the news, it meant they were rare. In Su Zhou's eyes, most people either had no resentment or just a little, equivalent to not flushing in a public toilet or cutting in line. Both of these actions did indeed provoke great annoyance in others.

"Huh, come to think of it, doesn't my Evil Exterminating Demon Lord Divine Power, in a way, resemble some kind of 'affection system'?"

As he patrolled the city, Su Zhou suddenly had a strange thought. Titles like "I Can See Affection Levels" filled his brain, reminiscent of light novels. However, this thought quickly dissipated.

Now, Su Zhou wondered what would happen if he shared his ability to see resentment with everyone, allowing the entire world to see each other's resentment?

"Many conflicts and disputes, in the beginning, are likely just because people don't realize what they said or did caused someone else's annoyance. They're not aware of it, and others don't say anything. Over time, this resentment accumulates and turns into conflict."

"But if everyone immediately knew when they said something wrong and triggered someone's displeasure, if everyone could clearly understand the consequences of their actions on others, and then mutually change and respect each other... would the world become a better place?"

"You're overthinking it," Yala, transformed into a hat on Su Zhou's head, retorted. "Do you think humans are creatures that easily change themselves for others? Just think about yourself. Would being disliked change your behavior?"

"Besides, are you sure the side with the advantage of seeing resentment wouldn't become even more ruthless, directly provoking conflicts in advance?"

"You're right."

At this moment, Su Zhou found the first 'suspect' surrounded by a deep red aura of resentment among the sea of green lights.

Of course, having resentment didn't necessarily mean they were criminals, but Su Zhou had set screening criteria.

First, individuals with low strength, no higher than the Awakened Realm, were excluded. After all, with that level of cultivation, if they committed crimes, they would have already been caught by patrol officers and the surveillance network. They were most likely engaged in special occupations or were strict factory leaders.

Second, individuals staying in one place, seemingly sleeping, were also excluded. This at least indicated that they weren't out committing crimes that day, so Su Zhou wouldn't bother with them for now.

After these two conditions, the flickering lights in the vast city of millions became few and far between. After all, it was past 2 AM, and anyone with the strength of the Awakened Realm, surrounded by resentment, and wandering around instead of sleeping would attract attention from the average patrol officer, let alone Su Zhou.

"Forty-two people? Looks like what Dad said about a recent surge in criminal activity isn't a lie!"

Su Zhou rubbed his eyes. Even with his strength, scanning the entire city with his Divine Power made him feel a bit uncomfortable, requiring about ten seconds of rest. After those seconds, he memorized the locations of all forty-two individuals, then directly descended to the corresponding areas, observing each one up close.

Soon, he arrived at the location of the first 'anomalous person.'

Unfortunately, there was no need to ask questions or observe. Su Zhou directly witnessed the individual committing a theft.

It was a middle-aged man, around thirty or forty years old, who looked somewhat nervous. His face was wrapped in black cloth, but it was as if he wasn't wearing anything at all in Su Zhou's eyes.

He seemed to possess a certain optical stealth ability, skillfully bypassing the cameras. He had already opened the back door of an electronics store and was about to sneak inside. Clearly, this wasn't his first offense, and the resentment surrounding him mostly came from the store owners who suffered losses from his thefts.

As the saying goes, cutting off someone's financial path is like killing their parents. This kind of one-sided curse was a terrifyingly potent form of resentment. Many people, upon discovering that their belongings had been stolen, would involuntarily have the desire to kill the thief. This thought materialized through spiritual energy, clearly visible in Su Zhou's eyes.

The thief was carrying a small bag, obviously not planning to steal anything big, just some small, valuable items... and then, he fainted.

Su Zhou didn't even get close. He simply remotely manipulated the wind, gently causing a concussion.

Then, he directly notified the local Hong City patrol officers to come and make the arrest.

Don't forget, this wasn't another world, and Su Zhou wasn't a vigilante. He was the captain of the Special Operations Team of the Zheng Country Security Bureau, an official with the authority to enforce the law!

After doing this, Su Zhou approached and photographed the thief's face, storing it in the database. This way, as long as he didn't get a new face, he would never have the chance to commit crimes again. Even after serving his sentence, the database would contain the stain of his crimes.

"Sigh, the Earth now is basically an impregnable fortress. Without superpowers, ordinary people can't even successfully commit crimes."

Taking off, heading to the next area, preparing to continue arresting suspects, Su Zhou, doing a good deed for the day, couldn't help but feel a bit emotional: "If things continue like this, it might not be impossible to eradicate crime altogether!"

The tight surveillance network was a good thing for ordinary people who never committed crimes and had no intention of doing so. While Su Zhou found it somewhat troublesome, he also felt that the benefits outweighed the disadvantages.

The operation continued late into the night.

Su Zhou's efficiency, of course, far exceeded everyone's imagination.

"Xiao Li, is this a joke, or is the system broken?" A patrol officer looked at the continuous alerts on his police terminal panel, as if it had been infected with a virus. He asked with a puzzled tone, "It feels like it's been poisoned!"

"It's not broken. Someone's really going crazy arresting people... but at this speed, did the higher-ups send in an entire mobile brigade?" The technician with glasses confirmed repeatedly, only able to nod in astonishment. "The efficiency is too high! Catching piglets isn't this fast!"

As Hong City patrol officers received a constant stream of alerts from the official system, requesting them to dispatch officers to arrest criminals, they thought the system was malfunctioning. However, the on-duty programmer stated that there were no problems, and each alert even included a photo of the criminal, which was impossible to fake.

On average, an alert sounded in the system every five minutes, and each alert meant that a criminal who was using their ability to commit crimes covertly had been arrested. There wasn't enough evidence to convict them, but there was enough to detain and interrogate them.

For a time, police cars sped from patrol stations all over the city, heading to crime scenes that were far apart.

As for Su Zhou, he was enjoying the arrests immensely.

Remotely spotting malevolence – some kind of disturbance in the middle of the night – going over – currently committing a crime/finished committing a crime and heading back to their lair/not yet started – arresting them. It was as simple as that, as easy as eating a meal.

Or, if the suspect wasn't committing a crime, just wandering around the streets or scouting locations, Su Zhou would simply compare their appearance with the wanted criminals or those with criminal records. If they had a record, he would notify the patrol officers to come and question them. If not, he would leave them alone for now.

It was easy and simple for Su Zhou, but for criminals, it was a horror story: Just as they carefully prepared everything and were about to commit a crime, there would suddenly be a shrill howl. Along with the howl, a gloomy and terrifying ghostly figure would fall from the sky, and in extreme fear, they wouldn't even have time to scream before being knocked unconscious.

When they woke up, they would be in the patrol station, surrounded by four or five burly on-duty officers, their abilities sealed, ready to begin interrogation.

You're awake? You've been caught!

"Is it really that accurate? My Divine Power is so useful!"

In just two hours, thirty-seven out of forty-two abnormal targets were committing crimes. The accuracy rate was as high as 88%, an unimaginable efficiency that even surprised Su Zhou himself. "If I stake out for a day, wouldn't I be able to catch all the criminals in the entire city?"

"This Evil Exterminating Demon Lord Divine Power should be renamed to Strongest Patrol Officer!"

Having caught all the suspects in Hong City, he was even itching for more. "I've caught everyone in Hong City, why not go to other cities to take a look... Anyway, my law enforcement authority is nationwide, and Hong City only has ordinary criminals. Catching them isn't interesting at all."

Thinking this, he directly manipulated the Aegis Shield, turning it into a smooth shuttle shape, accelerating himself to subsonic speed. He began to fly rapidly above the clouds, tearing through the air and heading to the next city.

At this time, the Hong City patrol officers were also feeling bewildered.

"How come the criminals we haven't been able to catch for so long are all coming to us like delivered meals? This arrest is as easy as picking potatoes!" A young patrol officer, who had just returned from a mission and brought back four suspects, felt a bit dreamlike.

"Although it's not everyone, almost all of the most arrogant ones who commit crimes almost every day have been caught!"

One of the veteran patrol officers exclaimed, "In this way, Hong City can be said to be peaceful! When we publicize this matter in a few days, those remaining stragglers probably won't dare to act, or even leave... Who did this?!"

In the Spiritual Energy Incident Countermeasures Office, a recently promoted Captain Su, who was working overtime, also heard the exclamations of the returning team members, "It's really amazing! That habitual offender who always sneaked in and stole jewelry with his liquid transformation ability was directly electrocuted by lightning magic, unable to return to human form! He was stuffed into a large black plastic bag, and when he woke up, he was crying bitterly, hoping to be locked up as soon as possible!"

"Speaking of lightning... hey, isn't our Captain's family member the 'Lightning Lord'?"

"Yes, and didn't he just finish his closed-door cultivation and return recently? A few days ago, I saw him participating in a gluttony competition in the food street, and he was banned!"

Saying this, everyone's eyes shifted to Su Bei Luo, their gazes intense.

"Cough." As the center of everyone's attention, Captain Su coughed lightly, his expression calm.

"It's just a possibility," he said indifferently, seemingly not surprised at all. "Whatever you need to do, do it. Even if that kid really caught the people, it means that our work has been neglected. So many days after the start of the crackdown, there are still dozens of suspects who have not been captured. It is our dereliction of duty!"

Of course, although that's what he said, he was secretly pleased. "I just complained at dinner, but I didn't expect that kid to really take it to heart... He really is my son!"

But at the same time as being secretly pleased, Su Bei Luo was also a little puzzled in his heart: "But how exactly did Su Zhou notice those criminals?"

May 24, 2016, 7:45 AM.

The roads were already busy with traffic, and the city had regained its vitality two hours prior.

By this time, Su Zhou had swept through four small towns, arresting nearly a hundred unscrupulous individuals, and even caught a fleeing robber and murderer when passing through a suburban town because of the Evil Exterminating Demon Lord's overly strong senses.

The robber and murderer had already changed his appearance, completely altering his face through some method. When he was discovered, he seemed to be working as a helper in a restaurant, and when Su Zhou caught him, he repeatedly denounced the arrest, saying that they had caught the wrong person.

But seriously, not to mention that Su Zhou could see directly through to the bones, so he didn't need to look at that lump of flesh on the face. The thick, spicy resentment on his body was practically shouting 'I've killed someone!'

And in the process of arresting these criminals, Su Zhou, in addition to being happy and refreshed, gradually gained some understanding of his Evil Exterminating Demon Lord's ability.

"The so-called resentment is not something strange. It's like the obsession of a resentful spirit. As long as the spiritual vision is strong enough, and supplemented by some special methods, it can be observed."

"And these so-called special methods, in the final analysis, are just some special methods of spiritual power flow, which require condensing some special spiritual power runes."

Su Zhou sensed the trajectory of his spiritual power activity when he used the Evil Exterminating Demon Lord, and he could extract the runes and spiritual power operation trajectory that allowed him to see the curse and resentment, and transform them into some kind of primitive 'spell'.

This process made him suddenly realize.

"So that's it. The so-called Divine Power, in a sense, is a collection of many spells! Or rather, if many spells are condensed into one, it is Divine Power!"

"When ordinary cultivators advance to the Overlord Realm, they must integrate most of the spells they are good at in the Transcendent Realm into one, and transform them into their own unique 'Divine Power' that belongs only to themselves and can continue to progress!"

"Unifying one's own body, soul, skills, and spiritual power, transforming many ordinary spells into a unique Divine Power, this is the prerequisite for advancing to the Overlord Realm!"

Su Zhou was extremely lucky, an obvious cheater, and he had awakened a powerful Divine Power back in the Awakened Realm.

From the beginning, he had the key to the Overlord Realm. As long as his strength met the standard, and his hard power met the standard, he could naturally advance – just like in the Reincarnation World, where he relied on the Chaotic Dragon Transformation Method to reach the Overlord Realm in one fell swoop.

But, only that, then his future would be nothing more than that. All innate Divine Power wielders, including Su Zhou, if they wanted to go further, they had to disassemble their Divine Power in reverse, and analyze it thoroughly. Then, gradually start to add their own traces and characteristics to the Evil Exterminating Demon Lord's Divine Power!

The earliest spells should have been formed by those geniuses with innate Divine Powers, who disassembled their own Divine Powers. Of course, it may also be unprecedented sages who integrated the innate spells of many magical beasts and spirit beasts to create their own Divine Powers.

Which came first, Divine Power or spells? The answer to this question is not important. What is important is that they are originally one, and the fact that they can be converted to each other!

At this moment, returning to the sky above Hong City, Su Zhou closed his Evil Exterminating Demon Lord Divine Power.

Then, the youth began to circulate his spiritual power and cast a spell he named [Resentment Detection].

The green light spots that filled his eyes instantly retreated, like a tide retreating into the sea - and then, those crystal-clear green lights, like a surging tide, once again flooded into his eyes.

Although there were still many places that could be optimized and simplified, although this spell was still very primitive, and even depended on a person's innate soul qualities. That is to say, if it was not a self-righteous guy like Su Zhou, casting this spell would be very difficult.

But no matter what, Su Zhou's analysis of his Divine Power was successful!

"People's thoughts also have power. Under the effect of spiritual energy, people's resentment, people's gratitude, people's praise, and people's worship will all become a real power."

Closing his eyes, Su Zhou felt the sunlight rising in the distance. He felt the sun gently casting its light on his family, his family named Earth, and felt the majestic spiritual power, and his heart could not help but surge.

"Resentment and wish power are two sides of the same coin. The power of curses can be attached to people, so naturally, wish power is the same."

"My Evil Exterminating Demon Lord's Divine Power can see resentment. If I add wish power to it, and add other people's praise and worship of others to it, then my Divine Power may really be like some kind of affection system. I can directly see through people's hearts, see through the essence of a person's soul, and not just see whether a person is good or evil in my eyes."

"In addition to using curses, we must also use wish power - and this is my goal for advancement - if I really want to perfectly improve my Divine Power, then this is definitely a necessary step!"

Having determined his future goal, Su Zhou immediately felt refreshed. The joy of arresting a large number of criminals and the joy of finding a way to improve his Divine Power were mixed together into greater joy, making him want to eat breakfast: "It's decided, I'll call Qiming later and go for a big meal!"

"But, before that, I'll upload this 'Resentment Detection' spell to the Security Bureau's spell library - although the limitations are a bit big, it feels like it's definitely a good skill for patrol officers and action team members in various places! An accuracy of nearly 90% is really a very good assistant."

Su Zhou was not a stingy person. Since Zheng Country could share the Immortal God heritage with him, he could also share his Divine Power spells with others. Sharing may not bring beauty and progress, but not sharing will definitely not bring beauty and progress.

And Su Zhou was a person who likes beauty and progress.

"Upload complete!"

A little later.

The Dao Saint, who had not yet left Hong Province and was dealing with official business in the Zheng Yi Academy, quickly learned everything Su Zhou had done on the morning of the 24th.

"Nearly a hundred criminals, including quite a few wanted criminals? Even the murderer who had completely disappeared was caught?"

Hearing the news reported by the secret technique, the old man could not help but be amazed by Su Zhou again, with a face full of surprise: "How did he cause such a big news as soon as he came back? He really can't stop."

"Huh? Not only did he arrest criminals, he even uploaded a spell, saying that he found it in the ruins of Immortal Gods in another world, and it was by relying on this spell that he was able to catch so many criminals in one night?"

Which Immortal God left those Immortal God ruins? Su Zhou went there once, and his cultivation advanced, he got a weapon, and he also got a spell…

Although he was a little puzzled and extremely curious about the magical Immortal God ruins, the Dao Saint still stroked his beard. He pondered for a while, and then instructed his secretary: "Bring the terminal over and let me see what the spell is."

The resentment detection spell that Su Zhou uploaded using soul induction was essentially very primitive. As a veteran cultivator, the Dao Saint could naturally see it, but he didn't care: "Ancient Immortal Gods are the creators of our modern cultivation methods. They are best at creating some primitive and strange spells, especially some special spells, because few people use them. Without a large amount of user data optimization, they are basically so crude."

"Let me see, can it allow people to see resentment? Accurately speaking, it can allow people to see the resentment that people add to each other, and the resentment on criminals is naturally many times stronger than that of most ordinary people… So that's it! This spell is really a weapon for arresting criminals! No wonder Su Zhou can easily catch even wanted criminals who have completely changed their appearance!"

The more he watched, the more the Dao Saint could understand the meaning of this spell. He nodded repeatedly, with a happy expression: "Although there are already similar spells in the Immortal God inheritance, such as 'Eye of the Judge' and 'Declaration of Yama' from the Underworld, and in the Imitation Dao inheritance, the 'Eye of Bi An' also has a similar effect."

"However, all of these spells that can see through the goodness and evil of souls, or see through lies and insincerity, are not as simple and easy to understand as the spell uploaded by Su Zhou, and are easier to popularize. Although the effect is indeed a bit singular, the requirements are much lower, and it can completely achieve universal popularization, so that no criminal has a place to hide!"

However, after the initial joy passed, the Dao Saint seemed to have thought of something.

Immediately, he frowned.

If this spell really allowed everyone to see the resentment on each other…

You must know that sometimes, there is no need for a reason to hate someone. It is just a purely subjective thing…

Thinking of this, the Dao Saint's heart trembled slightly.

The secretary, who was standing quietly to the side, saw out of the corner of her eye that one of the veteran Sages had a rare serious expression on his face.

Finally, the old man shook his head.

"No."

He murmured to himself in a low voice. First, he sent a notice to Su Zhou, reminding him not to forget to attend the meeting in Tian Du and to prepare to explore the Beast God Realm.

Then, the Dao Saint directly moved the 'Resentment Detection' spell from the 'General Review Area' to the 'Advanced Restricted Spell Review Area'.

"This spell… cannot be popularized for the time being."

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