Lord of Prayer

Zhou Chen shook his head. "I don’t feel a shred of guilt or regret, but I still need to find the time to apologize to them."

"You don’t really need to apologize; it wasn’t your fault. From another perspective, you did a good thing. You stopped the Corrupters from spreading their pollution and cut off a potential threat."

"But from yet another perspective, I killed their loved ones."

"Everyone understands the principle behind it," Zhou Chen said, "but if I try to see it from their perspective... if the same thing happened to me, I definitely wouldn’t be able to just let it go.

So, I have to at least make a gesture."

The female Knight with her hair in buns smiled in approval. "No wonder the ’Furballs’ like you so much."

"What?" Zhou Chen was taken aback.

Just then, the two "buns" on the female Knight’s head suddenly detached, transforming into two round, transparent creatures. They leaped into Zhou Chen’s arms and snuggled against him insistently.

"Spirit Realm creatures?" Zhou Chen asked, stunned. ’These two round, transparent creatures are actually from the Spirit Realm.’

"These are Spirit Realm creatures I’ve tamed. I call them Furballs," the female Knight, now without her hair buns, said with a smile. "I found them in a chaotic, shared dreamscape. They feed on Nightmares, like good people, and hate bad people. They’ve been trying to get to you ever since they first saw you."

The Spirit Realm was a vast and mysterious world inhabited by many magical creatures, some of which were benevolent toward humans. Ascenders could tame these creatures through various means and gain their assistance.

However, this was an incredibly troublesome process. A typical Ascender had to expend immense effort just to enter the Spirit Realm, and taming one of its creatures required extensive roaming and searching. As a result, Ascenders who possessed Spirit Realm creatures were exceedingly rare. Zhou Chen had hardly ever met one; this might have been his first time.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. A sudden knock echoed from the door.

A technician from the Star Association pushed the door open and entered, carrying a briefcase.

"The memory extraction is complete."

A wave of anticipation went through the room.

·

The projector cast a beam of light, and Li Miao’s memories began to play.

The Seed of Distortion had been planted about two weeks prior, so the technician skipped the memory feed directly to that point in time.

Two weeks prior, Wang Yaoting had been leading his team on a mission in the northwestern Eastern Continent, tasked with eliminating a Desert Sand Tiger that was wreaking havoc in the area.

After an arduous hunt, the team finally completed their mission. Seeing that everyone was exhausted and filthy, Wang Yaoting gave them a half-day off.

Taking advantage of the evening, Li Miao went to a private club, found the manager, and slammed a hefty sum of money down.

"I’ve been pent up for days, it’s been killing me! Get me a few of your top girls, and send them over now."

"How many? You have eight top girls here? You sure they’re all the best? If you are, send them all over. If even one of them isn’t up to snuff, I’ll tear this whole place apart!"

What followed were memories of Li Miao’s debauchery. The technician glanced at Wang Yaoting. Seeing his team leader’s dark expression, the technician gave an awkward cough and quickly fast-forwarded past the scene.

After finishing his activities, Li Miao left the club feeling refreshed. But he hadn’t gotten far before his vision suddenly went black.

’It’s happening...’ Everyone knew this must be when Li Miao encountered "Ghost."

A long while later, Li Miao awoke from unconsciousness. He found himself locked in a grim, dark cellar, his body wracked with Weakness. He couldn’t muster any strength, and his Extraordinary Abilities were suppressed.

He frantically scanned his surroundings. By the dim, yellow light, he could see the walls were covered in dried blood—splatters, sprays, and splashes. The blood on the floor was so thick it had congealed into a viscous, dark-red carpet. Two rust-covered iron beds stood in the room.

On the two beds lay recently coagulated blood and fragments of muscle tissue. It was as if two people had been brutally tortured here not long ago, and the air still seemed to echo with their piercing screams.

A chill ran down Li Miao’s spine. ’I’ve been kidnapped... To abduct a Tier Three Ascender like me so stealthily... the culprit must be a Tier Four Ascender!’

’Don’t panic, stay calm...’ Li Miao tried to comfort himself. ’If I don’t make it back in time, the Captain will definitely notice. They’ll realize I disappeared on my way back and find a way to rescue me...’ But just as he was thinking this, a dark silhouette appeared silently before him.

Li Miao flinched and, mustering his courage, stammered, "Wh-who are you?"

The silhouette didn’t answer. It merely extended a hand shrouded in shadow. In its palm rested a Dark Seed.

"Eat it, or die."

The silhouette threatened coldly, its voice a demonic chorus of countless overlapping male and female tones.

"This is... this is..."

Li Miao vaguely remembered seeing this seed somewhere. A few seconds later, his head shot up. "This is a Seed of Distortion! You’re ’Ghost’!"

He had once participated in an operation to hunt "Ghost," but he had only been on the perimeter. He hadn’t done a thing—just waited for half an hour until the mission was called off. He’d gotten lucky, earning an easy commendation for his record. But he had read the file on "Ghost," and it included a description of the Seed of Distortion.

"Eat it, or die."

Ghost repeated its ultimatum. An invisible killing intent, as cold as the deep sea, washed over Li Miao. The chilling malice felt tangible, a blade held to his neck that made his blood run cold.

"I’ll die sooner or later if I eat the Seed of Distortion. I’m dead either way, so you might as well kill me now!" Li Miao said, trying to sound tough, but his voice trembled.

"Be my inside man, and I guarantee you won’t die."

"I can control the Seed of Distortion," Ghost said, its voice haunting. "As long as you agree to be my informant, I won’t let it activate. You can go on living.

What’s more, I can help you earn commendations, allowing you to continue climbing the ranks within the Life Church and obtain a higher status and greater rewards.

In two days, the international A-Level fugitive ’Mad Bull’ will arrive in this city. I can provide you with the key intelligence."

"You think I was born yesterday? That’s like asking a tiger for its own hide!"

"My patience is limited. You have ten seconds."

Ghost began an oppressive countdown: "Ten... nine..."

’Fuck! Dammit, why did this shit have to happen to *me*!?’ Li Miao cursed inwardly, his mind racing. But the cold countdown was like the Death God’s summons, a final knock on the door that made it impossible for him to think.

"Three... two..."

In the final moments, his Fear of death crushed all his dignity. Li Miao chose to compromise, screaming out:

"I’ll do it!"

"Eat it," Ghost said without emotion.

Steeling himself, Li Miao had no choice but to pick up the Seed of Distortion and swallow it in one gulp.

’If I don’t eat it, I die right now. If I do, at least I’ll live a while longer. I can find another chance later.’

That was Li Miao’s plan. He would escape, seek help from the Church, and have them remove the Seed of Distortion.

"If you seek help from the Life Church, the Seed of Distortion will activate immediately." Ghost seemed to have read his mind, adding nonchalantly, "Just be a good informant for me, and I’ll guarantee your safety."

As soon as the voice faded, Li Miao’s vision went black again. When he next awoke, he was back on the street outside the club. His body had recovered, and his Extraordinary Abilities were no longer suppressed.

He immediately sensed his Soul and found that the Seed of Distortion had already taken root deep within it. Despair instantly flooded his heart.

He was now a fish on the chopping block.

Li Miao didn’t dare gamble with his own life, so he had no choice but to keep the secret buried deep inside.

Two days later, Ghost used the link through the Seed of Distortion to give him intelligence on the A-Level fugitive "Mad Bull." Thanks to this intel, his team successfully apprehended Mad Bull. Li Miao, of course, took the main credit and received a generous reward.

A few days later, they received a new mission from the Church: hunt "Ghost."