The monstrosities that Tang Qi had faced up to this point, such as the Visage Canine of Bronx and the Scavenger Nightingales, were crazy monsters without any intelligence. But there were also existences capable of thought, like the Dugong sea monster and the Slave of Desire artist, which proved that monstrosities weren't necessarily incapable of communicating.
It stood to reason that fear would also arise within them.
If not for that, the Dual Knife-Wielding Man wouldn't have been able to occupy the topmost position in the hunting order.
And at this moment, the fear that Tang Qi conjured in them had already exceeded [Serand the Dual Knife-Wielding Man]. It wasn't because Tang Qi had made a brilliant comeback in a hopeless situation and killed the Dual Knife-Wielding Man. Rather, it was because of that pair of hands immersed in golden light that Tang Qi had stretched outwards at the last moment.
Instinctive fear engulfed them from the deepest part of their hearts.
In fact, Tang Qi even heard screams coming from the shadows around him. If the Mark of Misfortune was still emanating enticing magic power right now, perhaps some crazy monstrosities might still stay behind. But at this point, the mark was already shut down.
The alluring "light" was gone, but a fearsome scorching heat was here.
The monstrosities scattered and fled in all directions.
Fortunately, Tang Qi didn't have the leisure to bother with them at this point either.
He was being assaulted by golden specks of light that had suddenly surged into his mind.
In his subconsciousness, the golden specks of light were like a torrential flood that gushed madly into that gray void inside Tang Qi's head.
Boom!
He felt an explosion as though a large basin of petrol had suddenly been poured into a slow-burning furnace.
In this instant, Tang Qi even felt like his head was about to explode.
"Does this count as having gained a huge batch of fuel for my own furnace?
"What a surprising reward!"
Tang Qi murmured as he watched the vengeful spirit of the Dual Knife-Wielding Man going up in smoke and dissipating.
At the same time, as he endured the distending pain in his head, he cast a sweeping glance across the surrounding darkness with his eyes that faintly shone gold.
All the monstrosities lured here by the magic power of misfortune had dispersed.
The crisis was over, both unfortunately and luckily.
If Tang Qi hadn't extinguished the Mark of Misfortune in time, it was likely that even if he had made a comeback and killed Serand the Dual Knife-Wielding Man, he might not have been able to intimidate the rest of the monstrosities.
If his guess was right, all those monsters concealed in the shadows earlier were monsters lurking in the Newton district.
In fact, those weren't even all of the monstrosities in the entire large district.
If it had been just a bit longer, those things at the top of the hunting-order pyramid would surely show up one by one.
Next would be the neighboring Bronx district, the rest of the districts, and then followed closely by the entire Moses City.
As for whether the range could be further extended, this would depend on Tang Qi's ability to control the mark.
"I must be more careful when using such dangerous bait next time."
After throwing out these few words, Tang Qi cast a glance at the alley that was already unbearable to look at.
In a district brimming with an artistic atmosphere like the Newton district, cleanliness and neatness were a basic requirement even if it was just a small alley.
But right now, even if one were to search throughout the whole of the Bronx district, they probably wouldn't be able to find any place that could compare to the sight in front of him now.
There pretty much wasn't even a single clean tile on the ground. Blood and bits of flesh clung even to the walls.
Tang Qi didn't have the desire or the moral obligation to clean up the area, but he didn't leave right away either.
His spoils were still waiting.
With quick movements, Tang Qi disregarded the bloody flesh on the ground and rummaged among the dead bodies that were already in pieces. With his special ability as a cheating device, Tang Qi didn't need to differentiate the things carefully. He needed only to pick it up and take it away with him and that would do.
A few seconds later, Tang Qi darted out of the alley quickly.
The jacket on him was currently worn inside out, which concealed the bloodstains very well. His form also swiftly blended with the shadows in the streets, and he left the "murder scene" at the fastest speed he could.
The first person to discover that tiny alley would probably be having nightmares for a few months straight.
The lottery prize that they should have gotten was probably gone too.
After all, that Slave of Desire artist who had committed the shocking murders completely didn't look human anymore by now. It was impossible for even the most highly-skilled experts at reassembling the human body to piece him back together.
The place inside was practically a "hell of blood".
…
Tang Qi didn't return to his little brick house right away after leaving the scene. Instead, he suppressed the "abnormal activity" inside his body and circled several streets until he was certain that there really wasn't any monstrosity tailing him. Only then did he follow the route that he had already planned long ago and returned to Thorns High.
Bang!
The moment he got back to the house, Tang Qi locked the door immediately.
Pretty much without any delay, he charged to the second story. He wasn't even in time to put his loot away properly before his entire self fell on top of the moon-patterned rug.
With a hum, he entered a meditative state.
Right now, his body was really practically a furnace.
Golden flames were almost spilling out from him.
His mind that was originally clear hurt as though it was about to explode. All sorts of confused thoughts emerged. Some negative urges even tried to take over his heart, as though a poisonous snake, as though vines. This was a sign of "losing one's mind".
Luckily, he activated his skill at this point.
If it had been someone else cultivating the Golden Furnace Meditation Method, perhaps they might need to spend a long time defining their thoughts before they could enter a meditative state.
But Tang Qi didn't.
Just a thought and that golden sun would quickly appear and help Tang Qi to tame those golden specks of light representing the essence of the power of vengeful spirits that were surging into his mind.
Time passed rapidly.
As the light and heat gradually turned mild, all the chaos and negativity in Tang Qi's mind disappeared.
"Phew~"
He opened his eyes once more and subconsciously glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.
Three hours. In a rare instance, a session of meditation ended up with three hours going by. Tang Qi didn't make adjustments even once during the process.
Right now, he felt… unprecedentedly fantastic.
He looked around his entire bedroom. The moment he did, he felt something different right away.
His vision seemed to have become even clearer and even sharper at picking up things.
Some things that used to look very blurry were incredibly clear in this instant.
He seemed to see the dust in the air, the intricate patterns of the desk, the tiny numbers on the barcode at the corner of book covers, and even the contortion of that misty, pale violet moonlight shining through the curtains into the room. Everything was so clear.
All these images disappeared quickly as if they were just an illusion.
Tang Qi looked at himself the next moment.
The interface that was visible only through his special ability and had undergone great changes again appeared.
He looked at the Skill section right away.
As usual, there were only three headings there.
But there were changes in every one of them.
[Golden Furnace Meditation Method: An extremely ancient meditation method... Stage: Elementary, Progress: 1% ]
Just the first heading and Tang Qi already couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. If his memory served him right, the Meditation Method's progress before this was only at 0.33%. But now, it actually increased threefold and went straight to 1%.
The result brought about by this leap in progress was the much more abundant — to the extent of several times of what it was previously — spiritual energy that filled Tang Qi's mind right now.
If it had been the standard increase through meditation, Tang Qi didn't even know just how long it would take to reach this level.
A month? A year?
Although the latter two columns weren't as astonishing as the Meditation Method, they also brought looks of joy to Tang Qi's face.
[Furnace's Eyes: Derived skill, activated through the eyes, possesses intimidation and calming effects, may be upgraded. Stage: Elementary, Progress 0.3%]
[Chaga Fighting Technique: Primitive ancient fighting technique. Stage: Elementary, Progress: 0.2%]
Tang Qi didn't get up immediately after checking his stats. Instead, he remained seated where he was. Closing his eyes slowly, he quietly took in the feeling and got used to the qualitative changes in his body, from his mental state to his physical body. Within his mind, he constantly replayed scenes of the battle that had already ended.
That dark and dangerous alley and those fearsome enemies. He brought himself back to the battle and went through simulation after simulation.
Hum~ Whoosh.
After a while, Tang Qi opened his eyes again and then got up.
At this moment, that ferocious and intense aura around him was already gone. He was back to normal.