Seized by the System

Satisfied, Cang Lang left Bai Shixin’s home.

In the short time between the Fellowship Meeting and Australia, his execution plans were repeatedly foiled by Vigilante A’s intervention. However, this time, he believed that even Vigilante A would be at a loss!

“Huhu, the Supreme True Dragon that dominated rumours of the Upper Realm, I really want to see how you will look like when you become completely disappointed with the humans…” It mumbled before shaking its head in disdain, walking with its hands behind his back.

As Bai Shixin watched Cang Lang’s departure, he heard the low mumbles that came from the wolf. It was probable that the wolf had intended for him to hear it.

Supreme True Dragon. Was that mysterious presence Vigilante A’s original form?

According to the legends, there was one being among the True Dragons that came and went without a trace, that transcended life and death. No one have ever met it before, and it lived only in the stories spoken among the holy celestial beings and buddhas.

Its powers unfathomable, no one could speculate its abilities.

Bai Shixin’s heart sank. He never expected that he had made an enemy out of a being like that before this. The fact that he could retreat without any major loss proved that fate must have been at his side, no?

At this thought, he kept his spirit up and returned to the study room.

After he closed the door of the study room, he finally spoke, “Master Bai, you must’ve heard what happened just now. Please notify that person.”

“Mm, I have. I never expected this wolf demon to be so vicious, and understand humans so well. The proposed plan hit the nail right on the head. This ability must never reach the public.” Master Bai replied instinctively.

“Hmph, what are you talking about, Master Bai? How could I not leak it out? If I really did so, he would return the next day with the Old Man to kill me.” Bai Shixin said chillingly.

“Oh, my bad. That’s true, he had no reasons to come and seek for your help. With the advancement of the Internet, and thanks to the Venerable Dragon God, the Internet still worked seamlessly amidst the chaos. He could easily spread it out without you, and there’s no need for him to see you at all. Does this mean that you’re exposed already?” Master Bai was agitated.

“It’s not to that extent yet. No one will be able to know our connection, nor will they be privy of the connection between you and that person. Even I have no idea how you manage to do that. It’s impossible that someone else could know about it,” Bai Shixin did not lose his cool. Instead, he speculated. “I think that was the wolf’s intention. It must’ve wanted me to use the Greater Rat’s resources to increase the authority of this cultivation method, so that it would not become another one of those trash abilities that no one ever touches. Its impatience was probably what drove him to me.”

“So that was the reason behind it. If that’s the case, you should just do what you would normally do. Since we have no power to stop this ability from circulating, you should never reveal yourself.” Master Bai instructed.

///

After a few days, Ren Ruofeng was seen frowning at the Headquarters of the Truth Department, reading the latest information that was sent to him. He was immediately bogged down by the matter.

There would always be some people that craved nothing short of worldwide chaos so that they could benefit from it somehow.

Even he was tempted by this ability that Master Bai transferred over.

Hypothetically, if this ability were to take the main stage in the future, then everyone would become a mobile experience container. Those who were stronger could then harvest the weak.

The hard work of others in cultivating a Golden Core would contribute to the success of others once the Golden Core was lost.

This was a devil’s ability through and through; similar to those abilities in some novels that relied on draining the internal energy of others.

The crux of the matter was that this ability was too attractive for humans. Most people did not have sufficient natural endowment. The two standards for their vitality endowments, namely Passive Vitality Respiration Speed and Vitality Sensitivity were both lower than Grade F, the lowest benchmark available.

When Fang Ning first participated in the training course at the Aristocratic Cultivation Club, only a few out of the bunch was qualified to cultivate vitality abilities.

With this cultivation ability, everything would be easy. The problem of qualification for cultivation would have one simple solution – kill a demon that had a Golden Core, find the Core, and swallow it to better oneself. In the future, this Golden Core could then be the centre to accumulate and channel magical energy for magic casting.

It was terrifying. These demons of the Upper Realm were just like the foreigners decades ago when China had just opened up its country gates. At that time, anyone could surprise the local Chinese with any technology they had.

Now, when the other party had failed in the game of schemes and conspiracy, they started to throw in the actual content when they realised that they were at a disadvantage in terms of power and influence.

Based on Bai Shixin’s introduction, this ability was once the trend in the Upper Realm. A large area of land was used to farm demons at a large scale in so to slaughter and obtain their Golden Cores after for cultivation. It was soon prohibited by one of the demon ancestors by using one of its remarkable skills. Only then did this ability slowly fade away from the public eye.

That was the characteristics of the Upper Realm. No matter how big the problem was, as long as someone was strong enough and had great enough skill, they could solve it with just a wave of their palm.

However, the humans did not have a human ancestor as powerful as that in this Earth…

Ren Ruofeng understood clearly that the spread of this ability would never be stopped by the Heavenly Axiom; instead, it might even add fuel to the flame. At its core, the Heavenly Axiom encouraged the ideal that the strong shall rule the weak, and has always used the law of the jungle to regulate the world.

The Heavenly Axiom preferred volatility over stability, and always favoured change over stagnanation. Stagnation signified the decline and fall of the world.

“We can only invite the Venerable One and see if he has any solutions. Difficult, difficult, this is too difficult.” With his forehead resting on his palms, Ren Ruofeng was perplexed. An old, wise man like him deeply understood the complexity and darkness behind the greed of humans.

A successful cover up? It was impossible. Never in this life. He was not optimistic of the situation, and could only do all that was possible of him.

///

After a few rounds of inspections, Fang Ning had basically stamped out the issue of the demonization of the Australian Aborigines. After all, the Aborigines only totalled to a few hundred thousand, and those who could be demonized were considerably less than that.

After they had lost the veil of justice to reveal the bandits and freeriders beneath, they quickly lost their power and basis.

At this stage, the power of humans were still quite overwhelming.

They could do nothing but surrender when facing only Vigilante A himself.

At this moment, he received news from Ren Ruofeng that invited him to return for a major discussion.

After he heard the brief information, he immediately rolled his eyes.

“D*mn, nothing is new and innovative under the sun anymore. This was just a replica of the bile bear farming, no?” Fang Ning was baffled.

“Eh? Isn’t this a copy of how we rear and kill ghosts?” Sir System once again showed up in an attempt to strengthen its presence.

“Don’t repeat my words. Didn’t you already run a script on the identification of good and bad? If it’s done, just come out quickly. I’m tired, and I want to go to sleep.” Fang Ning had his fur ruffled. He was so busy running around all day that he had no time to even read some novels.

“Alright, alright. Go and ask for my brother’s return so he can assist me.” Sir System took the advantage and commented.

F*ck this. Fang Ning gave up, “That dude has been talking behind my back, so I destroyed him. He won’t be coming.”

“How can you do that, as a human? You couldn’t even let your own… Brother off the hook!” Sir System was furious.

Hah, god d*mn it, did this idiot actually notice?

Fang Ning immediately felt like his intelligence was smashed into smithereens by a superior intelligence. No, that was impossible; it must be an illusion!

How would this dimwit see past his acting skills? Fang Ning refused to admit that.

Thankfully, Sir System had no intentions of calling him out. This had allowed him to at least preserve his image.

System Notification: [System has took over the Host’s body.]

“Saved at last,” Fang Ning left a lazy sounding sigh and sprawled himself across the sofa in the System Cyber Cafe, Ge You style. ¹ With a stretch of his hand, he switched the huge screen on and started watching a movie.

Meanwhile, Vigilante A controlled the flying sword and scanned Australia for a final time. He the proceeded to clear the remaining criminals that tried to hide in the dark corners, and toss them all to the The Alliance of Justice and Order in exchange for rewards…

///

An emergency meeting was being held in the Confidential Conference Room, located on the 33rd floor of the main building of one of the Truth Department’s branches. Only three personnel managed to show up within the short notice, and the venue was also chosen on a whim. This fully showed the gravity of this event.

“This ability has already been spread to the general public. According to the reports sent in by the Special Affairs Department of different regions, a significant number of hidden powers showed great interest to it. Once they got their hands on it, they instantly gathered a group of researchers to study it as if it was a great treasure. It seemed that picking up the ability was very easy, and would only take a few days of work. It was literally in a form of a Devilish Ability.” Ren Ruofeng described the grim situation at hand.

The reality was complicated, and would never be entirely linear. Complications and conflicts always emerged along the way.

With problems arising both internally and externally, even the Truth Department was feeling burnt out. They were no longer feeling the ease that they previously felt.

Ren Ruofeng had his own documented plans to solve the moon crisis, but this matter of the demon uprising was an entirely new topic.

Regardless of how he laid his chess pieces beforehand, reality would not tailor its changes to his will. The friction and attacks from the demons had become more obvious over time.

“Ah, one trouble follows another. We had hardly managed to calm the seas before this storm arrived.” sighed Ren Ruofeng at the Elder Xu sitting right opposite.

As the principle of the Sky Garden Institute for Special Training, the responsibility of fostering new talents for the Truth Department fell on his shoulders.

Naturally, chaos was not to his liking. With chaos came the downfall of the academics; only a peaceful society could provide it with the major development and growth it needed.

“This can actually be good. I will entirely eliminate those who dare to commit these hideous acts within China.” Qiao Anping, however, was vibrating with excitement.

“How many can you eliminate? Remember, you’re not the Venerable One.” Principle Xu chided.

“We can’t always rely on the Venerable One to deal with our problems, no? Just imagine how difficult it must be for that old man… I’ve heard that he had showed signs of fatigue quite often when he was in Australia. Even though he did not openly display his exhaustion, it was obvious from his route of travel that he had been taking an increasing amount of rest. I must assist him.”

Qiao Anping shared a deep relationship with the hero. Vigilante A was both his brother-in-arms and his saviour. They were both on the same side, and he was Sir System’s ally that laid low within the innermost sanctums of the Truth Department.

His urge to share the burden of the Venerable Dragon God came almost like a second nature to him.

With a wave of his hand, Ren Ruofeng stopped the debate between the two. He spoke, “Alright, stop arguing about trivial matters. Think about how we should handle this issue at hand. Elder Qiao, what do you think?”

Principle Xu frowned in response. “Brother Ren, I do not have any brilliant ideas, but we could look into other similar tactics to ban something and to control the public. Thus, we can announce this ability as illegal and crack it down in a strict manner.”

“Mm, that’s an idea that could only come from someone experienced and mature,” Ren Ruofeng praised, but soon shook his head. “Sadly, it wouldn’t have much effect…”

“Hehe.” Qiao Anping blurted out a chuckle, gaining a death stare from Principle Xu. Only then did this 40-year-old man stop his laughter.

“What ideas do you have, then? Do you only know how to laugh?” Principle Xu fired, in an attempt to regain his reputation after his friend rejected his suggestion. “Couldn’t you be more serious in your everyday life? You’re carrying the great title of a Pond-level Powerhouse!”

Instantly, Qiao Anping straightened his back and sat upright like a grade schooler would. He answered obediently, “This is an easy matter to deal with, no? We could just kill those who dared to cultivate this evil ability.”

As a true person of the Killing Path, it was almost instinctive of them to use killing as a solution for their problems.

“Hmph, did you assume that this is just another ordinary event? This is a matter of mental combat, and we will never be able to kill them all. The greed of humans, haha, both of us know it best. How many humans have disregarded their bottom line to seek immortality? How many humans ignored their moral standing to seek more power? With the emergence of this short and easy cultivation method, even those who were good will become evil, and those who were evil will become wicked devils. It’s not feasible not only for you, but also the Venerable One despite his high devil slaying efficiency.”

Principle Xu has spent his life in education. He has the clearest view on how powerful this tactic was.

Even though the Venerable Dragon God had never failed when facing any opponents, but the situation was different this time.

Another new enemy would always appear after he had just contained the previous one. On top of that, the public would be overjoyed whenever he had eliminated the evil in previous instances, and they would celebrate his hard work and dance for his success.

This time, however, most people would see him as their mortal enemy…

It was all because this would directly affect their core benefits. Regardless of the fact that this apparent benefit was an evil deed soaked in blood and gore, humans have never failed in displaying the darkest side of humanity in exchange for profit.

Could he withstand this pressure?

Would he turn against humans because of this?

Different from the muscle-brained Qiao Anping, Principle Xu had to consider factors that were further than what was at hand.

However, at this time, Ren Ruofeng suddenly received a call. After he picked up, he nodded to say, “Okay, the Venerable One has returned. We’ll ask for his ideas.”

Qiao Anping’s eyes were filled with anticipation. Meanwhile, Principle Xu looked sombre.

Would the True Dragon of the Upper Realm have a solution for this?

He hoped that he would. Otherwise, the land of China would soon plunge into mayhem.

Under the contrasting gazes from the two men, Vigilante A stepped into the Conference Room from the window with an air of aloofness around him…

Yup, there was no doubt that this was the Venerable One. It would be difficult for the devils to even impersonate him; this aura was so deeply embedded within his bones that no one else would be able to replicate it

The three men quickly stood in greeting.

“Many apologies, Venerable One. We had to invite you in such a short notice because this was too dire of a situation. Ah, this monstrous ability was obviously exploiting the weakness of humanity. Humans are too easily corrupted.” Ren Ruofeng was worried.

“I understand. The aim of my presence here is to solve this problem.” Vigilante A answered unperturbed.

///

Meanwhile, at all corners of the world.

At the other side of the vast ocean, a group of Caucasians gathered at a certain bar.

“Kill the demons, take their Core for a transplant, and start cultivating. Even ordinary people can become celestial beings. This was a secret technique that was secret to only the Greater Rat royalty from the China in the East?” A Caucasian was reading the printed ability that he got online with awkward Mandarin.

“Is that true? If it was really a secret technique, why would it be leaked out?” Someone was quick to brush it off.

“Huhu, I understand it now. Those people from the East are up to their cunning schemes again. They’re trying to trick us into cultivating this, and harvest us after like we’re some kind of experience pet! The plots from the East are truly as cruel as they always have been!” Someone said, as if they had seen the truth behind it all.

The crowd hissed in surprise, and soon in extreme joy. “If that’s the case, it means that what was leak was indeed true! At the very least, we should be able to cultivate it.”

“Mm, it should be true, but we don’t know whether there’s a back door somewhere. In the spirit of science, we must start by asking some monkey to cultivate it.”

“That’s true. We should use the baboons in the zoo; they’re smarter than monkeys,” someone suggested.

“Mm, let’s capture three of them then. We should form a team for this experiment. Anyone is willing to sponsor our work?” A small team started to form.

“I can sponsor three thousand US dollars.”

“I’m in for four thousand.”

“One thousand.”

Piece by piece, people started to chip in. All of them wanted to know the feasibility of the mysterious ability from the East.

If it were feasible, then they would no longer need to rely on hunting rifles when facing demons and devils.

They had witnessed whatever happened on Australia through the Internet. They were shocked – those were Caucasians just like them, and they were all armed. Still, they were easily chased out of their homes.

Since guns were no longer sufficient this time around, they should start learning some mysterious Eastern abilities.

The Caucasians were not one that would isolate themselves, nor will they give up any chance to learn more powerful attacks. Gunfire was the perfect proof for this trait of theirs.