"We've already sent people to the site of the incident, but they haven't found the target. These days, Demons are very intelligent, knowing to change their location after striking once. Don't worry, we'll figure out a way to catch this kind that specifically targets Cultivators."

"Make sure you record this achievement in the name of the Lian River Countermeasure Bureau. Rest assured, you won't miss out on the internal recognition and bonuses. When has your Bro Yu ever lied to you?"

"Thanks, Suo Zi, you were definitely the right choice for the Academy. I owe you a meal next time."

Ren Suo: "Sure, I've heard the Australian lobsters at the five-star hotel downtown are quite delicious…"

"Ah, I'm busy with something; if you need anything, just ask Li Dan!"

Hearing Yu Kuangtu hang up the phone, Ren Suo twitched the corner of his mouth. Busy with something at nine in the evening? …

This was a significant incident, with witnesses and physical evidence. As Ren Suo uploaded the paper to the internal network while contacting the Tactical Bureau, Yu Kuangtu's response was extremely fast. However, Demons that could survive in human cities were never simple, and the Tactical Bureau would likely be very busy.

But Ren Suo wasn't worried about their inability to capture this new breed of Demons—in fact, even 'fishing' could lure these Demons out.

And since these Demons only harmed and didn't kill their victims, the countermeasure system notified hospitals throughout the city, so that any similar victims found would lead to a rapid check of the surrounding area.

Humanity's mechanisms for screening Demons had become quite sophisticated. After all, the government couldn't let its citizens live in an environment where they might be killed at any moment—that kind of panic could cause a city to collapse.

With Transcendent Academies opening one after another and the number of Awakeners increasing by the day, the global revival of Spiritual Energy was now public knowledge, thanks to Ren Naiser's video. Consequently, the establishment of Transcendent departments in various countries was almost a matter of course, even requiring strong promotion: 'Look, we have Transcendents protecting democracy too, so keep up the good work and don't fear supernatural events!'

Although Ren Suo's paper on Demons was still under review, it was adapted from real events and had the support of the Lian River Countermeasure Bureau, almost guaranteeing official approval.

Moreover, with such a substantial paper, he would complete most of this month's workload. Ren Suo could afford not to write any new papers for the rest of the time.

After Healing the four students, the Goddess Jade Pendant had been activated. Even though the amount wasn't much, Ren Suo didn't want to waste it, so he initiated the Spiritual Energy Aggregation Device for Cultivation.

But before he even started on the Mysterious Sovereign's Secret Records, he received a call from Dong Chengling:

"Suo, were you just Healing Xiao Yan and the others?"

"Yeah," Ren Suo replied. "Don't worry, they're fine now. The doctor said they'll just need to stay in the hospital for observation a bit. As long as everything checks out fine, they could be discharged in a few days."

"Mhm, I went to the school infirmary to visit Xiao Yan just now. The doctor said their low blood sugar was due to recovering too quickly. If nothing else happens, they can be discharged tomorrow."

Ren Suo asked, puzzled, "If you already asked Classmate Gu, why did you still need to call and ask me?"

"…"

After a pause, Dong Chengling suddenly asked, "Have you finished your seclusion?"

"Yes, but I'm actually preparing to cultivate right now."

Following another stretch of silence, Ren Suo, feeling slightly awkward, changed the subject. "By the way, why did you call me 'Suo' just now?"

"...Do you not like it?"

"Uh, few people call me by a single character. They either use my full name or call me Xiao Suo, Little Suo, Suo Zi, Suo Fan…"

"You call me by my name, so I also just use your name. If you mind..."

"No problem, call me whatever you want; names are there to be called by others. It's just that I found it quite refreshing."

After another silence, Ren Suo asked, "Anything else?"

"That's it."

Following a pause, Dong Chengling asked again, "What did you have for dinner tonight?"

"Got takeout from the cafeteria; ate while working. When I was Healing Classmate Gu and the others, I made a new discovery and hurried back to report it to the countermeasure system."

At this point, even Ren Suo felt like he had forgotten something. He put on a hat and, with a mental command, swapped to the 'Seeker of the Dao Correction Hat'.

Aside from causing the side effect of 'being too direct', the hat also gave him a +10% boost to Comprehension—including memory, understanding, and thinking abilities—ensuring that Ren Suo wouldn't be forgetful or negligent.

"...Ah, right, can I still come over for dinner at your place tomorrow?"

"You can." Dong Chengling's voice was very calm.

Ren Suo thought hard again and felt that he probably hadn't forgotten anything, so he said, "Then, I'll hang up, okay?"

"Sure."

Maybe I don't call Dong Chengling often enough, Ren Suo thought. The rhythm of our conversations always seems a bit odd...

After completing his Cultivation, it was already midnight. Most of the lights in the teachers' dormitory were off, with everyone likely asleep.

"It's already this late, huh..."

Ren Suo sighed and then sat down on the sofa to start gaming.

With less than ten days to go before the 23rd, there were only two levels left, and Ren Suo felt the need to speed up.

If nothing unexpected happened, the 23rd would be the date the Forbidden Fruit Secret Realm descended upon Earth.

Ren Suo was still on his first save file. Though if he was willing to "grind" and not spend time on Cultivation, he thought he could probably handle another save file with the time he had left.

However, Ren Suo had invested too much effort into this save file already. If he could clear it, he'd be too lazy to start a new one—it's tiring to go through the same performance again!

Plus, even if he restarted, the bosses he had already defeated wouldn't trigger the Goddess Jade Pendant again, and with that thought, Ren Suo lost even more interest.

It was like when he was a kid buying soda. Originally, the bottle caps had the 'Thank you for your patronage' and 'Win another bottle!' lottery, but then the promotion suddenly stopped. Even if Ren Suo used to like that soda, once he found out, he wouldn't buy it anymore. He would rather buy a different brand with the same taste—it always felt like a loss in some way.

Not to mention Ren Suo had already spent over forty Merit Points in this save file, all for the Recovery of Magicians after using Forbidden Techniques.

Starting the sixth level, Ren Suo thought about it and decided to revert to the Silver-White Mage's appearance.

After all, I'm not 'dead' yet.

This time the map was an ice plain crisscrossed with chains, where the Silver-White Mage and five female Magicians descended together.

But upon their arrival, they witnessed a peculiar scene—

A large group of Chafuan were using entrenching tools, hands, and even Spells to dig out a block of ice that stood upright on the ice plain.

When the Magicians descended, these Transcendents immediately came over, overjoyed, exclaiming, "We have finally been waiting for the Magicians to arrive!"

The Silver-White Mage asked, "Waiting?"

"It was said that the Magicians would appear in less than a day at other unpurified Secret Realms, so we came in advance to scout and wait," explained this Sakura Transcendent named Natsukawa Nozomi. "We will assist you with all our might to purify this Secret Realm for the World Tree!"

The Silver-White Mage asked, "And what are you doing?"

"We discovered one of your companions frozen in ice, and we were trying to rescue her!" Natsukawa Nozomi pointed happily at the block of ice.

CRACK—CRACK—

Suddenly, the ice burst into cracks and shattered into countless fragments.

In the surprised gazes of the Transcendents, a cold-looking female Magician with white robes, white hair, and blue lips emerged from the ice block. She teleported in front of a blue-haired Magician and introduced herself, "Magic-Armed Mage, Freyja."

...Do entrance ceremonies have to be *that* flashy?

Casually firing off a few Holy Light Spears to heal the Transcendents scratched by the ice shards, Ren Suo noticed the surprised Natsukawa Nozomi next to him and had the Silver-White Mage explain,

"Sigh, you guys disturbed her sleep; she gets pretty grumpy when she wakes up."

Natsukawa Nozomi had a face full of question marks and asked, "So it's my fault?"

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