Chapter 625 - Rune Of Spirit Regains Its Function

Pop!

The eggshell-like black light membrane on Black Rain Manor's surface shattered. The ferocious ghost faces screaming in agony on the membrane dispersed and vanished.

A completely different towering manor appeared before the Golem Sect and the neo-human righteous alliance. The manor’s true body was taller and more imposing than its projection, with all kinds of buildings clustered densely together. Soaring rooftops pierced the clouds, faintly wreathed in mysterious, eerie mist. A dangerous aura thick with evil leaked from it.

Silver Gun Soro's chest heaved. His hands unconsciously touched the guns at his waist. "It's even more dreadful than before ..."

When he looked up at the manor, it felt as if millions of eyes within the darkness were staring back at him. It made every inch of his scalp tingle. When one gazes into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at them.

Crack...

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Rows of dangerous buildings slid aside like densely packed teeth. A straight, wide passage appeared, seemingly creating a path leading all the way to the manor's core. A lone figure grew larger and larger on the path.

Soro suddenly felt those eyes on him slowly close and withdraw. The sense of danger withdrew like a tide. His muscles' instinct to attack relaxed, and he almost couldn't help but exhale a deep long breath.

Yet in that instant, a surge of horror welled up inside him. The danger from Black Rain Manor had not truly vanished. It had been suppressed completely by an even more terrifying Qi.

So why did his body instinctively feel relaxed? Because the gap was too vast! It was so vast it couldn't sense danger or the opponent's Qi! It could even be said his very cells had automatically abandoned any notion of warnings. Warning would be useless, it was better to be happy. After all, ants scurrying on the ground won't know disaster until they're crushed.

Sensing danger gave a person a powerful will to survive. However, when they are unable to live no matter what, they would automatically ignore danger and fear, numbing themselves. Soro understood this logic, hence his deep horror. However, few among the neo-human alliance realized it. They only felt the pressure suddenly lessen.

Swish...

A blur flashed by in an instant, and Cassius appeared amidst his Golem Sect members. He raised his left hand, the ghost mark on its back glowing faintly. An eerie ripple spread out, sweeping over the respectful Golem Sect members.

"Do not resist. This is a gift."

At his deep voice, they looked at their own hands where a faint black mark had appeared. It was Black Rain Manor's mark, signaling a marked-one, or a traditional Hellsing. However, the manor's mark now looked very different. A ferocious blood vulture emblem had appeared on the original shield.

The manor's current master was the Southern Dipper Dominator Fist, Cassius. Thus, as the mark formed, it naturally bore Cassius's energy. When the ripple swept out, the neo-human alliance experienced the same. Everyone's hand heated as the blood vulture slowly appeared on their black shield marks.

The White Tower leader stood woodenly, at a loss for words.

"Black Rain Manor has been completely taken over by the Golem Sect's master..."

With the mark, they were in fact the manor's slaves, or more nicely, a marked-one. In essence, Black Rain Manor was their master. But the manor itself had gained a master. Wouldn't that make the Golem Sect's master their master's master?

Turns out the weak submit to the strong, and the strong submit to the stronger...

"My lord!"

"Lord Golem!"

On the neo-human side, the current Psychokinesis Association president, Shockwave and Catwoman, stepped out first and bowed to Cassius. They were originally Cassius's people. Now that the manor's revival was over, they would naturally return to the Golem Sect.

"Golem Sect's master..."

"Master..."

"Manor Lord..."

"Lord of Black Rain Manor..."

The neo-human powerhouses all stepped forward respectfully. They were no less reverent than Magician Bass. They had recognized the situation and did not dare entertain other thoughts. Showing humility to the master's master wasn't shameful. With such a gap, being meek was normal.

"G... Golem Sect's master... Master..." White Tower chief stammered but finally forced his words out. No matter his ambition, he was utterly desolate at the moment.

"Lord... of Black Rain Manor..." Soro looked at Cassius, seemingly recalling the Blue Star Manor incident in the Anta Mountains. White Skull's operation had been destroyed by Cassius. Back then, Cassius was strong, but he was nothing like the terror he was now. Only a few months had passed, and everything had changed. Soro sighed as complicated emotions flashed through his mind.

Cassius's face was blank as he glanced over the neo-human alliance. Compared with the Gate Organization, direct bloodline Blood Race, and other top forces, the neo-humans were insignificant. Their schemes, ambitions, and moves couldn't affect the bigger picture at all.

They were at most an ordinary sect in the Covert Martial Arts world. What use could they be? Let these neo-humans keep doing whatever they should do. Cassius had no intention of stripping their marks away or killing them. Their existence as marked-ones was the lingering attachment of the Ultimate Fist who once controlled the manor and was determined to solve calamity. Cassius respected that Ultimate Fist. Having taken his manor, he would not erase his traces completely.

Cassius glanced at the sturdy youth beside him. "From today, the Golem Sect will establish its first branch in the Anta Mountains. You'll handle the specifics, Simone. Anta City will be our transit hub for a while. It may be livelier than headquarters so finish building the dojos and developing the forces quickly..."

"Understood!" Simone answered earnestly, not daring to slack.

"

En

, what we need next is time. The Golem Sect already has the Southern Dipper twelve branches and the Golem Heart Codex, which is our core. Now with Black Rain Manor boosting efficiency, your growth speed will be accelerated. It's effective even for combat artists." Cassius slowly turned, sweeping his eyes over each disciple. "Perhaps before long, an unprecedented crisis will emerge. So cherish it and become stronger quickly..."

"Yes!" they answered in unison, faces grave.

On the ground, Cassius lifted his head, gazing far at the dim sky as if his sight pierced the Rainy World to see crises brewing in the unknown.

"I should begin hunting Ultimate Dark Forms as well to achieve a true Golem body..."

***

At the same time, within a Gate Organization base villa abroad, a figure exuding dense evil suddenly opened its eyes in the dark. Violent Qi leaked out, instantly wrecking the entire villa. Its passage left behind a scene right out of hell. Black evil petals were blooming one after another.

All kinds of hallucinations, stray thoughts, and horrific scenes sprouted. Patrolling Gate Organization members were engulfed and immediately killed each other with bloodshot eyes. Madness bred and inner demons danced wildly. Negative emotion crushed everyone's minds, turning them into mere killing machines. In just half a minute, everyone in the villa was dead.

Weapons were pierced into each other's bodies, nails were dug into skin, and teeth tore at flesh. Blood drenched them all.

"Aaaahhhhh!!!"

A terrifying invisible shriek erupted from deep within the villa and radiated for ten kilometers. Every living animal caught within went rigid, fell to the ground, and bled from all their orifices. Large parts of the forest shriveled; trees decayed and leaves visibly lost their green. It was like a realm of death had formed.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

The evil figure in the dark panted violently, body twisted like a prawn flailing on the ground. His hands clutched his head, fingers nearly dug into its temples, and tears of blood spilt from his eyes.

Holy Fist Evil Heart gnashed his teeth, his eyes bulging like a demon.

"Black Rain Manor! Black Rain Manor!!! Nearly half my Will and Qi was destroyed... Who was it! Who!? No matter who you are, I will tear you limb from limb!"

***

Over at the Totem Temple in the Ten Thousand Mountains, a gaunt elder shaman sat cross-legged on the floor. He suddenly opened his eyes, staring in shock at the totem on the wall to his left.

Numerous totem patterns on the wall had vanished like a faded oil painting. They had represented the auras of the shamans. Once gone, it meant those shamans had died. The disappearance of entire sections foretold that the expedition team had been wiped out!

The old shaman's lips trembled as he muttered, "Totem King above... Totem King above..."

***

In the Alphama Mountains' underground caves, a rushing stream of blood snaked by like a python, turning into mist, then bats, then a giant face.

"Failed, failed! What happened at Black Rain Manor? Did an Ultimate Dark Form or Holy Fist appear? That shouldn't be..."

***

In the Hongli Empire, beneath the Eclipse Society cathedral headquarters, a thirty-meter statue posed divinely while devout believers prayed around it. Suddenly, the moon disk in its hands blazed, the comma-shaped swirls inside clashing and vibrating wildly. Terrifying, dense moonlight howled out, flooding the cathedral floor in an instant. Three seconds later, all the believers were dead, leaving only skeletons.

Cracks split the holy Moon God statue's surface as drops of scarlet blood dripped to the floor.

Plip-plop.

Just as killers must accept being killed, one must pay the price for their actions. Even top factions like the Gate Organization and Eclipse Society faced failure when it was due. Only this time, the failure was especially tragic.

The price was so huge it was nearly unacceptable. Everyone was angry, in pain, and terrified. What exactly had happened at Black Rain Manor? Was there some accident? Logically, even if they had been besieged by other top factions, no faction should be entirely wiped out unless something utterly beyond imagination intervened. Had that been the case at Black Rain Manor?

***

Almost every gathered force had been annihilated on September 20, when the manor was revived. The only victor was the Golem Sect, which had joined halfway on a whim. The Black Rain Manor had then been seized by the sect master and reduced to a cultivation tool.

Cassius had gained much in the operation and needed time to digest. First, he had obtained many insights into the Heart of the Holy Fist and grasped the meaning of purification. This was a significant milestone for Cassius. If he went a little deeper, he would suddenly comprehend the Heart of the Holy Fist, and take the second step toward uniting the three fists.

Second, the once-incomplete Rune of Life had been perfected. This meant he could minimize the side effects of merging the Southern Dipper's three Forces. Summoning the Thorn Sonic Death Armament nearly collapsed his body and shattered his bones.

If he hadn't later reabsorbed all the Golem Seeds to push the Golem Covert Martial Arts to its peak for a moment, he couldn't have forced the three fists into one and thrown that final punch at Xiadu. In short, the perfected Rune of Life was very useful to Cassius. It was also his second complete rune; the other was the Rune of Spirit.

Now that the manor incident was done with, Cassius spent the next ten days digesting insights and learning the manor's functions.

Gradually, September waned and October approached. Preparations for the Golem Sect's touted Federal Combat Championships blazed, igniting a martial arts craze across East Sea County. Word was going around to spread the fervent atmosphere, as the entire Covert Martial Arts world was invited!

On October 1, there was a martial feast at Golem Sect's headquarters. It was possibly the world's largest martial combat event. Even the Eastern Nine Sects' exchange tournament couldn't compare.

On the eve of the tournament, Cassius suddenly found that the long-overloaded Rune of Spirit had changed. After one time-travel and two instances in the surface world, it seemed usable again.