"We are the lonely pioneers, the torchbearers in the night, the guardians in the absence of light."
"If this world lacks light, we shall become light; if this world lacks fire, we shall become fire."
"I, Gou Pingan..."
"I, Xu Tian..."
"I, Luo Rui..."
"I,..."
"I,..."
"I am willing, for this world, for humanity, to become the light of hope, the fire of faith, to resist the eternal slumber of darkness, day and night, until death do us part."
Five newcomers took their oath.
The next moment, a prompt echoed in their minds, filled with surprise and joy.
...
"The seeds of the torch have finally been sown, and I believe this is merely the beginning."
"Our flames will burn brighter and brighter, until they incinerate the gloom that shrouds the sky."
Inside the training base, Fang You walked side-by-side with Hei Dao.
Hei Dao listened attentively.
Finally, he said, "We must cultivate more warriors for the organization, and one day, we will eradicate all malevolent spirits!"
Fang You said, "These few newcomers will be imbued with offensive skills and the seeds of tracking malevolent spirits. You will focus on teaching them the basics during this period. You can make good use of those trial spaces to see how they fare."
"However, the continuous appearance of the Gates of the Ghost Realm is definitely not as simple as it seems on the surface. A great battle is imminent. Learning skills and then awakening might be too late."
"Now that the time is about right, we can perform a mysterious infusion on them."
Hei Dao indicated he understood.
After a pause, he added, "Ming Deng has expressed that he doesn't want to undergo the mysterious infusion unless absolutely necessary. He said he wants to measure this path step by step."
The mage was indeed a persistent person; otherwise, he wouldn't have inquired so much and found the Torch of Hope back then.
"Let him have his way. I will have Xiao Huan assign him more tasks."
Given the mage's proficiency in basic skills, accumulating one unit of mystery on his own would only take a day or two.
As for 'special training' and 'guided awakening,' Master Ming Deng was merely persistent, wanting to tread this path diligently step by step, but he was not foolish.
"Also, your burden will be a bit heavier during this period. Besides training the newcomers, you will also need to carry out some missions in Shuize Prefecture," Fang You said.
Hei Dao did not feel tired. "This is my duty. To revitalize the Torch of Hope and extinguish malevolent spirits, Hei Dao will not shirk his responsibilities!"
...
As Hei Dao was about to reclaim his glory as the Torch of Hope's number one worker, Fang You had already boarded a plane and quietly arrived in Baijiang.
The moment he stepped off the gangway and set foot on the ground, Fang You felt a sense of relief.
He had flown before, several times, and felt nothing special. But now, he possessed immense power, capable of easily blowing up a car. Even falling from a height of over ten stories, he could land unharmed if there was something to cushion his descent.
However, a passenger plane flying at an altitude of ten thousand meters was a cause for insecurity.
Even for someone like him, capable of defeating a three-star malevolent spirit, a plane crash from such a height would surely spell his doom.
Especially with the frequent appearance of malevolent spirits these days. Although he hadn't encountered any, who knew if there were any malevolent spirits that inhabited high altitudes.
It was too dangerous.
This wouldn't do.
He would take the high-speed rail from now on.
Upon reaching the arrival hall, he saw from afar a girl in a long grey sweater, wearing a small plush hat.
She had disguised herself and was wearing a mask, but her strikingly beautiful eyes, like gems, were undeniably bright and couldn't be concealed. She was standing on tiptoe, looking around.
Suddenly, her eyes, like sapphires, lit up even more. She waved enthusiastically, "Instructor, Instructor, I'm here~!"
"I see you. Let's go."
...
An Jianyou was driving, with Fang You in the passenger seat. He took a small box from his pocket and rubbed it.
Instantly, a wisp of black smoke emerged, transforming into a slightly plump black cat.
"Meow~"
It stretched, shook its paws, and looked at Fang You with a resentful gaze.
Do you know what it was like for the cat to be in the box for over two hours!
It extended its little paw, demanding its phone.
Fang You patted its paw away. "The mission is important. We're here on official business today. We'll talk about the phone when we get back."
"Little Blackpup, you need to be a good kitty and listen to your instructor. Look what I have prepared for you."
An Jianyou produced a few cans of cat food.
Hei Tong glanced away.
The cat was disdainful.
But then it turned back, sneaking a few glances. It seemed to be... premium cat food the cat had never seen before. Well, since you're so thoughtful, this esteemed feline shall accept it with great reluctance.
Meow~
...
They drove directly to their destination, the southern outskirts of Baijiang City.
This was the location where a Gate of the Ghost Realm had appeared before.
The lightly polluted zone.
Investigators patrolled this area constantly, as the probability of malevolent spirits manifesting was significantly higher here than in other places.
To this day, the area within two kilometers of the graveyard remained cordoned off.
However, for the two of them and the cat, it was no problem at all. In fact, Fang You and An Jianyou were not visiting for the first time; they had quietly come once before the base was relocated to Shuize Prefecture.
This time, they were practically veterans.
Soon, they arrived at the core area, the southern graveyard, precisely where the Gate of the Ghost Realm had appeared.
Here, An Jianyou could act as the key and fulfill another condition to truly enter the Ghost Realm!
This had been confirmed before.
But they hadn't truly entered, choosing safety at the last moment.
"This time, I have more cards to play. With Xiao Huan here, we'll have the strength to fight in critical moments."
"I'm not planning to explore the depths of the Ghost Realm, but rather... if I want to test the danger level of a four-star malevolent spirit, this is the only place to do it."
"Being prepared beforehand is better than reacting in a haste."
He pondered, then looked at An Jianyou.
"Let's begin."
"Yes, Instructor, hold onto me tightly."
She clasped her hands together, her eyes radiating a faint blue light.
Fang You picked up Hei Tong and tucked it into his robe. Then, he grabbed An Jianyou's arm.
This time, An Jianyou was more practiced.
The scene before their eyes gradually shifted. A hazy grey mist drifted in the sky, obscuring the sun. It was like passing through a watery curtain. Upon stepping through, only he and she remained in existence.
Ghost Realm Station One had arrived.
「Ding!」
「Hint: Your Mystery Value +0.7!」
「Hint: Apostle An Jianyou's Mystery Value +0.7!」
「Hint: ...」
A notification popped up almost every few seconds.
An ordinary person would awaken in such an environment in a short period, but more likely, they would collapse into madness.
Perhaps due to his connection with An Jianyou, Fang You's sanity was not significantly impacted. He only heard the constant roars of malevolent spirits around him.
Further in the distance, colossal figures loomed within the grey mist.
Accompanied by booming, booming, booming sounds.
"How do you feel now?"
"Everything is normal, Instructor. To leave, it's simpler than entering... but it must be done from this exact location."
It seemed the spot where the Gate of the Ghost Realm had appeared was the entrance and exit.
Around them, trees were withered, the ground was mottled, and claw marks left by malevolent spirits were everywhere.
But upon closer inspection, it was evident that all of this was anchored to reality. The trees around them, including the structures in the distance belonging to the graveyard, were in the same positions, only much more dilapidated, as if abandoned for many years.
Beneath reality, grey mist permeated.
This was the Ghost Realm!
In the originally empty graveyard, there were wandering corpses. Some had necks stretched a meter long, some had eyes of different sizes, and some had mouths split to their ears.
However, at this moment, all of them turned their heads in unison, looking at the incongruous figures.