Chapter 13: The Tragedy of Hongquan

After the meeting, they chatted on the way home.

"Bro, someone gave me something and said there's one for you too."

Chen Xuan took out a shiny golden Trouble-free Card and handed it to Bai Chuan.

"Who gave it to you? The previous investigators?"

Bai Chuan, who took the golden card, was playing with it doubtfully, "It's quite hard, but doesn't seem like it's made of metal. It's more like something taken from a Demon Spirit's body made of some spirit material..."

"Not the previous investigators, but I don't know that person either, just a young man with white hair."

Chen Xuan recalled and said, "At that time, he took out a golden snake from his pocket, then took off two scales and refined them with just a flick of his hand."

"White hair...golden snake..."

Bai Chuan muttered the words seemingly recalling something suddenly, his eyes wide open, he hastily took out his phone and started stuttering: "Wait...wait...let me...let me find a photo for you..."

Soon, a photo with a background that seemed to be taken at some important event appeared on the screen.

In the photo, the person who stood up to speak from the main seat was none other than the white-haired youth.

"It's him."

Chen Xuan nodded truthfully.

"Holy shit, you really met the 'Jinlin King'!?"

Bai Chuan immediately grabbed Chen Xuan's shoulders excitedly.

Jinlin...King?

Hearing this title, Chen Xuan couldn't help but be stunned.

It's not that he had heard or knew any of the stories of the 'Jinlin King,' but among Spirit Binders, there was an unwritten rule—only officials above the rank of general would have an officially recognized formal title.

Moreover, only by reaching the level of a king can the title be crowned with the character 'King'!

Therefore, the only one who could bear the title 'Jinlin King' must be a King-ranked Spirit Binder.

However...

Most King-ranked Spirit Binders were middle-aged over forty years old.

A few others were old men who achieved great things late in life.

But that Jinlin King looked like...he's only in his twenties?

"I don't know, he didn't tell me who he was..."

Chen Xuan was a bit confused.

"It's okay, I'll summon the dog to test it, and we'll know if this is the 'Golden Scale Trouble-free Card'."

Bai Chuan excitedly rubbed his hands together, raised his hand, and the Spirit Talisman quickly materialized.

The next moment, in the flicker of light and shadow, it turned into a milky white large dog.

[Faithful Hua Dog, Elemental Demon Spirit, Species Rating 3 Stars]

[With drooping ears adorned with beads, bright eyes painted with lacquer; when sitting, it looks like a tiger, when walking, it takes the form of a wolf.

It charges into formations, leaps over streams, loves to war drums, its nature is like a nobleman; it can carry heavy loads, travel great distances, it's used to whistling wind and seems like a dragon's messenger.]

"Blast it!"

Bai Chuan roared and threw the golden card into the air with force.

The Faithful Hua Dog nearby opened its mouth slightly without any hesitation, and colorful elemental energy particles gathered around it, forming a ball that kept tumbling.

[Elemental Skill: Mixed-element Bullet!]

[Gather the surrounding elemental energy and convert it into a chaotic, unpredictable energy bullet. The final released attribute will be random.]

At the same time, Bai Chuan's Talent Talisman also condensed before him.

[Talent Talisman: Changing Dice!]

[Use Spiritual Energy to manipulate the elemental flow around it and modify the random factors in the skill release, turning the results into the desired outcome.]

"Change!"

Bai Chuan raised his hand and pointed at the Talent Talisman.

The next second, the Talent Talisman disappeared and reappeared above the Faithful Hua Dog's head, turning into a spinning dice.

At the moment the dice stopped spinning, the energy bullet, which was originally transforming into clear water, instantly changed into a ball of raging flames.

'Bang—'

The fireball accurately hit the golden card and exploded like fireworks.

Just the impact of the aftershocks caused the thick branch of a nearby tree to shake violently and countless withered yellow leaves to rustle and fall.

The power was comparable to that of a hand grenade, capable of breaking stone tablets and shattering rocks with ease.

However...

When the two found the golden card that had been blasted far away, it was completely unscathed without any scratches, not even a single burnt mark.

"Even an officer-level spirit material would have some scratches under this level of attack, so the material of this card must be at least a school-level spirit material," Bai Chuan marveled while still feeling a bit regretful. "It's a pity the card came too late. Otherwise, if you sold it, you could have chosen a higher-ranked Demon Spirit."

"Is this thing worth a lot of money?"

Chen Xuan's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Of course it can be sold for a lot of money, but don't think about money all the time."

Bai Chuan tapped Chen Xuan's head with his knuckles and instructed, "The true meaning of the Golden Scale Trouble-free Card is actually an opportunity given by the Jinlin King. Although he won't give anything directly, the holder will be more likely to receive help from powerful figures since his influence is considerable."

"Isn't that just getting something for nothing?"

Chen Xuan couldn't help but complain, "He doesn't give anything; it's all up to luck. In the end, if something really works out, I still have to be grateful to him..."

"Shh!"

Bai Chuan made a silence gesture and his face turned serious: "You can't say that casually. Do you think the 'Golden Scale Trouble-free Card' is just given randomly? Not just anyone can get it without being registered in Hongquan."

"Only given to people from Hongquan..."

Chen Xuan was stunned, and immediately fell silent.

Because this is a rather heavy topic—The Tragedy of Hongquan.

Ten years ago, Hongquan City was swallowed by an unprecedented large-scale monster tide, becoming a playground for wild Demon Spirits.

To this day, the map of Hongquan City still appears in a dark, gray color.

In this parallel world, people like Chen Xuan and Bai Chuan are considered the orphans of the 'Tragedy of Hongquan.'

Actually, a year before the 'Tragedy of Hongquan,' there were already signs of something unusual.

However, at that time, the conclusion drawn from the survey was that a General-class Demon Spirit hiding in the Hongquan Forest was about to break through to the King-class.

The officials took this incident quite seriously. They not only sent a King-level Spirit Binder to Hongquan City but also instructed two King-level Spirit Binders to wait in the nearby provinces and cities for mobilization.

Patrol forces were deployed around Hongquan City to investigate and prevent wild Demon Spirits from entering the city when frightened.

Even evacuation plans for different levels of citizens were rehearsed thoroughly and everything was well arranged.

At that time, everyone was sure that the King-level Demon Spirit could not cause any trouble!

And indeed, it couldn't with just the power of a King-level Demon Spirit alone.

However, that Demon Spirit was not King-level, but...

Emperor-level!

The supreme realm that humans could not reach!

In the later analysis, another frightening detail was discovered— there was no mistake in the previous survey, but that Demon Spirit intentionally leaked its aura to lure its enemy into a trap, causing everyone to make judgments that they believed to be accurate but were actually wrong.

After all, a sudden unanticipated explosion in a silent and freezing night could trigger many guesses and alertness.

However...

If a notice about the release of fireworks was disseminated beforehand, everyone would believe it was just fireworks.

Its promotion was the true explosion hidden within the fireworks!

It woke up humanity, which considered itself superior to all things!

Since then, the structure between Demon Spirits and humans has changed drastically.

However, the anticipated racial war did not happen.

Because that Emperor-level Demon Spirit did not directly lead its kind to counterattack but instead spent seven days tearing through space to create a special territory for the Demon Spirits—the Realm of Death.

As long as a Demon Spirit belongs to the Realm of Death, it will be resurrected unless it dies of natural causes.

This is similar in principle to the contract signed by the Spirits.

Clearly, it knows why the Spirits are willing to become Spirit Binders.

That's why it chose to cut off the main source of shared interests between Spirit Binders and their Spirits from its very roots!

Even...

It was willing to maintain the operation of the Realm of Death at the cost of its own slumber, just to liberate the Spirits from their chains...