Chapter 103 – 「Spirituality」and「Demonic Nature」

Su Ming’s condition was dire.

To be precise, it was extremely dire.

His Spirit Power had inexplicably surged.

For some unknown reason, his Spirituality had also abruptly skyrocketed, reaching a completely different Rank compared to before.

A sense of restlessness coursed through his body, tormenting his mind as it raced within him.

Su Ming remembered this feeling.

Back when he was fighting on the Frontline, his body had suddenly undergone such a change, causing his Spirituality to advance by leaps and bounds and significantly amplifying the power of the Spirit Arts he wielded.

Now, that same sensation had descended upon Su Ming once again.

Moreover, the surging Spiritality had stirred his Spirit Power, causing it to break free from his control and clash once more with the lingering effects of the Phantom Demon Potion within his body.

“What’s going on…!?”

Su Ming was inwardly shocked.

Unbeknownst to him, Yun Langyue and Shi Lin, who were observing him, were even more astounded.

“Has he already Awakened the Vision Mark?”

Shi Lin was dumbfounded, and the look in his eyes as he watched Su Ming shifted.

The Vision Mark, much like the Hunter’s Demonization, could Awaken in a Sorcerer, causing their Spirituality to surge and amplifying the power of their Spirit Arts severalfold, or even dozens of times—a mark of transformation.

A Sorcerer who Awakened the Vision Mark, like a Hunter who Awakened Demonization, would be granted the title and status of a Four-Star Professional, becoming one of only a few hundred individuals in a Base City with tens of millions of inhabitants.

Now, the Vision Mark had manifested on Su Ming.

Or rather, even before this, signs of Su Ming’s Vision Mark Awakening had already appeared.

For a Hunter to Awaken the ability of Demonization, they must continuously train to elevate their Bloodline concentration to its limit, bringing themselves closer to the lifeform known as the Phantom Demon, until they shatter the constraints of their human nature and Awaken in one fell swoop, becoming a Fiend among Hunters and being recognized as an Upper-Rank Professional.

For a Sorcerer to Awaken the power of the Vision Mark, they must continuously enhance their Spirit Power, stimulate their Spirituality, and align it with the world, ultimately Awakening under some mysterious and profound state, causing the Vision Mark—the pinnacle symbol of Spirituality—to appear on their body. Like the Fiends among Hunters, they are regarded as Upper-Rank Professionals.

Under such circumstances, in truth, after opening 147 packages and obtaining a large number of items to boost his Spirit Power, increasing it more than tenfold, Su Ming had already met the conditions for Awakening the Vision Mark.

His Spirituality had never been weak to begin with; the fact that he had learned an Advanced Spirit Art like 【Fate Heaven Earth Shift】 during his student days was proof enough that his talent as a Sorcerer was no less than anyone else’s.

With his Spirit Power surging and his Spirituality already robust, the accumulation Su Ming had built over the year since arriving in this world—through continuously opening packages—had reached a remarkably substantial level.

Thus, almost as naturally as water flows downhill, Su Ming began the Awakening of his Vision Mark after significantly boosting his Spirit Power.

All of this had been foreshadowed.

After all, whether it was Xu Qianqian or Yao Beibei, as particularly unique Hunters, they had both noticed that Su Ming seemed different from before.Especially Xu Qianqian, who was already drawn to Su Ming’s blood, now developed an overwhelming craving for his blood after his Spirit Power and spiritual nature had surged. This made the typically aloof and detached Academy Beauty senior repeatedly lose control, attacking Su Ming and draining a significant amount of his blood.

All of this served as proof that Su Ming was no longer the same as before.

Of course, at that time, Su Ming had only preliminarily met the conditions for Awakening the Vision Mark.

Whether Awakening the Vision Mark or Demonization, meeting the conditions was merely the first step.

After fulfilling the Awakening conditions, whether one could truly Awaken depended on another step.

For Hunters, this step meant breaking free from the constraints of their human nature and stepping into a non-human Domain.

For Sorcerers, as previously mentioned, it required an opportunity and an elusive, profound Epiphany.

Fortunately, Su Ming encountered such an opportunity early on.

During the battle against the Demonized Yi Junchuan, Su Ming found himself in life-threatening danger, which greatly stimulated his spiritual nature. This ultimately triggered the opportunity for Awakening, allowing Su Ming to step into the level of Awakening.

From that moment on, Su Ming’s Vision Mark had already shown signs of Awakening, though it was not yet complete.

During the battle against the invading Phantom Demon army on the Frontline, perhaps due to the overwhelming presence of demonic energy, Su Ming’s spiritual nature was once again stimulated, causing his Vision Mark to show further signs of Awakening.

That was why Su Ming entered such a strange state at the time, and the power of his Spirit Art surged dramatically.

However, Su Ming still hadn’t fully Awakened at that point; he had merely triggered the opportunity for Awakening further.

If things continued this way, Su Ming would likely need to experience several more fluctuations in his spiritual nature and encounter multiple opportunities before his Vision Mark could fully Awaken.

Yet today, Su Ming consumed the Phantom Demon Potion of the Nightmare Species, which cleansed his Bloodline and intensely stimulated his spiritual nature and Spirit Power, causing them to fluctuate drastically.

This finally allowed Su Ming’s Vision Mark to Awaken ahead of time, formally manifesting on his body.

Under normal circumstances, this would undoubtedly be an ecstatic, joyous event.

But at this moment, the Awakening of the Vision Mark was undoubtedly a very unfortunate turn of events.

“Boom!”

The surge in spiritual nature due to the Awakening of the Vision Mark caused the vast Spirit Power within Su Ming’s body to spiral completely out of control, once again entangling with the effects of the Phantom Demon Potion.

It was domineering, it was forceful, as if it could not coexist with the Phantom Demon Power, refusing to tolerate sharing the same body. It rampaged wildly through Su Ming’s entire being.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh…!”

Su Ming’s screams, which had just subsided, erupted once again.

Excruciating pain, uncontrollable, erupted in every corner of his body.

“Damn it!”

Shi Lin cried out as well.

“……!”

Yun Langyue nearly rushed forward.

“Don’t come over!”

But Su Ming had not given up yet.

He gulped down all the alchemical potions in one go, then closed his eyes, his face contorted, enduring inhuman agony while desperately trying to control the Spirit Power within his body.

“Calm down!”

With a roar that echoed in his heart, Su Ming unleashed the greatest will to survive he had ever mustered.If there was one defining trait about Su Ming, it would undoubtedly be his unparalleled will to survive.

Why did he choose to remain an extra, hiding among ordinary students and striving to develop discreetly?

Wasn’t it precisely because he feared drawing too much attention from the Academy’s higher-ups, or even the Base City’s leadership, and being assigned dangerous missions?

In this world, humanity was at a disadvantage against the Phantom Demon invasion. Forget counterattacking the Spirit Demon Abyss—even in the present world, humans were scattered across isolated Base Cities, barely able to protect themselves by ruling their own small domains. The era of human dominance was long gone.

In today’s world, aside from the Base Cities, the dangerous zones in the wild were almost entirely dominated by Phantom Demons.

Even within the Base Cities, Phantom Demons occasionally slipped in and carried out massacres. Faced with such circumstances, humanity had to utilize every available resource.

Even students, if necessary, had to be dispatched to carry out perilous missions.

Take Xu Qianqian’s case, for example. Although it was merely an investigation, the Base City’s higher-ups still had her secretly track a Suspicious Group at the risk of exposure. This led to her being ambushed by schemers and nearly killed by the demonized Yi Junchuan, twice facing life-and-death situations.

The same was true for the Huaming District battle. Even students were forced to participate in the war. Jiang Wanyu, a freshman who had just enrolled, nearly lost her young and precious life after being poisoned by the Toxic Glue Demon. This alone speaks volumes.

Su Ming was a rare individual with clear insight into reality, so he naturally saw through all of this.

That was why he went to such lengths to stay low-key and remain an extra—all to avoid dying prematurely and meaninglessly before becoming invincible.

One can only imagine how strong Su Ming’s will to survive was.

Faced with this pivotal transformation in his life, Su Ming refused to give up or accept failure. His desire to succeed and obtain the key to reaching the Peak of his life erupted completely.

“Buzz, buzz, buzz—”

The Spirit Power within his body continued to rage wildly, causing the effects of the Phantom Demon Potion to spiral out of control.

Yet, Su Ming’s near-roaring outburst allowed him to momentarily suppress the rampaging Spirit Power once again.

“Back!”

Su Ming’s mind was now devoid of all other thoughts. Unaware of the outside world or even his own pain, his consciousness was solely focused on desperately restraining the berserk Spirit Power. This heightened his control to an explosive degree.

The torrent of Spirit Power struggled and thrashed, attempting to continue its rampage, but under Su Ming’s overwhelming control, it reluctantly began to subside.

At that moment, the remaining effects of the green potion seemed to erupt as well, releasing all its remaining power in one go. This caused Su Ming’s absorption capacity throughout his body to surge dramatically.

The potency of the Phantom Demon Potion was devoured, fused, and absorbed by every cell in Su Ming’s body, rapidly integrating into his limbs and bones. It accelerated the purification of his blood and the transformation of his Bloodline.

“Buzz, buzz, buzz—”

As the Bloodline transformation gradually sped up, Su Ming’s Spirit Power stirred restlessly once more.

As a power inherently opposed to Phantom Demons, it would not easily allow a Phantom Demon’s Bloodline to coexist within the same vessel, to share the “same roof” as itself.Unfortunately, the control Su Ming had burst out based on his will to survive was so strong that it made him stubborn and extremely tenacious in suppressing his Spirit Power, forcibly restraining the rampaging energy within his body.

With the assistance of the Cyan-Green Potion and various other alchemical concoctions, his efficiency in absorbing the medicinal effects rapidly increased, gradually replacing his own Bloodline with that of the Nightmare Species.

“Thump-thump—”

Finally, at a certain moment, Su Ming’s heart emitted a powerful pulse.

It had been transformed.

It became the central hub of his body, capable of governing the blood of the Phantom Demon, beating with even greater strength and vigor.

An endless stream of blood flowed through this heart, allowing it to slowly metamorphose.

Immediately afterward, an astonishing power began to emanate from this heart.

(End of Chapter)