Chapter Seventy-Six: The Dog Leveraging Its Owner’s Power
The sky was gloomy. On the dilapidated rooftop, the girl gazed into the distance.
As she watched the Haze God’s spawn gradually approach Luxianbei, the Proxy Player Sister could no longer sit still, her mind in turmoil.
She knew very well that the White Puppy might be able to delay the Haze God’s spawn for a moment, but defeat was inevitable. Jumeng could hold back that massive shadow only with the expenditure of substantial resources, with no chance for reinforcements.
Initially, she thought this was a good opportunity, perhaps allowing that kid to break through and touch the threshold of Cataclysm Grade. But now it seemed like it was still a bit too early, the Proxy Player Sister thought.
She had watched Luxianbei grow up and knew that she barely had the foundation for advancing to Cataclysm Grade, but she lacked the conviction needed for such a leap.
Cataclysm Grade cannot be achieved simply by piling up vast amounts of spirit energy. If one were to forcefully advance despite lacking the requisite belief, even if successful, they would become a distorted being with a confused mind.
This was also the reason why the Proxy Player Sister had strongly advised Luxianbei not to absorb the core of urban legends to supplement her powers and raise the level of her spirit energy fluctuations; if one were to accidentally fall into that, they would end up as a distorted being.
Many spiritual ability users or urban legends believe that to become a unique symbol of a specific phenomenon or entity at the Cataclysm Grade requires not just significant spirit energy but also a certain amount of recognition from people and urban legends.
To this notion, the Proxy Player Sister expressed, it’s complete nonsense!
Without sufficient recognition, does the Earth stop spinning? Does the sun cease to shine and give warmth?
In fact, as long as a spiritual ability user or urban legend reaches a certain level of influence in this world, they already have the potential to advance to Cataclysm Grade.
Indeed, some Cataclysm Grade urban legends came into existence due to natural phenomena changes or certain human factors, such as Yangyi, Haze God, and Jumeng before changing powers, but most urban legends or spiritual ability users who advance to Cataclysm Grade do so largely due to the power of belief.
This was precisely what the Proxy Player Sister had initially told Luxianbei: the second pathway for urban legends to advance.
However, there are some urban legends that do not emerge from worship or fear, but instead become disasters because of their actions.
Conversely, it is precisely because of their existence and the things they do on the path to becoming a disaster that they are worshiped or feared.
Take Pestilence Taijie, for example; spreading plague and corruption is something it must do on the road to becoming a disaster, and the fear brought by the plague is merely a supplementary feature.
To advance to Cataclysm Grade through this route, one must deviate a certain entity from its predetermined trajectory, thus bringing “change” to the world.
It’s like when a brand-new entity is invented and gradually becomes popular, impacting people’s lives and their understanding of it will also gradually solidify.
When powers connect with this “change” and subsequently influence the understanding of others or urban legends, they then qualify for advancing to Cataclysm Grade.
Legendary deities often issue grand vows and oaths, and when they act upon those vows, causing a series of changes, they also “attain enlightenment.” To advance to Cataclysm Grade through this third route, similar “oaths” are also needed.
Jumeng frequently proclaiming herself as the “Only Legitimate God of Fate in Z Country,” and becoming enraged whenever she sees someone tampering with fate, is hardly an occasional act fueled purely by emotion.
Pestilence Taijie, while spreading plague and corrupting the city’s ley lines, firmly believed in this action’s absolute, unwavering correctness for it.
Guardians from the Siye Society have entirely different “beliefs.”
These “beliefs,” “correctness,” and “oaths” ultimately become part of their unique power descriptions.
The power descriptions formed through this approach possess greater stability and are less prone to corruption compared to the haphazardly assembled descriptions of the first method and the indirectly endowed descriptions from the second method.
Although Luxianbei has not yet grown to the point of consolidating her own power description, if she gets influenced by external factors and doubts her past actions, she won’t have the potential to touch the threshold of Cataclysm Grade through the third route, and her powers may even experience issues.
“……”
At this rate, I might have to step in to help her.
But it’s fine; if this time doesn’t work, there’s always next time. Time…
Hmm, it’s still early; there’s still an opportunity!
The Proxy Player Sister thought as she placed the pure white egg down, rising to her feet and gazing at the sky. It seemed as though, from Luxianbei’s perspective, she caught a glimpse of the scene within Changlekou subway station, with a shadow of the Haze God’s spawn faintly reflected in her eyes.
“It’s just Pestilence Taijie and a corrupted luxurious DLC. If this damned thing really kills and devours me, that would be hilarious.”
She felt somewhat like a student of an agricultural college whose graduation project was eaten by passing sheep… the Proxy Player Sister added in her heart.
Just as she was about to temporarily take over Luxianbei’s body and strike a heavy blow before the Haze God’s spawn noticed, a vague mumble suddenly rang in her ear.
“I, it’s not wrong…”
Hearing the whisper, the Proxy Player Sister paused for a moment, then a smile appeared on her lips, her eyes filled with a kind of satisfaction akin to watching her child finally grow up and understand.
“Now…” she tilted her head, “seems like I don’t need to meddle anymore?”
“Hmm, that’s great!”
————
After confirming that she was not wrong, Luxianbei quickly felt her urban legend core beginning to awaken.
As if to seize the initiative, the first to awaken was the core of the mythological species urban legend.
A hot stream surged from her eyes like an elite army quelling a rebellion, rapidly clearing the uncontrolled spirit energy, and the re-stabilized spirit energy felt like it had a newfound clarity and coherence compared to before her fainting spell.
It was as if she had been cleansed, purging away unnecessary impurities.
I’ll wake up soon, after all the urban legend cores have revived and my internal spirit energy stabilizes… Luxianbei thought, quietly waiting while looking at the shadowy, ghost-like figures trying to drag her into the abyss.
“Although you can’t answer my questions, I still have some things to say. Everything I’ve experienced is not wrong for me, and it’s not wrong for many others and urban legends either!”
“Stopping the Haze God’s spawn is not wrong for Shancheng… Stopping Yangyi’s awakening is not wrong for those affected by its powers who have lost their selves… Wang Ying should have freedom…”
Not only firmly believing she was not wrong but also brainwashing others to see her point, regardless of the audience—this is the calamity!
“Next time someone dares to say I’m wrong, I’ll™ smash their dog head!”
“……”
Luxianbei rambled on. Unbeknownst to her, a glimmer of light tore through the darkness, creating a gap in front of her…
————
Inside Changlekou subway station.
As the Haze God’s spawn approached Luxianbei, raising its slender arm while the thick fog at its base twisted and rolled towards her, the White Puppy carrying Xuan Ying Luo Fu quietly approached from behind and leaped up.
In an instant, the sound of the wind howled.
A colossal sword glowing with brilliant silver light cleanly pierced through the Haze God’s spawn’s body, and with a low roar, the White Puppy twisted its body, using its torso to lead its head, forcefully pulling, causing the blade to carve an arc in the air.
A long, faintly glowing silver line extended from its back to its neck.
The enticing flesh had yet to gush bl**d when the White Puppy, taking advantage of its downward momentum, struck once more.
This strike pierced directly into the Haze God’s spawn’s spine, slicing down along the vertebrae.
After two strikes, the White Puppy landed steadily, its back slightly arched.
The power of the Hundred-Armed Giant surged forth, shattering everything, flowing through the silver line left on that body, and in the next moment, an explosion rang out.
The foul-smelling bl**d gushed forth in all directions. The upper half of the Haze God’s spawn instantly lost its humanoid form, appearing even more distorted than its continuously twisting and deforming lower half, which had formed into a pathological shape.
But immediately after, the mass of deformed flesh suddenly moved, extending a massive twisted limb that resembled a hand, but wasn’t, pressing down on the White Puppy’s head.
It was genuinely angry!
With a scream, the limb that clutched the White Puppy erupted outward, violently swinging it as if wielding a hammer, smashing it into the ground.
At the same time, the spirit energy invading the White Puppy’s body began to surge.
It was as if a crazy gunman with a heavy machine g*n was spraying bullets inside the White Puppy, dense red patches continually erupted on its body, then burst, creating bl**d holes, popping loudly, as if its wounds had completely lost regenerative ability, with silvery bl**d flowing incessantly.
Unbearable agony surged through its limbs, yet the White Puppy disregarded the pain, breaking free from the grasp of that strange limb and charging once more toward the Haze God’s spawn.
However…
As it advanced, the twisted meat continually extended from the gushing bl**d-stained wounds, crawling across its body, transforming into various pathological tissues, greedily siphoning its spirit energy.
Consequently, its body visibly shrank.
When it reached the gradually writhing, reassembling, returning to form Haze God’s spawn, only a skeleton and shredded fur remained.
It stood there, its body feeling as heavy as if several mountains were pressed upon it, mere steps away felt like an insurmountable chasm, while on the White Puppy’s back, the light blade rapidly dimmed due to reduced spirit energy supply, ultimately buzzing a few times in discontent before dissipating.
Ahead, the reformed figure of the Haze God’s spawn inched ever closer, raising its hands, sharp bones and flesh rapidly extending towards it.
At that moment, a voice rang out from behind it.
“Hey! Isn’t it about time to end this? Haven’t you heard? You should respect the owner when you beat the dog! And now, its owner has arrived!”
The Haze God’s spawn turned in astonishment, only to see a petite red-haired girl. Scars visible on the skin exposed outside her clothing showed they were not fully healed.
Just as it shifted its gaze to the girl, she emotionlessly commanded, “White Puppy, bite it!”
In the next moment, a roar rang from behind, accompanied by a thunderous crash, as a colossal wolf, like a small hill, raised its head once again.
Luxianbei had awakened; her spirit energy resumed normal operations, and the White Puppy received spirit energy replenishment, its shriveled body rapidly expanding like a compressed towel absorbing water.
Shrouded in the shadow cast by the wolf, a term suddenly flashed through the Haze God’s spawn’s mind—dog leveraging its owner’s power.
