Creak~

Inside the training room, the strange phenomenon dissipated. Xu Lang reappeared accompanied by a streak of crimson thunderbolt, and a blood-colored divine seal had formed on his forehead.

Xu Lang gasped for air, the sweet scent of Demon King Castle filling his lungs again, finally restoring a tangible sense of being alive.

He pulled out a mirror, looked at himself, gently touched the seal on his brow, and murmured, "Well I'll be damned, I've become Erlang Shen."

[Scarlet Shepherd]

[Sequence Level: B-3 (Initial Awakening)]

[Sequence Ability 1 (Grave Pasture): The Scarlet Shepherd possesses an expansive Grave Pasture. Worthy opponents will leave reflections in the Pasture; when killed they become tombstones that serve as Herd Spirits, eternally guarding the Shepherd and growing alongside them. Current tombstone count: "88". The Shepherd can traverse between the Grave Pasture and the mortal world.]

[Sequence Ability 2 (Pasture·Sacrifice): When the Scarlet Shepherd dies, Herd Spirits may sacrifice themselves to resurrect the Shepherd, destroying their tombstones in the process. Each Herd Spirit can resurrect the Scarlet Shepherd once; the resurrection outcome depends on the Herd Spirit's strength. Such are the original sins of his cattle and sheep.]

[Sequence Ability 3 (Pasture·Blood Herd): Summons tombstones to deal massive damage to enemies while releasing Herd Spirits to fight. Tombstones do not break, Herd Spirits do not die. In herding mode, Herd Spirits risk losing control and rebelling. Releasing all tombstones at once greatly amplifies Herd Spirit combat power.] 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

[Sequence Ability 4 (Herding Beast·Soul-Herding Wolf): The Shepherd's exclusive pet, it can intimidate Herd Spirits, feast on blood mist to evolve, and will resurrect in the Pasture upon death.]

[Sequence Ability 5 (Scarlet Herding Chains): Releases up to three Scarlet Herding Chains. Enemies bound by the chains suffer heavy bleeding and severe restraint; their intrinsic value will be drained.]

[Sequence Ability 6 (High Seat): A title reverent to the exalted. The Shepherd cannot be deduced or probed by occult abilities and is immune to control skills.]

[Sequence Ability 7 (Summon): The Shepherd can call forth Herd Spirit shadows and use their abilities.]

[Sequence Ability 8 (Eye of Heaven): The Shepherd observes the movements of cattle and sheep, deploying the Eye of Heaven to overlook every corner of a region, and can convert eye techniques into group skills.]

[Sequence Ability 9 (River of the Slain): Herd Spirits sacrificed by the Shepherd enter the Blood River, a stream of gore and despair. The Shepherd can summon the Blood River into the mortal world and traverse it; the dead within attack indiscriminately every target except the Shepherd.]

[Dorm Building Comment: On a sacred yet sinful plateau, the Scarlet Shepherd herds his cattle and sheep for eternity!!!]

The Scarlet Shepherd advanced to the Initial Awakening stage, gaining four new abilities while other abilities were modified.

Xu Lang could now freely traverse between the Grave Pasture and the mortal world, but this power had to be used cautiously—bringing filthy things into the Pasture could cause major problems.

The Grave Pasture is the core of the Scarlet Shepherd sequence.

Sequence Ability 6 is passive; besides control immunity it also blocks information probing. The Pure Yang Immortal-Seeking Technique has a similar effect, and the two stack for a stronger result.

"Let me test this first."

The blood-colored seal on Xu Lang's brow flickered crimson, and a blood-red eyeball simultaneously appeared ten thousand meters above, taking every presence into its sight.

The Eye of Heaven's view was monochrome; even if someone hid inside a building, their aura would be detected, standing out clearly.

In an instant, the Eye of Heaven fixed on the Twilight Curtain.

In front of the fountain, Dusk Grandmother reeled as if struck, blood tears streaming from her eyes. Her mind cracked audibly, a few fractures appearing.

"Who is it?!"

Dusk Grandmother was furious, looking up at the sky, and saw the Eye of Heaven.

In that moment, a visceral sensation of being observed by a higher being rose from within her, and a trace of apprehension showed on her face.

The Eye of Heaven stared at her for a moment, then swept across other areas.

The scarlet beam shooting from its pupil felt like divine punishment, striking several treasure chest monsters and blasting them into fragments on the spot.

A group of players gaped, hurriedly looking up at the heavens, but they saw nothing.

…

The blood-red seal on Xu Lang's brow vanished, a faint smile curving his lips.

"In practice, the Eye of Heaven can not only turn eye techniques into area attacks, it also amplifies the damage of the Mind-Shattering Demon Eyes."

"If the Nightmare Eye ever gains killing power, that'll be glorious!"

"Overall, besides detection, the Eye of Heaven gives comprehensive bonuses to all eye techniques. Getting a couple more advanced eye skills is definitely worth it!"

"Only downside is the consumption is hefty, and when it's used, sequence power becomes highly active!"

"Damn Scarlet Shepherd, always wants to level up!"

Xu Lang reined in his smile.

This sequence advancement carried neither negligible nor extreme risk.

He didn't have a suitable sequence suppression item on hand.

The main problem was the Scarlet Shepherd's sequence rank was so high that ordinary suppression items wouldn’t work; upgrading required many Nightmare Coins.

When a Sequence Holder advances, they fight the sequence's core consciousness for dominance using their own will. Failure would have terrible consequences.

"Saladin."

Xu Lang called, and Saladin's Herd Spirit shadow immediately manifested behind him, floating in form.

"Soldiers!" Xu Lang raised his hand to summon. Yellow sand whistled as dozens of Sand Soldiers coalesced.

Saladin bowed and saluted, "Congratulations, Herd Master. Your strength surpasses before."

"This whole journey wouldn't have been possible without your offerings," Xu Lang said with a smile.

Saladin replied, "You flatter us, Herd Master. Without you, we wouldn't even qualify to be cattle and sheep."

There was a certain spiritual irony to it.

According to Old Ma's theory, when the working class lacks class consciousness, they often stab innovators in the back when reformers appear.

Their logic is: the landlord or boss gives me work, I pay rent—it's reasonable—so I'm not being exploited.

Herd Spirits embody that logic, proud to be the ultimate, superlative workers.

At first, new Herd Spirits might resist, but over time they accept it.

Resistance is futile.

The Godly Athlete hadn't even begun barking orders at Xu Lang before his own kind beat him up. He would quickly join in the clique, bullying the next rebellious new Herd Spirit, forming a loop.

If the Scarlet Shepherd was an intentionally engineered concept, the designer was a genius.

Herd Spirits lack awakening; they are the hardest to unite. They would work for Xu Lang for life.

Sensing Saladin's genuine aura of subservience, Xu Lang grew more fond of the Scarlet Shepherd sequence.

Next, Xu Lang summoned Azeman, Blood Ghost, and other Herd Spirits, testing each in turn.

Finally, he categorized all Herd Spirits into two groups.

One type was support-type, the other skill-release-type.

Azeman and Blood Ghost belonged to the support-type: they could enhance Xu Lang's brute strength and the sharpness of his weapon.

Their tombstones already provided corresponding bonuses; now it amounted to doubling those effects.

Blood Ghost was more complex. After Xu Lang summoned him, he became more sensitive to Blood Qi, more able to inflict bleeding on enemies, even manipulate the flow of an enemy's blood.

Figuring out every Herd Spirit's abilities was a medium-sized project.

Xu Lang spent the whole day in the training room, acquainting himself with the sequence power at the Initial Awakening stage.