Su Changxing looked back at the pitch-black wilderness, showing no signs that any wizards had pursued.

"There aren’t any powerful wizards nearby, otherwise they would have definitely caught up to us."

He pondered for a moment, deciding to first contact Zhu Wenwu, who should be nearby.

However, Zhu Wenwu hadn’t replied for a while, making it unclear what he was doing. Instead, Zhou An came alone looking for him.

Su Changxing quickly pinpointed Zhou An’s location and headed over, finding him sitting and resting on the guardrail by the highway.

"Where’s Zhu Wenwu, isn’t he here?" Zhou An looked around, noticing only Su Changxing.

Su Changxing shook his head, his expression grave as he said, "No, I’m looking for him too. He should logically be right behind us, but we can’t reach him now."

Zhou An nodded and said, "I can’t reach him either. He’s quite strong himself; he shouldn’t have any problem as long as he doesn’t encounter those wizards."

Su Changxing nodded in agreement, though he was somewhat worried that Zhu Wenwu might have gone after the White Mask. His ability allows him to lock onto someone’s location within a certain time and range.

Nonetheless, Zhu Wenwu is likely not a match, even if the White Mask has been pushed to the limit by him.

"When did he advance to become a Tier Eight Extraordinary?"

Su Changxing asked as he walked away with Zhou An.

Zhou An blinked and said, "Just today, not long before you came. He had a fight with that White Mask and became a Tier Eight Extraordinary... It seemed the White Mask didn’t have a way to deal with him and ran."

"His growth speed is really fast; he’s caught up to me so quickly, just as expected of him."

The situation was roughly in line with what Su Changxing had learned, but there were differences in the details.

Yet, the White Mask’s strength should have been overwhelming compared to Zhu Wenwu.

Did some kind of ability or mysterious item from Zhu Wenwu counter the White Mask?

Su Changxing pondered, feeling that something was off.

Then, as if realizing something, he turned to Zhou An and said:

"Let’s wait here; he might be nearby. If anything happens, we can provide timely support."

They found a sheltered open space and started a fire, placing a pot above to roast meat.

"Brother Su, have you been in the task world this whole month?"

Zhou An asked thoughtfully while handling the roasting meat.

In their original plan, Su Changxing wouldn’t have been away for so long, only seven or eight days at most.

This led to some confusion later, especially since Su Changxing, the leader, had suddenly disappeared, and Lin Xiuyu couldn’t convince the others.

Su Changxing nodded, sighing, "Yes. I didn’t expect it to be so troublesome. Did you receive a guidance task?"

Zhou An took a big bite of the roasted meat and mumbled, "Yes, and you know, the world I went to was similar to ancient times and had cultivators."

"I saw many cultivators at an Ascension Conference, and even saw people flying on flying swords in the sky."

The flames crackled, casting a red glow on Zhou An’s side, making it shine brightly, with the oil from the roast hanging at his mouth.

Su Changxing raised an eyebrow, feeling like he’d heard something incredible, and asked, "What was your task?"

Zhou An flashed a proud smile and said:

"The task was to participate in that Ascension Conference, a sort of martial arts competition, and place in the rankings. But those people weren’t strong, and most were ordinary martial artists whom I beat easily."

"The opponent in the final was supposed to be a cultivator with Foundation Establishment strength, but I easily took care of him. So-called cultivators aren’t all that special."

Su Changxing was silent for a moment and said, "You probably only encountered the lowest level of cultivation. Did you get into any trouble there?"

Zhou An shook his head, pulling a blue booklet from his coat and said, "No, I just participated in the Ascension Conference and came back. I even got a spell, but I can’t read any of the characters."

Su Changxing took the book, opened it, and the characters on the pages appeared similar to traditional Chinese but were quite different, making their meaning incomprehensible.

However, "True Knowledge" could decipher the text’s meaning.

"Guiyuan Technique; it’s a Foundation Establishment Dharma Gate. Not sure if you can cultivate it... I’ll help you translate it later, give it a try." Su Changxing said as he put the book away.

"Alright."

Zhou An nodded, not questioning why Su Changxing could understand the book, thinking it might just be some form of traditional script.

By dawn, they still hadn’t received any news from Zhu Wenwu but got a task completion notification.

[White Mask is dead, task completed.]

Simultaneously, a forum announcement was made.

[xxx killed the epic boss Abyssal Mask (White), earning the Epic Title: Time Assassin.]

[Due to the death of Abyssal Mask (White), the third round of apocalypse arrival is delayed.]

"Brother Su, the White Mask is dead, and the task is completed." Zhou An looked at his phone, immediately noticing the situation, as he also received the task for killing White Mask.

Someone had gotten rid of the White Mask.

"Could it be Zhu Wenwu?"

Su Changxing looked puzzled, not expecting the White Mask would still die, and at someone else’s hands.

Zhou An thought for a moment and said, "I think it might be him. His ability should be able to find that creature." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

······

In a dark cave strewn with blood and corpses, the White Mask lay beheaded. Zhu Wenwu was kneeling beside it, slumped, with a broken Steel Sword in his hand.

He was covered in blood, with no part of his body unscathed, yet his wounds were healing at a visible pace.

"Haha, I actually succeeded!"

He laughed softly, as pairs of blood-red eyes appeared behind him, belonging to Humans with rabbit heads, standing silently around.

He slowly stood up and walked out, his long white hair turning back to short black hair.

The Humans with rabbit heads vanished one by one, and the blood on the ground disappeared as well.

Zhu Wenwu lifted his head to look outside, his expression suddenly freezing as a figure in a black coat holding a revolver stood at the entrance, blocking the light.

Su Changxing gazed inside, sensing the blurred, profound aura of the Blood Moon.

Zhu Wenwu at that moment seemed like a monster hidden within the Abyss, slowly emerging to look at him, his eyes gleaming with blood-red light.

This aura was identical to the White Mask.

Su Changxing’s face darkened as he stared at him, speaking calmly, "I once said that if any of you turned into a monster, I wouldn’t be lenient."

He had said those words and set those rules during their time in the Zombie World.

Extraordinaries can easily descend into uncontrollable depths, subject to a variety of temptations, becoming more unmanageable the more they crave power.

But he couldn’t ascertain Zhu Wenwu’s current status, conscious and yet in an abnormal state.

Zhu Wenwu wiped the blood from his face with his right hand, forcing a weak smile, and said, "Can you believe me, Brother Su?"

Su Changxing remained silent for a long time, gazing at him, and slowly said, "I believe in you. You’re a person of strong will, at least the Zhu Wenwu I know is... I want to understand why."

Were it anyone else, he might have acted right away.

Zhu Wenwu relaxed slightly, coughing as he said, "I can’t explain in detail, but this was the only opportunity..."