Returning to the second-floor library, Ganmu had already devoured half of the bookshelves.

He patted Ganmu's rump.

"Hey, Ganmu, you have to protect me well while I'm breaking through!"

"Yes!"

Besides Ganmu, Lu Luo summoned three more Fifth Tier Butchers.

Although this required 12,000 energy, it was a necessary expenditure for the current Lu Luo.

After all, this was the Nightmare Castle; apart from here, he couldn't find another suitable place to break through.

Ganmu's body was too large to exit through the door, and leaving might expose it to attacks.

So, this was the most logical place for a breakthrough. If anyone returned, Ganmu's strength in such a cramped environment was still very reliable.

The four behemoths nearly blocked the two doors of the room.

As guards, they should be adequate.

After arranging everything, Lu Luo returned to the center of the room.

"Well, let's begin!"

He downed the Bride's Tears in his hand in one gulp.

An indescribably chaotic taste filled Lu Luo's mouth, as if jam had been mixed with dog feces.

Fortunately, once it reached his throat, the Devourer would strike decisively, swallowing all of it.

[The Devourer is absorbing Dark Energy. Standby. Devourer Level: 3. Talent Efficiency: 160%]

[Dark Energy reserves sufficient. The Fusioner is drafting an advancement plan. Please wait.]

After drinking the Bride's Tears, Lu Luo's Dark Energy reserves were ample.

Now, he could officially break through.

[Option One: Energy-based advancement. Choose specialization: Thunder, Netherflame, or Poison. Post-advancement, each Qi He unit will possess passive energy attributes.]

[Option Two: Continue Qi acupoint strengthening plan, maintaining current state.]

Lu Luo had no reason to hesitate. Energy attributes were never his main focus, though Thunder, Netherflame, and Poison might be useful.

His core principle, however, was always to be stronger, bigger, and of higher quality.

Lu Luo had always firmly believed that with sufficient quality, other problems were non-issues.

"Choose Option Two."

[Option Two selected: Continue strengthening Qi acupoints.]

[Life Advancement Method: Second Path.]

[Fusioner activated. Checking all prerequisite conditions.]

[Prerequisite 1: Single attribute over 100. Strength, Agility, Constitution checked: All at 100. Meets Perfect Transformation criteria.]

[Prerequisite 2: First six Qi acupoints at 100. Qi acupoints checked: Purity perfect. Meets Perfect Transformation criteria.]

[All prerequisites met. Transformation Level: Perfect.]

[Fusioner is integrating Qi He with the Power Core. Preparing for Essence of Life mutation. Please wait.]

[Observer's Friendly Reminder: This breakthrough will be accelerated. The process might be a *tad* painful. Host, please prepare yourself mentally.]

A tad painful? How painful is that!

WHAM!

Shit!

SPURT!

Lu Luo spat out a mouthful of blood. A breakthrough with all attributes at 100 signified a complete transformation of his body's essence.

He was now completely untethered from humanity. His strength and Qi He structure were thoroughly metamorphosing toward that of a new species.

Intense pain erupted all over Lu Luo's body.

His core experienced intense compression.

Lu Luo's steam state activated naturally—second gear, third gear, fourth gear!

Lightning began to crackle across every inch of Lu Luo's body, venom erupted from his pores, and Netherflame blazed fiercely at the same instant.

The might of his Qi He terrified the four Exotic Species guarding Lu Luo. They had retreated to the doorway, but the energy bursting from Lu Luo showed no signs of stopping.

The three Butchers were the first to bear the brunt. The spreading energy began to invade their bodies.

Lightning paralyzed them, poison infiltrated their systems, and finally, Netherflame incinerated them.

Lu Luo's 10,000-plus energy points, wasted just like that!

Time ticked by, second by second, and Lu Luo's condition grew increasingly formidable.

At this point, pain was inconsequential.

All that remained in his eyes was a calm indifference.

No one can touch my woman!

[Essence of Life upgraded to: Fourth Tier]

[Entries to Doomsday Disc World +1. Doomsday Disc Rotations +1.]

Host: Lu Luo

Profession: Second Path

Strength: 105

Agility: 102

Constitution: 103

Energy: 34,132

Sequence Value: 341

Qi Acupoints: 9

Talents:

Sequence S-02 Devourer LV3

Sequence S-04 Fusioner LV2

Sequence S-07 Summoner LV1

Sequence S-11 Observer LV2

Sequence A-00 Unbeliever

Sequence B-Word Curse

Sequence C-Seed

Sequence D-Affinity of Light

Phew! Perfect condition.

Lu Luo clenched his fists tightly, feeling his newfound strength.

With Fourth Tier Qi He and his perfect condition, he truly possessed the individual power to challenge Lords head-on.

Moreover, this was a challenge where he was confident of outright victory.

Now, I have to find Qi Xinzhu! Of course, slaughtering the other grooms isn't just talk!

He checked the time: 8:03 a.m. There was still about an hour left until 9:00 a.m.

Lu Luo took out the meatballs Ling Jia had given him and began eating them one by one.

Everything here was very useful. After finishing all of Ling Jia's food, Lu Luo took out all the witch's candies.

He unwrapped them one by one and popped them into his mouth.

[Ling Jia's Meatball: Strength +1, Agility +1, Constitution +1.]

[Red Candy: Strength +1.]

[Blue Candy: Agility +1.]

[Yellow Candy: Constitution +1.]

After this eating spree, Lu Luo's attributes reached: Strength 143, Agility 140, and Constitution 141.

Although he could have saved the candies for later, Lu Luo abandoned that idea. More strength now meant more assurance.

Ventures without assurance were not to be undertaken—not now, not ever!

「Elsewhere」

Qi Xinzhu was running desperately through the corridors of the Red and White Castle.

She didn't understand why the corridors of the Red and White Castle were so long.

But she was close now; she could already see the staircase entrance in the distance.

Dressed in red gauze, wearing the headdress of a twilight bride, she once again killed a guard.

The weapon in her hand had changed from a simple brick to a longsword snatched from a guard.

"Huff... Huff! Finally made it."

She stopped. In front of Qi Xinzhu was the entrance to the staircase leading downstairs!

As she stood at the doorway, Da Tian appeared behind her, blocking her path.

"Lu Luo is also working hard to find you. What if you get lost now or fall into danger, and he can't find you?"

Qi Xinzhu paused for a moment, then turned to look at Da Tian.

"That won't happen. Lu Luo will definitely find me, and I will definitely find him."

That's too far-fetched, Da Tian looked utterly unconvinced.

"The reason?"

"Because we have a psychic connection!"

Qi Xinzhu pushed open the door to the staircase and descended the spiral steps.

Left behind, Da Tian stared in astonishment.

Psychic connection? How could such an ability exist? Is she lying to me?

Da Tian fell silent for a while. This time, she didn't follow Qi Xinzhu but turned and headed in another direction.

「Meanwhile」

As Qi Xinzhu ran toward Lu Luo, he was still examining the small door behind the witch's library.

The door was too small for Ganmu's bulk to pass through.

He turned to look at Ganmu and asked again,

"Ganmu, can you transform into a young girl's form?"

"Ah?"

Ganmu looked at Lu Luo somewhat blankly, its large eyes filled with questions.

Seeing its expression, Lu Luo knew it would be too difficult for this creature, whose intelligence was unlikely to surpass that of the Butchers, to transform.

"Alas, never mind. You stay here and wait for me. If someone attacks you, then fight back."

"Understood."

After instructing Ganmu, Lu Luo headed toward the staircase connecting the second and third floors; this too was a double-layered connecting staircase.

Across from him should be the mechanized room on the second floor they had encountered previously. If it were Gu Fangyi, he'd probably choose the room across. I wonder where Gu Fangyi has gone and how he's doing now.

Lu Luo continued upstairs, choosing one of the black-and-white rooms.

As soon as he entered, Lu Luo noticed something amiss.

[Battle traces detected: scorch marks from Holy Radiance and sword gashes. The conflict appears to have recurred multiple times.]

Recurred multiple times?

[Affirmative. The same location experienced repeated engagements.]

Lu Luo saw the black and white squares on the floor. Though the room was empty, he already had an idea of what might have occurred here.

Chess? Was it black and white chess?

Because a long time had passed, the battle scars here had begun to fade somewhat under the influence of the Nightmare Power.

The chess pieces had also completely vanished. From the remaining traces, Lu Luo couldn't definitively determine what had happened.

There's nothing here now—no chess pieces, no defending Lords. Someone must have already cleared it! Was it Chen Mo?

Lu Luo wasn't sure if Chen Mo had been the one, but judging from previous gains:

Chen Mo had obtained one or two tokens on the first floor, as Duorang, who allied with him, had also secured one. If their resources were pooled, it would count as two.

Chen Mo obtained no tokens on the second floor. Duorang, his ally, hadn't appeared, possibly having gone to the opposite area.

This meant their combined gains on the second floor were likely zero to one token.

The black-and-white room on the third floor had already been cleared, meaning they must have obtained at least one token, possibly more.

If the tokens for the twilight wedding were items like a ring, ceremonial robes, and a goblet, it was highly probable that Chen Mo and Duorang already possessed a complete set. This raised an unavoidable question: did becoming the bridegroom itself constitute a reward? If so, what was the content and nature of that reward? No, I have to kill one of those two first.

Lu Luo didn't linger in the black-and-white checkered room, instead heading straight for the fourth floor.

「On the fourth floor」

The environment was already very different from the first three floors. It featured a series of separate rooms.

Some candidates entered a room and immediately came out.

But others, after entering a room, never emerged again.

The doors to the rooms were all tightly locked, so no one knew what lay inside.

At this moment, Gu Fangyi was in one such room. Opposite him sat a woman also in red bridal attire, complete with a phoenix crown.

Indeed, the one who had collected a full set of tokens wasn't Chen Mo, nor Duorang, nor Qi Gefei.

It was Gu Fangyi, who was a notch weaker than all three of them!

The game in the second-floor mechanism room was 'Precise Gears,' a game that severely tested one's visual acuity.

Gu Fangyi, relying on his excellent strategic planning and the formidable vision from his Hawk Eye Sequence, had won there.

He obtained one token, as well as the victor's reward: Nightmare Power—Nightmare.

However, Gu Fangyi had always been concerned about Lu Luo and knew Lu Luo's purpose here was to take Qi Xinzhu away.

Therefore, Gu Fangyi didn't claim the Power of Nightmare. Instead, he traded this power with Qi Gefei for another bridegroom token: the ceremonial robes.

After that, as luck would have it, Gu Fangyi's only form of entertainment in the orphanage since childhood had been chess.

In the third-floor chess room, he even delivered a stunning checkmate, defeating Chen Mo by the rules.

Once again, he obtained a token.

Gu Fangyi didn't know how many tokens were needed to become the bridegroom of the twilight wedding, so he went to the fourth floor.

He wanted to grab more items for Lu Luo before morning tea.

Unexpectedly, when he brought three items to a fourth-floor room, a bride was actually sitting there.

A bride adorned in a long green gauze gown, with a green bridal veil.

This situation clearly exceeded Gu Fangyi's expectations.

However, this bride in front of him doesn't seem to be Qi Xinzhu!

"Since you're here, why not sit down? You've already found three tokens for the twilight wedding, haven't you? Since you've found three tokens for the twilight wedding, you now qualify to be the bridegroom! Moreover, as you strive to become bridegrooms, the brides are also choosing you! You have performed very well, my dear bridegroom."

The woman spoke slowly, her voice remarkably pure.

Although she spoke touching words, her tone was as flat as still water, devoid of any emotional ripple.

Simply put, her speech lacked emotion.

Bridegroom? Gu Fangyi looked at the three items in his hand, his expression turning a bit sour.

"These things are for a friend of mine! Not for my own use."

At this moment, Gu Fangyi's understanding of affection was still anchored to that bowl of noodles from New Hope.

As for women, he and Brother Kane had frequented certain establishments many times.

Besides, Lu Luo had Bai Yuetong and Qi Xinzhu. Not involving Lu Luo meant fewer complications. One could go whenever one pleased; 150 per visit. Women, in Gu Fangyi's eyes, were as simple as that. A beautiful, considerate woman who'd give you a massage and not pester you, all for just 150. Why look for a wife then? Is he someone who lacks 150 now? But to have a wife delivered directly to him now! That's just...

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