Chapter 376: The Fool's Advancement

Chapter 376: The Fool's Advancement

In Zone 1, within the Lu Wu Research Institute at Jiangnan University.

The little skeleton and the small dragon, who had just endured a severe beating, crouched pitifully in a corner.

Both of them looked disheveled.

The small dragon's scales were cracked in many places.

The little skeleton was in an even worse state, currently trying to piece its skeletal frame back together.

Additionally, its beloved phone had been taken by the bully who had beaten it.

"This can't go on!" the little skeleton thought, growing angrier as it pounded the ground next to its companion.

"We can't let Tuan Tuan and that bad Lu Wu bully us. We have to do something!"

The small dragon glanced at it and lay down, not bothering to respond.

This situation had occurred countless times before.

Initially, the small dragon had enthusiastically joined the little skeleton in plotting resistance.

But after being forcefully suppressed several times, the small dragon resigned itself to its fate.

Resistance was futile; they couldn't possibly fight back, so what was the point?

Seeing the small dragon's lack of enthusiasm, the little skeleton became furious. It was their lack of motivation that allowed Tuan Tuan to bully them.

However, at this moment, the little skeleton didn't try to convince the small dragon to rebel again. Instead, it had a better idea.

"Let's run away from home!"

"Huh?" The small dragon was taken aback and raised its head to look at the little skeleton.

"Let's run away from home!" the little skeleton repeated its suggestion.

"Let's go find our Lu Wu!"

The small dragon's eyes lit up.

Finding Lu Wu—that was something it was good at. Its head nodded vigorously, but then it hesitated, as if remembering something.

"But Lu Wu told us not to look for him! What if he gets angry when we find him?"

"I don't care! Lu Wu is a big liar. He said he'd be back soon, and it's been ages. I'm going to find him, no matter what!" The little skeleton was indignant.

It wanted to find Lu Wu right now, to complain about the bully who had beaten it up.

"Are you coming or not? I'll go alone if you don't!" The small dragon hesitated, but then its head nodded in agreement.

After all, they hadn't seen Lu Wu for half a year, and the small dragon missed him too.

So, the two little ones quickly reached a consensus.

They decided to leave this broken home and run away, determined to find Lu Wu and seek justice.

The pair wasted no time in taking action.

Their first task was to retrieve the little skeleton's phone.

The phone was with Tuan Tuan, so the little skeleton had to lure it over.

"Tuan Tuan is so foolish; it'll be easy to trick it."

Facing Tuan Tuan, the little skeleton felt intellectually superior.

It took the small dragon to the kitchen first, where they stole a pile of grilled meat before heading back.

Throwing the grilled meat in front of the pig, they easily made it forget about the phone.

Seizing the opportunity, the little skeleton and the small dragon grabbed the phone and prepared to make their escape.

At that moment, a problem arose.

The institute was guarded on all sides; how could the two little ones possibly escape?

The small dragon confidently assured them that it had a solution.

Seeing the small dragon's confidence, the little skeleton believed it and followed its lead to a toilet.

Upon entering, the small dragon skillfully lifted the toilet seat and shrank its body, plunging directly into the toilet.

The little skeleton, standing beside it, was left dumbfounded.

"What are you staring at? Jump down!" the small dragon urged when it saw the little skeleton frozen in place.

The little skeleton looked troubled; it didn't know how to do this!

"You're so stupid, little skeleton! You can't even crawl into a toilet. Watch and learn!"

With a mix of exasperation and pride, the small dragon jumped out of the toilet and demonstrated the action again.

"Got it now?" The little skeleton shook its head, indicating it still didn't understand.

Finally, the small dragon had no choice but to open its large mouth and swallow the little skeleton whole. Then, it turned and jumped into the toilet, disappearing from sight.

Unbeknownst to the small dragon and the little skeleton, as they leaped out of the toilet and ran away from home, in the student council president's office in Zone 12, a woman dressed in a female suit, wearing glasses, and exuding a chilling queenly aura turned her head towards Lu Wu's laboratory.

A faint smile curved her lips, revealing a stunningly charming smile.

...

In a deep mountain within Zone 12.

After causing a stir in Zone 12's Zero base, Li Wu quickly made his exit. Instead of pursuing Tsuki Akari and the others, he had other plans.

Ever since he provided them with the map to Zone 1, Li Wu hadn't intended to reunite with them so soon. Firstly, it wasn't the right time for him to return to Zone 1. Secondly, staying by Akari's side wasn't ideal either.

Lately, Li Wu had been feeling like he was constantly entangled in a vast net. Even though he had left Zone 1, the net around him never truly disappeared; it merely kept him at a distance.

Therefore, it wasn't suitable for Akari to be by his side. After all, he never knew when something might happen around him.

As his strength gradually increased, Li Wu's attitude towards many things had also changed. He was gradually shedding his ostrich mentality, realizing that the ostrich tactic was a weakling's strategy, only to be used when there was no other choice. It couldn't truly solve problems.

To solve problems, the best choice was always to face them head-on. This was why Li Wu had smuggled out the confidential files of the Zero Organization from the Ninth Apostle.

At this moment, after finding a place to stay, Li Wu began reading through those confidential files. These files were truly eye-opening. They primarily detailed various affairs of the Zero Organization, such as corrupting specific areas and individuals, controlling regions, and even manipulating Summoned Beast tribes to create Summoned Beast tides.

Each incident was marked with the words 'cruel' and 'brutal'. "These incidents don't seem to be targeting the Gate of the Door," Li Wu muttered. "As I thought, their doctrine is just a slogan?"

Li Wu scoffed. It was a mix of disdain and confusion. If they wanted slogans, there were plenty of random ones to choose from; why pick the least convincing one?

"Why don't they just say they want to corrupt the world directly? Wait, it seems like they are actually doing that." Li Wu suddenly realized, carefully examining the confidential files. The Zero Organization appeared to be genuinely trying to corrupt the entire world.

Moreover, they had already made significant progress. "Corrupting Summoned Beasts can indeed enhance their strength and, to some extent, eliminate the limitations of their natural talents. After corruption, Summoners can typically reach the Lord Level, and some even advance to the King Rank, surpassing the achievements of ordinary Summoners.

However, this comes at the cost of erasing the Summoned Beasts' consciousness. Additionally, Summoners who undergo corruption experience mental changes, becoming increasingly radical, irritable, and violent over time, gradually losing their humanity.

If the entire world were to be corrupted, it would essentially become a living hell."

Imagining such a scenario, Li Wu couldn't help but shudder. "As I thought, it's better to exterminate the Zero Organization."

As Li Wu spoke, he continued flipping through the confidential files. When he reached the last two, his eyes narrowed.

One of them was a report from Zone 11, and it was about a person named 'Bright and Righteous,' Li Wu's alias in Zone 11. This report was issued by the Zero Organization in Zone 11, containing detailed information about Li Wu's activities there, from his involvement with the Cherry Blossom Family to his departure after slaying Tsukimaki Kouraku.

The report even included records of interrogations. When Li Wu saw the names of the interrogated individuals, his anger surged. They were none other than Sakuragi Hanamichi and Sakuragi Hanako.

The report meticulously documented the interrogation process. Li Wu found it difficult to read, even just the text. "Damn it! Every member of the Zero Organization deserves to die!"

Li Wu clenched his teeth, noting down the interrogator of Hanamichi and Hanako. "So, you're the Eighth Apostle, huh? Just pray you don't fall into my hands."

Suppressing his murderous intent, Li Wu finished reading the report. The last part of the report speculated about Li Wu's identity, vaguely linking 'Bright and Righteous' to him.

Additionally, they had made predictions about Li Wu's escape route and requested assistance from Zone 12 in capturing him. The report concluded with these words:

"Regardless of whether 'Bright and Righteous' is Li Wu, his ability to slay Tsukimaki Kouraku proves his value. We suggest capturing and corrupting him, turning him into a weapon for our organization."

"Li Wu's eyes narrowed as he read the file, recalling his previous strike and the incident at the base in Zone 12. Without a doubt, someone had their eyes on him again.

But Li Wu wasn't overly worried. Instead, he felt a surge of anger.

Calming himself, Li Wu focused on the last file. As he read, his anger intensified.

The final file was from the Zero Organization's headquarters, ordering the mobilization of resources and personnel. And the signatory was none other than Feng Xiu, whom Li Wu had personally witnessed being slain by the Moon Shadow Blade in Fort City.

Li Wu was perplexed. Wasn't he dead? How could he still be alive and signing documents?

The file provided an answer to Li Wu's doubts. Feng Xiu was indeed alive, but in a poor state. Apparently, he had used a secret technique unique to the Zero Organization, sacrificing a summoned beast to survive, but at a heavy cost. He had suffered severe injuries, and his strength had seemingly dropped to the Archmage level.

The purpose of this file was to gather the Zero Organization's resources to help Feng Xiu recover his strength.

"How could I possibly let you recover?" Li Wu muttered as he carefully studied the document.

After noting the location and time, Li Wu tore up the file, whispering to himself, "There's still about two months left, right? Alright, I'll go and see. If I get the chance, I won't mind giving you a hand."

Li Wu closed his eyes and began to focus. Reading these confidential files had filled him with a desire for power, and he wanted to quickly digest the skills he had obtained earlier.

Previously, when he had unleashed the Omnipresent Aura twice, he had acquired the Five Thunderstrike from Number 67 and the Explosive Fire Break from Number 71.

During his battle with the Ninth Apostle, he gained two skills from her: Earth's Wrath and the Bear's Roar. Additionally, he obtained the Fire God Strike from the Flowing Blade of Fire.

With the Celestial Cloud Sword's advancement, Li Wu acquired the Wrath of the Gods skill.

Currently, Li Wu had six skills yet to master. Once he fully digested these skills, his strength would significantly improve, possibly even reaching the 2-Star Archmage level.

However, as Li Wu worked on assimilating these skills, something unexpected happened within his body.

The Celestial Cloud Sword, after its advancement, had become somewhat inflated with pride. It sought to explore Li Wu's body's secrets and, in its exploration, discovered a powerful energy within his heart.

The Celestial Cloud Sword, being rather mischievous, touched this energy, and in doing so, awakened the dormant power within Li Wu's heart.

The awakened power erupted, and a terrifying force surged forth, transforming the area within a hundred-meter radius into an icy wonderland. Simultaneously, a feedback force surged through Li Wu's body, enhancing his strength even further, and he seemed to acquire a brand-new skill during this feedback process.

Li Wu was stunned for a moment, then immediately opened his attribute panel, along with that of his newly awakened power.

...

Name: Li Wu

Strength: Archmage 1-Star

Summoned Beasts: Lesser Skeleton (Gray), Lesser Dragon (Gray), Heart (Archmage 1-Star), Celestial Cloud Sword (Archmage 1-Star)



Skills:

- Omnipotent Enhancement (Special) (Master)



- Lu Clan Sword Technique (Ultimate) (Grandmaster) (Contains various skill variations)



- Dragon State (Special) (Master)



- Unyielding Strength (Special) (Proficient)



Domain: Omnipresent Aura (13% Proficiency)



Unmastered Skills: Five Thunderstrike, Explosive Fire Break, Earth's Wrath, Bear's Roar, Fire God Strike, Wrath of the Gods, Absolute Ice Seal

Summoner Talent: Inheritance Power (Awakening)



Shared Damage: You can now consider yourself a summoned beast. Protect your summoned beasts; they need your protection more than you do.

...

Name: Ice Snow Cloud

Strength: 1-Star (Archmage)



Quality: Legendary (Improved) (Enhanced through beatings)



Attribute: Ice and Snow

Weakness: Aside from not being the sharpest tool in the shed and enjoying beatings, there seem to be no other weaknesses.

New Divine Technique: Absolute Freeze (Proficient) (A terrifying burst skill; it's a mystery how this masochist awakened such a skill)



Talent: Thorny Shield

Undying Cockroach

Domain: Ice Seal Domain (30% Proficiency)



...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end