Chapter 161 - 137: Dangerous Ritual, Advancement

Chapter 161: Chapter 137: Dangerous Ritual, Advancement

But the thought that the Pseudo-Men were not only masters of concealment but also a powerful and intelligent race of aberrations made the captains feel as if daggers were pointed at their backs.

After all, once an aberration gained sentience, it would seek out its own ways to grow stronger and achieve breakthroughs.

Aberrations that formed societies would possess Cultivation methods just like humans, and they were already powerful from birth.

The more the captains dwelled on it, the more intractable the problem seemed.

"We need to call back the division captains who are away. Otherwise, I’m afraid we alone won’t be enough to handle this."

"The General Captain is in seclusion at the base Deep in the Nightmare. If it comes to a real emergency, we’ll have to ask him to come out."

Within the entire Baijiang Countermeasures Bureau Headquarters, the Director, the two Deputy Directors, the General Captain of the action teams, and Captain Long of the First Division were all experts in the Extraordinary Realm.

In reality, the Countermeasures Bureau had more than two deputy directors, but the other two were ordinary people responsible for daily affairs.

Deputy Director Yan Xiangtian was in charge of the Present Realm, primarily responsible for matters concerning Nightmare invasions and Dream Descender crimes.

The other Deputy Director was in charge of the three major Nightmare Camps.

The General Captain was in charge of the action teams, but in reality, he rarely managed anything. He was a Cultivation maniac.

In the eyes of the captains who knew the inside story, the General Captain’s strength was likely even greater than Director Yan’s; he was a powerhouse among those in the Extraordinary Realm!

But in the entire Baijiang Countermeasures Bureau, there were only this handful of experts in the Extraordinary Realm.

Most of them were either not in Baijiang City or were swamped with their duties.

If a Pseudo-Man Extraordinary really did infiltrate the city, who could possibly stop it?

The captain of the Second Team, Bai Yu, said, "Or, we could risk it all and promote to the Extraordinary Realm!"

He had become eligible for the Extraordinary Ceremony more than half a year ago, but even now, he wasn’t confident enough to attempt it.

Bai Yu hadn’t always been the captain of the Second Team.

He was only the Deputy Captain.

The previous captain... had failed his promotion to the Extraordinary Realm half a year ago and died on the spot.

Although the bureau possessed the Unity Secret Medicine, a potion that could save one’s life during the promotion process, its life-saving effect was predicated on the Promoter being in perfect condition. If a peak-level expert was already heavily injured during their promotion and metamorphosis, and especially if they were subjected to external interference, no amount of Secret Medicine could save them!

The captain of the Ninth Team, Xia Yuxiu, said, "In the time since the city fell, our Countermeasures Bureau has had to replace captains on nine separate occasions."

"Two of those captains died from accidents within a Nightmare, and three sacrificed their lives fighting Nightmare Tides. The remaining four all failed their breakthroughs—either dying on the spot or being so severely injured that they were forced to step down."

So, were there any who had successfully promoted?

Yes!

There was one, and only one: the captain of the First Division, Long Xingzhou!

A 25% success rate—terrifyingly low!

After the cataclysm of the city’s fall, the environment had become harsher, and the Extraordinary Ceremony had grown much more dangerous.

Otherwise...

Among the twelve captains currently in the Countermeasures Bureau, more than half had already met the conditions for a breakthrough.

Lu Qing said, "My Extraordinary Ceremony is relatively simple. I just have to clear a deep-level Nightmare Area."

In truth, that was anything but simple.

Even the weakest of the deep Nightmare Areas would contain one Leader Level aberration and several regular ones. To clear such a place single-handedly? It was incredibly difficult.

After clearing it, she would have very little time to rest before she had to begin her metamorphosis.

Undergoing metamorphosis and promoting to the Extraordinary Realm within the Nightmare World would inevitably attract the attention of nearby aberrations, making it fraught with danger.

A Dream Descender either had to complete their metamorphosis with extreme speed, before danger could strike.

Or, they had to find a camp to seek shelter in.

For promotions, the Captain Level experts of the Countermeasures Bureau would always head to Dragon Fire Camp, one of the three major camps.

However, the locations for the experts’ ceremonies were often quite far from Dragon Fire Camp, and they usually couldn’t make it to the camp in time after the ceremony was over.

In the past, two of the bureau’s captains had died halfway there.

And the other two? They lost their lives during the ceremony itself.

Among the eleven remaining captains, Captain Bai Yu of the Second Team, Captain Li Yunfeng of the Third Team, and Captain Lu Qing of the Fourth Team were the three with the most profound foundations.

It wasn’t that they were too afraid to attempt the breakthrough; they just wanted to wait until their foundations were more solid and they had a greater certainty of success.

Now, with the threat of the Pseudo-Men looming, it was probably time to force the breakthrough.

Lu Qing said, "A while ago, I had a minor breakthrough while observing a Spell Scroll in the Safe Zone. Let me be the first to attempt the promotion. I have an idea—what if we could borrow the hallowed ground of the Safe Zone for our metamorphosis?"

Once the ceremony is over, we head straight for the Safe Zone!

The gate to the Safe Zone usually opens in ’relatively low-danger’ areas.

And the Nightmares she was capable of clearing were precisely of the most ordinary tier.

As long as the Safe Zone’s gate could open in a region she was capable of clearing, she would be able to promote safely and securely right after her ceremony.

Bai Yu was about to argue that it would surely be safest and most reliable to conduct the promotion on their own turf.

But after careful consideration, he realized...

The miraculous properties of the Safe Zone could actually be beneficial for the promotion and metamorphosis.

’And as for me, Captain Bai... well, he hadn’t been lucky enough to find the Safe Zone yet.’

’Damn it!’

...

’A captain from the Countermeasures Bureau wants to break through and promote inside the Safe Zone, and they’re asking for my permission?’

"That’s a small matter. Grant them permission."

Shi An was more than happy for the Countermeasures Bureau to produce more powerful experts; that way, he wouldn’t have to worry about Baijiang City day in and day out.

After thinking for a moment, he realized that the most suitable place for the breakthrough wasn’t the training room, nor was it the library’s Quiet Chamber.

It was—a hotel room.

The hotel provided restorative effects such as calming the mind and other buffs.

Peak experts were often in poor condition after completing their ceremony, and what they needed at that point were recovery buffs. Besides, the hotel’s mind-calming effect helped to quell their agitation, facilitating the Nether God’s Breaking Realm.

The Countermeasures Bureau had also thought of this point, so they wanted to make a long-term booking with him for a Heaven-grade room.

’Truly... great minds think alike!’