"Spatial rifts have been appearing more and more frequently lately, and we've run into one again."
Su Bai shook his head, skillfully pulled out something that looked like a buzzer from his shirt pocket, grabbed the cord, and pulled it.
The next second, a burst of white light erupted from the device, forming a spherical barrier that enveloped both him and Shen Hanlu.
All the primary and secondary school students nearby who received the warning followed the same procedure.
To prevent minors from being injured in disasters caused by Blood Demons, the authorities of the True Mysterious Realm distributed portable protective arrays—self-defense alarms—to every minor free of charge.
After use, a new one could be obtained by exchanging the depleted device.
The built-in protection was not particularly strong; at most, it could withstand a full-force attack from a peak Qi Refining Blood Demon, while also emitting a sharp alarm to alert nearby authorities.
However, in most situations, this was sufficient.
College students and working adults, whose cultivation levels were generally at or above Qi Refining, did not receive such benefits.
Fortunately, Blood Demons strong enough to threaten them rarely appeared in blue-alert spatial rifts.
"Blood Demon…"
Shen Hanlu gazed at the crimson rift, her pale gray eyes filled with complex emotions.
Unlike ordinary people living in peaceful times, she had experienced the era of large-scale Blood Demon invasions and understood the immense suffering they caused.
She both feared and hated them.
Suddenly, the spatial rift shifted. A grotesque bat-like monster, covered in slimy mucus and bearing two pairs of wings, emerged from the crimson void.
The moment it appeared, it locked onto the nearest food delivery worker with greedy, bloodthirsty eyes and swooped down.
"Heh, you've picked the wrong target."
The deliveryman remained calm, forming a sword incantation. His delivery flying sword shot forward like a cannonball, cleanly beheading the creature.
The headless body convulsed briefly before falling.
Before it even hit the ground, an elderly sanitation worker swiftly collected the corpse in a snakeskin bag.
The entire sequence was smooth and efficient.
This was everyday life in the True Mysterious Realm.
"Oh, what a pity."
Su Bai shook his head.
Shen Hanlu frowned. "What's a pity?"
"It's a pity that low-level Blood Demons are artificial flesh constructs, making them inedible. Otherwise, we could achieve freedom in spirit beast meat just by hunting them."
Shen Hanlu froze, then quickly patted his shoulder.
"You're right. Blood Demons are not edible, so don't even think about turning them into food!"
Su Bai gave her a thoughtful glance.
Don't look at me like that! Do you know how many people your future Blood Demon Food Processing Plant poisoned?
Before she could say more, a swarm of bat monsters surged out of the closing rift—over a hundred in an instant.
Among them were several larger ones, nearly the size of an adult, clearly leaders directing the smaller creatures into a frenzy.
Seeing this, Su Bai prepared to retreat.
But then—
Ding-dong.
A notification sounded in his mind.
[Limited-time mission updated!]
[Mission: First Blood (In Progress)]
[Slay Blood Demons. Rewards depend on performance.]
Oh? A hunting quest.
The wording was strange—my people? Everyone in the True Mysterious Realm is equal.
Still, rewards were rewards.
Su Bai stopped retreating.
Just then, a bat demon leader spotted him and charged, baring its fangs.
"Don't just stand there—move! Even with protection, getting hit isn't a joke," Shen Hanlu urged.
The creature was at least at the peak of Body Tempering—far beyond an ordinary student.
"Hmph, avoid it?"
Su Bai calmly pulled out the cylindrical object from his pocket.
To Shen Hanlu's shock, it wasn't a syringe—but a shriveled finger, likely from an ape-like demon.
Why are you carrying that around?!
Ignoring her internal screams, Su Bai fixed his gaze on the incoming demon.
"Let me grant you… the flame of mercy."
"Holy Fire—activate."
Black smoke billowed from the finger as it ignited with eerie, blasphemous flames.
"The color's a bit off," Su Bai muttered, tossing the fireball.
The moment it left his hand, it transformed into a three-meter-long fire serpent, writhing like a living creature. It coiled around the bat demon leader instantly.
"Screeeech—!"
Amid its shrieks, the demon's body rapidly carbonized, torn apart by the flames before collapsing.
The fire serpent continued forward, weaving through the swarm, piercing multiple bat demons before dissipating.
Su Bai stepped in front of Shen Hanlu.
"Any creature attacked will feel pain or reveal weakness, but Blood Demons don't. So we don't need to show mercy."
Shen Hanlu: "…"
That thing was screaming its lungs out!
But what truly unsettled her was the black flame.
The moment it appeared, memories of the Supreme Demon Lord's terror resurfaced.
Legend said that in his hands, any ordinary technique could become a terrifying demonic art.
That flame—it resembled his signature technique: the Demon Flame.
He had already created such a technique in high school… no wonder he became the final boss.
She felt a chill.
At her current level, she would be reduced to ashes instantly if struck by that flame.
Just then, Su Bai extended a hand toward her.
Wait—are you about to attack me?!
"With so many people watching—"
"What are you doing? Help me up."
"…Oh."
She grabbed his arm, noticing his pale, exhausted expression, and pouted.
Trying to trick me by pretending to be weak? I'm not falling for it.
But in reality, Su Bai truly was drained.
At the Body Tempering stage, one could only cast one or two spells at most.
Even with the demon finger as fuel, unleashing such a powerful technique had nearly exhausted him.
Still, it was worth it.
By now, the crowd had already eliminated the remaining bat demons.
[You have slain one peak Body Tempering Blood Demon and five mid-stage ones.]
[Reputation gained: 175]
[Total Reputation: 201]
Su Bai quickly calculated—50 points for the leader, 25 for each lesser demon.
The attention he drew hadn't granted extra reputation, meaning it was already included in the reward.
Only broader recognition would yield more.
There were other gains as well.
He approached the sanitation worker.
"Sir, I'm a student. Our craft class needs Blood Demon specimens. Could I have some?"
The man agreed readily.
Since Blood Demons polluted the land when buried, few people wanted them anyway.
Without storage equipment, Su Bai could only take several bat demon heads, stuffing them into a large black plastic bag.
"Su Bai… you're not planning to eat those, are you? I've heard bats carry viruses," Shen Hanlu said nervously.
"What are you talking about? These are just firewood."
Firewood?
Oh… spell materials.
Wait—that's still a problem! What kind of high school student walks around with a bag of severed heads in broad daylight?
On her very first day, Shen Hanlu deeply felt the sinister nature of the future final boss.
Meanwhile, Su Bai was completely unconcerned.
After this battle, he had no doubts about the system.
Even if the effects were… strange, they were undeniably effective.
A proper righteous technique.
Back at school, he stuffed the bag into his locker and went to class.
"I really need a storage item. Carrying this around is too obvious."
You just realized that? The smell alone makes it seem like you're carrying human remains!
Following him the whole way, Shen Hanlu felt too embarrassed to even lift her head.