Volume One: Entering the City Chapter Fifty-Seven: Ascending to a Higher Dream

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Lu Yi watched the darkness before him with unwavering focus. The dull sound of footsteps echoed again, and soon, that shadowy figure passed beneath another streetlamp. Catching a clear glimpse of his face, Lu Yi’s expression became grave—the man in black had returned to his original state as if nothing had happened.

Just as Lu Yi was realizing how troublesome this was, the man in black stepped out of the light’s reach, and another shadow darted swiftly through the darkness. “Moving quickly in the dark?” Though startled, Lu Yi reacted without delay. He scooped up the girl, leaping higher by using the light post as leverage. Indeed, a dagger slashed through the spot where he had just stood.

With his left arm holding the girl securely, a combat knife appeared in Lu Yi’s right hand. Dropping down, he struck in one smooth motion, decapitating the man in black. This time, the body collapsed beneath the streetlamp. “Wow, Uncle, you’re amazing!” the girl exclaimed in delight. “None of the people I met before dared to fight back!”

More people? Lu Yi was taken aback. “There are others? Where are they?”

“Yes, there are some other strange uncles and aunts. They wear masks just like the villains. But when the villains chased me, they ignored me.”

But when it came to the last question, the girl looked a bit lost. “I don’t know. After I ran into the alley, I just never found my way out.”

Her words made Lu Yi frown even deeper as he pondered what the key monster in this dream could be.

Just then, the head of the creature under the streetlamp twitched. Lu Yi noticed it at once. On the middle finger of his right hand shone the ring that Katharina had given him. He reached out and brushed the lion’s head, and the golden ring emitted a faint glow.

Lu Yi walked to the body of the man in black and struck his chest with a punch. The instant the ring touched the man, a golden-tinged flame engulfed the corpse. The body convulsed, a hand snaking out as if to attack, but Lu Yi snorted coldly and slammed the left arm against the wall, pressing the ring to the back.

Before long, the man in black vanished before Lu Yi’s eyes. Only now did he breathe a sigh of relief. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to use demon-hunting skills, but since he had entered this dreamscape through black magic, such abilities were disabled here.

Lu Yi turned, intending to ask the girl to lead him out. But as soon as he did, he was struck by a wave of unreality. He shook his head, then was horrified to discover he was still standing in the very alley where he had first entered.

“What is this!” Lu Yi stared at the familiar stone under the streetlamp. “What on earth have I just experienced?” He took a few steps back and leaned against the wall, trying to catch his breath.

Yet no matter how confused he felt, standing here pondering would solve nothing. He had to find Xu Anxuan. Pulling himself together, he clenched his fist—and only then noticed the golden ring on his hand.

Normally, Lu Yi kept his gear hidden, but now the ring was visible, which meant everything he’d just experienced was real. A chill ran down his spine.

A movie came to mind—Inception. That little girl was, in fact, Xu Anxuan. Perhaps as a child, she had gone by another name, which explained her denial. Destroying the man in black had shattered that layer of the dream.

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Yet a thorny question now confronted Lu Yi: which layer of Xu Anxuan’s dream was he in?

“This makes no sense!” Lu Yi shouted, then broke into a sprint, complaining loudly as he ran, “This mission is insane! A fake Grim Reaper right off the bat, and the other storyline is a magical version of Inception—damn it!”

Suddenly, Lu Yi stopped in his tracks. He had caught the scent of blood.

This surprised him—he hadn’t known he possessed such an ability. But then he remembered: the Soulfruit. This must be a temporary effect from having taken it.

If that was the case, he could trust this sensation. Lu Yi turned and ran toward the source of the bloody smell.

Soon, he came upon a teenage girl lying in a pool of blood, a man in black standing beside her.

At that moment, the girl’s brows furrowed as if she was about to wake, and the shadow at her side gave a faint shudder, then opened its eyes, as though returning from a deeper layer of dream.

The man in black ignored Lu Yi, raising his dagger to strike Xu Anxuan again. Lu Yi was puzzled—by the amount of blood Xu Anxuan had lost, she would surely be dead in the real world.

Just then, the girl opened her eyes and mouthed something to Lu Yi.

Seeing this, Lu Yi understood: all three of them had awoken from a deeper layer of dream. The girl must have died from blood loss, or at least believed she had. Since her physical body outside couldn’t support her, or perhaps because death here meant being pulled further into dreams, Lu Yi had taken longer to reach that deep layer.

Now that he understood, there was no way he’d let the man in black succeed. If Xu Anxuan fell yet again, who knew if she could be woken in this layer? He drew his gun and fired several shots in quick succession, felling the man in black once more.

Lu Yi brushed the ring and dashed forward, intending to finish the man as before—but his punch hit nothing. This man in black was recovering even faster than the one below.

There was nothing for it. The man in black had melted into the shadows. Lu Yi could only pull up the girl—Xu Anxuan in her teenage form—and scan the darkness warily.

“I feel like I’ve seen you before... Are you here to rescue me?” the girl asked, a mixture of hope and longing in her voice.

Lu Yi glanced at her. “That’s right. I’ll bring you back to safety.”

Even as he finished speaking, sparks suddenly burst at his chest. With a clash of metal, Lu Yi felt a heavy blow to his chest.

He staggered, bewildered. Were the monsters in this layer even stronger than those below?

Despite his thoughts, Lu Yi’s hands did not slow. A combat knife flashed in his grip, and he swung it in the direction of the force behind the blow.

His body had been strengthened many times, and this counterattack was blindingly fast. Yet even so, his strike still met only empty air.

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“How can this be? He wasn’t this powerful before!” the girl cried out in alarm.

Lu Yi’s eyes flickered at her words, but with blades flashing, there was no time to think. He shielded the girl behind him, retreating toward a wall. Then, in the darkness, he caught the faintest movement.

A submachine gun materialized in Lu Yi’s left hand. He fired at the shadow to his left. Muzzle flashes lit the gloom, but the left side was empty—on the right stood the man in black.

Lu Yi quickly swung his weapon and fired again, only for the man to reappear at his left.

The gunfire flared again and again, but the man in black seemed a specter, always swapping sides, each time drawing closer.

Bang! Another shot rang out. The man in black was now less than two meters away. Should he use the Holy Lion’s Roar? Lu Yi rejected the idea—he didn’t know how many dream layers remained.

Gritting his teeth, he holstered the gun and pulled the girl into a crouch. Timing it carefully, he summoned his strength and swung the combat knife hard from right to left.

Two gusts of wind swept by. This time, Lu Yi struck home.

He lunged forward, ducking his head beneath the man’s arm, and locked both arms around him, twisting the ring on his finger. Instantly, flames engulfed the man in black.

The man’s flailing arms, hindered by Lu Yi’s grip, could not reach his head, and he could only stab his dagger repeatedly at Lu Yi’s back.

Though the man was strong, piercing Lu Yi’s chainmail would take time—and by the time the blade broke through, he himself would be finished.

Sensing this, the man in black tried to break free with a kick.

Lu Yi was elated. Being pummeled on the back was no pleasure, and if not for the risk of the man escaping again, he would have changed tactics long ago. Seeing his chance, Lu Yi swept the man’s legs while releasing his hold.

Unbalanced, the man in black fell. At the same time, both attacked, weapons flashing at each other’s throats.

But Lu Yi’s combat knife was considerably longer than the man’s dagger—so he was the first to sever his enemy’s head, while the man only managed to leave a shallow cut on Lu Yi’s cheek.

With his head severed, the man in black was finally immobilized. Lu Yi quickly burned him with the ring, this time without resistance.

“You’re so cool, big brother!” As Lu Yi finished everything, the girl—Xu Anxuan—ran over and hugged his waist. “I—” she began, but before she could finish, that layer of the dream shattered.