# 1422
Chapter 1422: Ferocity
"Great Xia national fortune?"
Looking at the small golden dragon on his wrist, Lin Qiye's eyes filled with surprise.
He had thought that Huo Qubing's spear strike might have been an attempt to stop them... but he never expected it to carry a wisp of Great Xia's national fortune, directly pouring into their bodies!
Cao Yuan stared at the small golden dragon on his wrist and asked with confusion:
"With national fortune entering our bodies, why doesn't our cultivation realm seem to have improved significantly?"
"These strands of national fortune probably aren't meant to be used that way." A shadow of gray flickered in the depths of An Qingyu's eyes. "Though our spiritual power realm hasn't improved, haven't you noticed... the mental consumption when动用Forbidden Ruins has decreased dramatically?"
Lin Qiye raised an eyebrow and carefully sensed the flow of spiritual power within his body. A joyful expression appeared on his face. "That's right. These strands of national fortune seem to be replacing spiritual power to maintain the Forbidden Ruins' operation."
"The effect of these strands of national fortune should be the same as the Supreme Commanders'. In essence, heroic spirits are souls—they don't possess spiritual power, so when they动用Forbidden Ruins, they also use Great Xia's national fortune." A smile curved An Qingyu's lips. "These strands of national fortune are enough for us to use our abilities recklessly, without having to consider spiritual power consumption... just as the Marquis said, it should last at least two days!"
"If the Marquis gave us these strands of national fortune, won't it affect Great Xia?"
"Just these few strands shouldn't be a problem, but any more would probably damage the foundation of the national fortune." Baili Pangpang couldn't help but speak up. "This truly is a grand gift..."
An image surfaced in Lin Qiye's mind—that figure seated atop the torrent of national fortune—and warmth bloomed in his heart. He stood up from the Somersault Cloud, turned to face the direction of the Island, and bowed deeply:
"【Night Watch】Squad, thank you, Marquis, for your generous gift!"
The others rose and bowed as well.
As the Somersault Cloud gradually left the vicinity of the Island, Lin Qiye turned and asked:
"We should have left the range affected by national fortune... Jiang Er, is there a way to learn what's happening at Chennan Pass?"
Zuo Qing's phone was already broken, and Lin Qiye and the others had no other means to contact the front lines. They were still some distance from Chennan Pass, so it would be best to ascertain the current battle situation before arriving.
"Yes, I can." Jiang Er nodded. "The Night Watch has its own encrypted communication channel. I can directly tap into that channel and eavesdrop on their communications."
"Good."
As Jiang Er's eyes slowly closed, a burst of electromagnetic interference sounds emerged from the Bluetooth speaker at An Qingyu's waist...
...
Purification Chamber.
In the bustling cafeteria, a young man in prison clothes slowly set down his chopsticks.
He stood up, tray in hand, calmly walked through the aisle, neatly placed his tray and utensils at the collection point, and turned to walk out the door.
Outside the plastic curtain, a group of tall, burly prisoners was chatting and laughing as they walked into the cafeteria, nearly colliding head-on with the young man. The fierce man leading them frowned, about to curse something, but catching a glimpse of the young man's face out of the corner of his eye, he swallowed the words back down.
This group of prisoners simultaneously closed their mouths, respectfully stepping aside to both sides, creating a wide, open path. The man who had collided with the young man even buried his head nearly into his chest, not daring to breathe heavily.
The young man lightly brushed off the dust on his shoulder where he'd been bumped, glanced at the man, and walked out of the cafeteria without a word.
Only after he had completely vanished from view did the other prisoners heave a collective sigh of relief, their tense bodies finally relaxing.
Behind the group, a young prisoner who had only recently entered the Purification Chamber glanced curiously at the departing figure and asked in confusion: "Brother Long, what's the deal with that shorty? We nearly bumped into him, and we were all this jittery?"
"You don't understand?!" The fierce leading man wiped the sweat from his forehead and glared at him. "You came in late, so there are some things you don't know.
I'm telling you, in this Purification Chamber, you can make enemies of any other prisoner, can mess with the guards, can even be fearless and try to escape... but there are exactly two people you absolutely cannot provoke, and if you see them, you should walk around them.
One is that man wearing a straitjacket, with disheveled hair and face, talking to himself in madness all day long. And the other... is that young man."
"A madman and a brat who hasn't even grown proper hair?" The young prisoner was puzzled. "Why?"
Hearing these words, the fierce man's expression changed. He slapped the young prisoner across the head and cursed: "Why? You ask why? If you don't want to wake up with only half your body dangling from the ceiling, you'd better keep your damn mouth shut!
You want to find death on your own, don't drag us into it. Get lost, get lost."
The other prisoners shoved him aside and hurried into the cafeteria, as if fleeing from something terrifying.
Open-air activity area.
Wu Quan sat down on a stone in the corner. Sunlight fell upon his body, carrying a gentle warmth. He gently closed his eyes and his entire body relaxed.
As Wu Quan sat down, within a radius of fifty meters, every prisoner simultaneously stood up, as if avoiding a plague god, silently clearing out a wide open space.
He was alone like this, basking in the sun in the corner, beginning his midday rest.
After an unknown period of time, a rustling sound came from beside his ear. Wu Quan opened his eyes to find, not far from him, a figure in blue-and-white striped patient clothes, holding a small toy shovel, intently digging up a weed from the ground.
Seeing that figure, Wu Quan hesitated briefly before standing and walking to his side.
"Wu 'Old Dog', what are you doing?"
"I'm helping Little Grass move house." Wu 'Old Dog' pointed to the shadow cast by the distant wall, saying seriously, "There's no sunlight here. If this keeps up, it won't grow tall."
"..."
"I heard you bisected a dozen or so prisoners a few days ago and hung them from the ceiling?" Wu 'Old Dog' seemed to have remembered something and turned to ask.
Wu Quan was silent for a moment. "They made the first move. I didn't intend to fight back originally, but after they finished cursing me, they started cursing my brother..."
"Your brother?" Wu 'Old Dog' thought for a moment. "You mean that Shen Qingzhu you always talk about?"
"Mn." A cold glint flickered in Wu Quan's eyes. "No one is allowed to insult my brother... Since they did it, they must pay the price.
Though, I've been using my ability to control their blood flow the entire time. Even being bisected won't kill them. At worst, they'll just be half-crippled."
Wu 'Old Dog' gazed at Wu Quan for a long while, then let out a long sigh:
"The ferocity in you... is far too heavy."
"At worst, I'll just be locked up here until I die." Wu Quan paused briefly. "Besides, I don't have many years left to live anyway..."
Wu 'Old Dog' said nothing, only quietly digging up the weed and carefully cupping it in his palm.
"What about you?" Wu Quan suddenly asked. "Since you didn't commit a crime, why are you always locked up here? When can you get out?"