120. Red Dragon Meditation, Strength and Wisdom

Paqui drove Rust home first.

Dean dumped the corpse of the blonde security guard into the DR-4539 SUV, noted the name on his ID badge, collected a vial of his blood, and drove to Lake Mead to sink the body.

Four hours later, approaching 1:00 AM, the blood analysis was complete.

Dean shapeshifted into the appearance of the security guard, swaggered into the I-15 highway in the DR-4539, and left clear images of his face on the security cameras of several gas stations.

...

It was 2:00 AM when Dean finished cleaning up the traces and returned home.

Paqui, having changed into thick fleece pajamas, walked up behind him and handed him a carton of juice.

"What about Rust?" Dean took the juice and took a swig.

"Staring into space on the sofa. The kid is badly hurt and won't recover in the short term," Paqui said hesitantly. "But to make the act convincing, you two had better pretend to know nothing and go ask the LVPD again tomorrow."

"Understood."

"By the way, did you have a good time killing those white guys tonight?" He crossed his arms, his gaze piercing as he scrutinized Dean. "I can ignore those thirty-odd cowards in the lobby, but how did you manage to kill eight bodyguards in the second-floor hallway in an instant?"

Dean said casually, "Perhaps my ancestors blessed me with good marksmanship. Why are you so hung up on it? If I were any more powerful, wouldn't I still be your nephew? Wouldn't I still help you buy a house and support you in your old age?"

Paqui raised his thick eyebrows, though the corner of his mouth twitched. "Fine, keep your secrets. But don't always play such a big game, killing dozens of people at the drop of a hat. I haven't killed as many in a year as you did in one night."

"I'll give you back the words your father used to say: it's always the best swimmers who drown."

"Don't worry, I'm not a psychopath," Dean hesitated. "I will never... I will try my best not to kill indiscriminately."

"Remember your words. Go inside; let me be alone for a while."

Paqui watched his nephew’s sturdy back, leaned against a motorcycle in the yard, lit a cigarette, and raised his weathered face to exhale smoke into the pitch-black night sky.

...

Dean walked into the living room, under the bright lights.

Rust sat hunched on the sofa. On his pale face, washed clean of bloodstains, his swollen, congested eyes—puffy as walnuts—stared fixedly at a lock of red hair in his palm.

Grace’s body had been left at the scene as evidence for the LVPD.

This was the only pathetic memento he could take.

...

"Rust?" Dean sat down beside him and called out, but the other man didn't react, as if he were deaf.

"Don't blame yourself, man. You’ve already avenged Grace. You’ve done what you had to do; she wouldn't want to see you this sad."

Seeing him unmoved, Dean couldn't help but think of another sensitive point.

Was Grace implicated because of him? Was she dragged into this incident and killed due to the influence of the Law of Supernatural Convergence?

It was very likely.

Dean felt conflicted.

The lonely wanderer, Tem, had claimed that his superpowers were still rudimentary and their influence on those around him extremely limited, advising him to make friends, maintain intimate relationships, and let positive emotions offset negative ones to keep his principles and sanity.

But now, it didn't seem like that at all.

First Abby, now Rust's mother. Would others around him suffer in the future?

Dean didn't dare to continue that line of thought, only looking at Rust with a hint of guilt.

"You don't need to worry about anything these next few days. Just stay at my place for now; I'll handle the school and LVPD matters."

Dean gave Rust’s shoulder a firm squeeze, went into the second-floor bathroom, locked the door, and checked the system.

Event—
Missing Grace: 100% completion.
You helped Rust witness his mother's fate. The poor woman was kidnapped and killed by the Red Dragon Club’s chef, who was pathologically obsessed with the "Path of Transcendence," becoming a victim of greedy human nature.
You unleashed your desires and fury, slaughtering the entire club, not even sparing the new recruits.
Leaving no loose ends, worthy of reward. You may claim the reward at any time.

Claim!
Personal Experience +100, Personal Level lv3 (200→300/400).

You have received a special reward—
In this event, you achieved a feat that countless past balance meditations failed to accomplish. You saw the "Red Dragon" up close for the first time, suffering a massive impact while also receiving a gift of "Infinite Wisdom" and "Eternal Strength."

Your skill slots +1, 5/5→5/6.
You have obtained a set of complementary actions to complete the Balance Meditation, which has advanced to Red Dragon Meditation lv2 (45/300):
Life and death are an unceasing cycle, and the Red Dragon in everyone's destiny receives the legacy of the soul and life force at the end of every cycle.
It hangs eternally in the depths of the starry sky, illuminating your path from the beyond.
Through specific breathing and movements, you can attempt to perceive it, even touch it, constantly absorbing the wisdom and strength of the past to break the limits of this life.
During Red Dragon Meditation, you will gradually enter a deep state of dormancy, rapidly recovering physical and mental strength, and slowly improving your physical constitution.
Note:
This ability will balance your Spirit and Will attributes. Each level-up will provide a small to medium increase to the lower of these two attributes, bringing them closer to equilibrium and maintaining a state of "Wisdom."
Each level-up, you will further break the limits of the human body, entering a state of "Strength."

...

Dean looked at the mirror over the sink. A slide show of yoga-like movements flashed through his mind—the very ones recorded on the murals in the Red Dragon Club’s meditation room, but more refined. Each movement had detailed instructions, and under the effect of the skill, they integrated into his body's instincts, as if he had practiced them thousands of times and could perform them fluidly at any moment.

Combined with his original special breathing method, it formed an entirely new system.

After a long while, a starlike light flashed in his eyes.

The gloom that had been weighing on his heart turned into a faint joy.

This event not only granted him 100 experience points and leveled up his shooting, but also solved a problem that had long troubled him.

"I can finally acquire new superpowers."

This advanced version of the Red Dragon Meditation was a growth-oriented skill, both passive and active.

Previously, it primarily recovered physical strength; now, it could also recover mental power, providing him with stamina.

As for the "breaking limits" mentioned, it meant that as long as Dean kept practicing, he could continue to raise the cap on his skill slots, acquire new superpowers, and pave the way for his future development.

After the intense excitement and surprise, Dean scooped up a handful of cold water and splashed it on his face to calm down.

After a long time, another memory from the club flashed through his mind.

He had thought that after dealing with the Gorgon-man at the Leyton Stone family mansion, the Night-walker business was finished, but it seemed a hidden danger remained in his body.

"Did I get hit by the Gorgon-man Westhaven's deathbed curse?"

That state of mental detachment felt as if an existence from some distant space had summoned him, pulling him into another dimension.

Dean could still clearly sense the overwhelming impulse he had felt at the time, goading him to race desperately toward the unknown North.

"As long as I keep killing in large numbers, will I hear the call? And finally obtain the specific location of the monster paradise, Midian?"

Dean’s gaze shifted, and he shook his head.

"Forget it, I need to take it slow..."

The former Gorgon-man had claimed to be the weakest resident of Midian. God knows how many powerful monsters lived inside.

Dean didn't want to go and die, and he always felt that place had some kind of trap waiting for him.

...

He left the bathroom.

Dean returned to his bedroom, locked the door, and took out the spirit board.

He sat cross-legged on the floor.

Following the past pattern, he released the newly contained souls from the Red Dragon Club one by one for questioning.

They were all ordinary people through and through!

"They didn't need to eat people, yet they acted like monsters. This is more detestable than true monsters."

The planchette stabbed repeatedly; Dean showed no mercy as he sent the nine souls to the afterlife.

Proficiency +3*9, Combat lv2 (165→192/300). Specialization "Supernatural Hunter" activated, you absorbed 0.2 Spirit.
Spirit: 15.3→15.5.

The tenth soul, the chef Al Daris, fell before him. Compared to the others, whose expressions were dull like puppets, his face actually had a hint of life.

Clearly, his sanity was higher, but he still couldn't escape the rules of the spirit board.

"Where did you learn about the Red Dragon?"

"I found it in an antique book from the Middle Ages. The Red Dragon is the infinite self, the demon, Satan, the destroyer who devours the world, but also the one who brings rebirth after destruction."

"Find the Red Dragon, and the soul and body will break their limits and be reborn."

"I studied for over three years based on the antique book and used those meditation movements to digest over forty people."

"My weak spirit became vigorous and tireless."

"My originally sickly body became healthier than that of a young man."

"And I successfully gained a trace of a superpower similar to mental enlightenment."

...

Dean gazed at the hazy soul, his eyes gleaming. Could ordinary people really slowly gain superpowers through this evil ritual?

"Where is that antique book?"

"I burned it and memorized all the contents."

Dean further inquired about the knowledge in the book, but unfortunately, it only recorded that ritual of enlightening oneself through consumption.

Dean found the idea of strengthening himself by eating people extremely repulsive. He decisively set the antique book aside and turned to ask Al for more information about the club—whether there were other members outside or branches in other regions.

Al gave a negative answer, which meant Dean had wiped out this small cult in one night.

"This world is truly a mix of fish and dragons."

"There are organizations like the Sleeper organization, with anomalous mental powers that will stop at nothing for strength."

"There is Midian, formed by humanoid monsters."

"And now, a group of Red Dragon fanatics delusional enough to think they can be reborn through perverted acts."

...

None of these three organizations preached justice or kindness; all had twisted values, and all had "eat people" plainly written on their faces.

Given this, Dean gave himself a reminder: no matter what organization he encountered in the future, he must hide himself first, or he might accidentally be eaten until not even his bones were left.

He turned his gaze to Al Daris, and the planchette in his hand flashed.

You destroyed a ghost, proficiency +5, Combat lv2 (197/300), Supernatural Hunter activated.
You absorbed 0.5 Spirit, Spirit: 15.5→16.

Adding the previous 0.2, Dean had increased his Spirit by 0.7 in a short time.

Immediately, his temples began to throb, and thoughts boiled in his mind like boiling water, uncontrollable. All kinds of strange, bizarre notions popped up, some even extremely evil.

The auditory hallucination of "North," "North" returned.

He endured the discomfort and summoned the "Shadow of the Past" to experiment. With his Spirit breaking 16 points, the shadow's maximum activity range increased from 27 to 36 meters, and the maximum duration rose from 15 to 20 minutes.

"Not bad, big progress."

He took a deep breath.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he began to experiment with the brand-new Red Dragon Meditation.

His limbs supported him on the ground like a beast, then his upper body slowly descended until his chest and chin touched the floor... One leg bent diagonally behind his head, and then the other leg was lifted, the inner sides of his legs hugging each other.

Finally, he formed a high-difficulty, flexible pose, doing a handstand supported by his chin.

His shooting had leveled up a short time ago, enhancing his agility and slightly improving his balance. For an ordinary person, this pose would be impossibly difficult, but Dean performed it with ease.

He also performed the special breathing through his nose and mouth.

He soon entered the state.

That dark red star, the "Red Dragon," appeared in his mental field of vision, closer than ever before—so close that Dean could see the undulating and magnificent craters on its surface.

Immediately, Dean felt a powerful gravitational force projected onto him.

The day's slaughter, frenzy, confusion, and anger—all negative emotions flowed into the "Red Dragon" along with this gravity, being thoroughly purified from the inside out.

Another stream of pure vitality and mental power was returned to him.

He was lost in it.

The night passed quietly.