Chapter 26: The Five Fox Uprising and the Paths of Power

A deep, resonant male voice, steeped in the vicissitudes of history, filled the air.

“To kill one is a crime; to slaughter ten thousand, an act of heroism. Yet, to massacre millions… that is to be a hero among heroes. This adage, I presume, is familiar to you all.”

Yingning and I instinctively nodded in agreement.

‘Not only had I heard it, I had lived it.’

“But are you aware… there was once a great demon who brought this very saying to life? She unleashed a cataclysmic upheaval across the lands of Jiuhua! That devastating conflict became known in history as — [The Five Fox Uprising]!”

‘Stop pulling my leg! I’ve heard of the Five Barbarians Uprising (TL Note: A historical period in China, ‘Wuhu Luanhua’, referring to nomadic invasions), but what in the world is the Five Fox Uprising? Are you trying to mock my abysmal history grades?’

“Each race, you see, possesses its own distinct path to advancement. The Human race progresses through the inheritance of faith, the Divine Scions through the fusion of ancestral bloodlines, and the Demon race… they advance through slaughter!”

Yingning and I exchanged a knowing glance, realizing that the speaker was, in essence, outlining the progression routes for players of the three distinct races.

Within [Pursuit II], players are categorized into three races. Despite possessing identical attributes and combat power, each race follows a unique developmental trajectory.

Human players, for instance, acquire new skills and advance their professions through the inheritance of faith, a process that involves both job changes and the acquisition of skill books.

This particular method required no elaborate explanation, as it mirrored the progression systems found in most online role-playing games.

Divine Scion players, on the other hand, learn skills and advance their professions by fusing ancestral bloodlines. This entails utilizing “Divine Blood” items, procured through specialized means, which, in essence, function quite similarly to the Human race’s skill books.

According to the lore of [Pursuit II], Divine Scion players are all descendants of ancient supreme deities. However, due to the passage of countless ages, their bloodlines have become diluted, rendering their initial strength comparable to that of Human players. Their path to power involves fusing with the ancient Divine Blood of their ancestors. Much like skill books, Divine Blood is a tradable commodity. In essence, the greater a Divine Scion player’s bloodline concentration, the more formidable their inherent strength becomes.

Demon players, on the other hand, must slay specific monsters to learn skills and advance their professions, a method that initially appears significantly more arduous than the others. Nevertheless, a crucial item known as a [Spirit Sealing Urn] exists. This urn can be utilized to capture these specific monsters, transforming them into a [Spirit Sealing Urn containing xx Essence]. These filled urns are tradable, and upon use, they summon the contained monster. Consequently, the process of acquiring skills and advancing professions for Demon players proves to be no more cumbersome than for their counterparts in other races.

Indeed, it is precisely for this reason that empty [Spirit Sealing Urns] are considered indispensable items in the inventory of every [Pursuit II] player, their significance rivaling that of health and mana potions. Without an urn, even if one isn’t a Demon player, there’s a high probability of missing out on capturing a potentially invaluable skill-granting monster.

“A century ago, the Queen of the Fox Clan ascended to become the first demigod-level entity on the continent of Aerdal, standing but a single step away from the fabled status of a true deity. Yet, in accordance with the Demon race’s rules of advancement, the more formidable one’s innate strength, the greater the challenge of further progression. This truth held especially true for Nine-Tailed Foxes.”

‘Wait, Nine-Tailed Fox?’

I extended my own tail before me, meticulously counting each segment with my fingers for what felt like an eternity…

‘One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine…’

‘No mistake, I’m a Nine-Tailed Fox too.’

Upon closer inspection, after a considerable period of scrutiny, I discovered that each individual tail could be interacted with to display a detailed description.

With the exception of the leftmost tail, the descriptions for all the others simply read: [Rank Insufficient].

The mysterious male voice was now imbued with profound sorrow: “In that catastrophic war, eight hundred Human Saints, eight hundred Divine Scion Supremes, and eight hundred Demon Kings of the Demon race all perished on the battlefield! Furthermore, below the Saint-rank, an astonishing five hundred million living beings across the entire continent of Aerdal met their end! Every single one of them fell by her hand alone!”

“That Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, by sacrificing countless lives, truly ‘killed her way to enlightenment,’ offering five hundred million living beings as a blood sacrifice to become the greatest demon of all time! However, this devastating act directly paved the way for the later demonic invasion, leaving fewer than ten Saint-rank individuals combined across the continent’s three races! Aerdal was subsequently purged in a brutal bloodbath by the demonic forces! To this very day, the Gates of the Demon Realm remain wantonly open, allowing demons to rampage across the continent unimpeded, leaving desolation and death in their wake wherever they tread!”

The subsequent words uttered by the mysterious voice were, by mutual, unspoken agreement, entirely disregarded by both Yingning and me.

I scratched my head, a sheepish grin spreading across my face. “Master,” I chirped, “I’m pretty amazing, aren’t I?”

Yingning, her gaze vacant and distant, simply nodded her head in a dazed, almost foolish manner.

Immediately thereafter, I was struck by a jolt of electricity.