Demon Bible

Chapter 184: Spatial Trait

Barring any surprises, the golden-eyed man before them was none other than the guild master's son, Baiter.

"This guy is absolutely no simple genius," Nemus declared. Witnessing the man's display, he finally understood how that peasant had died earlier, gaining a much clearer read on his opponent.

Was it possible for a genius from a minor faction to cultivate to the Iron-Rank Extreme and possess the potential to break through to the Golden Rank?

The chances were slim, but it was indeed possible!

Some geniuses were forged by their bloodlines, while others were simply spontaneous miracles of life.

Given the massive population base, the emergence of a genius was perfectly normal.

All they needed was the right opportunity to fully mature and rise to power.

There were even folktales detailing the exploits of slaves who had ascended to become legendary heroes.

However, the growth of such geniuses shared one highly distinct characteristic: before reaching the Golden Rank, they almost never possessed any overly prominent traits.

They were usually renowned for the rapid increase of their attribute values or their formidable combat skills.This was because traits were generally condensed from extraordinary elements.

These could include unique bloodlines, exceptionally high-tier powers, or cultivation methods deeply intertwined with other powerful entities.

Yet this Baiter standing before them was clearly a cultivator on the Life Path, but he could somehow make his sword qi leap through space to strike!

Nemus had seen it crystal clear. That surge of sword qi had materialized by traversing through space itself.

How could an Iron-Rank practitioner of the Life Path possibly allow their attacks to touch the spatial domain unless they possessed a phenomenally unique trait?!

Because of this, Nemus knew that in her current state, lacking any strong personal will to fight, Leah stood absolutely no chance against Baiter.

Fortunately, Leah's speed was nothing to scoff at. Relying on her trait that blended her presence with the aura of the whale, she continuously managed to keep Baiter from catching up.

While Baiter's sensory abilities were relatively decent, she only needed to escape beyond a certain range to shake him off completely.

"Purr, have the Watchman retreat first. Prepare to intercept and provide backup," Nemus ordered, having accurately assessed the situation.

Purr's eyes gleamed with excitement.

Ever since arriving in Tail Fin Town, it had been quite a long time since he last had the chance to flex his muscles in a real fight.

Now armed with his orders, Purr rapidly readied himself for combat.

Though the Watchman was deeply worried about his daughter, he also knew that his own innate talent was lacking. His raw strength simply could not compare to Purr's, so he quickly withdrew.

Only Purr remained behind.

Taking a deep breath, Purr ceased respiring entirely.

Dark, mottled patterns rapidly surfaced across his entire body.

His frame expanded rapidly, transforming him into a small giant over three meters tall.

Following that, his massive form swiftly blended into the surrounding environment.

Unlike Leah, Purr's camouflage required him to remain completely stationary. If he moved, the fluctuations in his aura would instantly expose his position.

Yet at this very moment, he was lying in wait directly along Leah's inevitable path of retreat.

He stood as perfectly still as a monumental boulder.

The next instant, sensing a ripple of movement, Purr abruptly detonated his entire aura.

Like a colossal leviathan breaching the surface of the ocean, the sheer magnitude of his presence washed over more than half of the North District in a split second.

Baiter, who was hot on Leah's trail, instantly had his already hazy lock on her completely overwritten by this overwhelming pressure.

Before Baiter could even attempt to stretch his senses further, he heard the sharp, whistling shriek of something tearing through the air in the distance.

An entire horse-drawn carriage—stolen from some unknown unfortunate soul—carved a clean, deadly arc through the sky, hurtling straight toward him.

When Baiter caught sight of the incoming carriage, he barely paid it any mind. The materials used to build such a transport were incredibly flimsy.

Even if the person who threw it possessed incredibly high attribute values, the carriage itself had a strict structural limit to what it could withstand.

If it slammed into him, the carriage would undoubtedly be the only thing shattering into pieces. However, in the very next heartbeat, blaring alarm bells rang violently in Baiter's mind.

Acting on pure instinct, Baiter immediately swung his arm.

A blindingly bright arc of sword qi shot forward, colliding head-on with the airborne carriage.

The moment the sword qi struck, the carriage instantly disintegrated, its wreckage scattering wildly to both sides of the street.

Yet, even the smallest splinter of shattered wood now possessed the density and destructive force of a solid iron ingot. The debris effortlessly punched through stone walls and blasted massive craters into the paved street below.

Only after unleashing that sheer kinetic devastation did the ruined fragments of the carriage finally succumb to the tremendous force they carried, crumbling away into a fine layer of sawdust and powder across the ground.

Hindered by this sudden bombardment, Baiter tried to lock onto the enemy's presence once more, but the trail had already grown impossibly cold.

He swiftly closed the distance to the origin point of the flying carriage, only to find absolutely no trace of Purr remaining.

Feeling the lingering energy in the area rapidly dissipating into nothingness, Baiter merely allowed a faint, cryptic smirk to touch the corners of his lips.

Shortly after, clerics from the North District's Church outpost arrived on the scene. Baiter promptly raised his hands in a gesture of non-hostility, adopting a solemn expression as he clearly recounted the incident, thoroughly washing his hands of any suspicion that he had instigated the chaos.

But throughout the entire exchange, Baiter's mind was racing, constantly pondering exactly who would dare to target him.

His Spatial Trait permeated his entire residence. It was only because of the minute, unnatural shifts in the localized space that he had managed to detect the infiltrator in the first place.

Furthermore, he had left sensory tripwires scattered all across his false estate, yet none of them had registered the intruder's presence. Such flawless infiltration skills definitely did not belong to some common thief.

The same held true for the carriage ambush that had obstructed his pursuit.

The attacker's attribute values had been erratic and impossible to pin down, and an extra trait had been forcefully imbued into the projectile. Mid-flight, both the material composition and the sheer weight of that ordinary carriage had fundamentally transformed.

And when it came to a trait involving such radical physical alteration, Baiter truly could not think of many individuals within Tail Fin Town who possessed anything remotely similar.

'Could it be an agent from an external faction?'

'Or could it be... that my true identity has been exposed?' Baiter could not help but furrow his brows in deep consternation.

After finishing his official statement with the Church's clerics, Baiter returned home.

Within the residence, the Guild Master of the merchant guild—the man acting as his "father"—was sitting in the parlor, looking deeply anxious and rigid.

He only breathed a heavy sigh of relief upon seeing Baiter return, immediately springing to his feet and hurrying over to his side.

"Baiter..." The Guild Master paused slightly as he spoke, darting a nervous glance around the room before correcting himself. "My lord, what exactly happened?"

"Just a probe from some unidentified individuals." Baiter shook his head slightly, then turned to question the Guild Master. "Has anyone been snooping around the merchant guild recently?"

"No, not at all. Everything has been strictly business as usual!" the Guild Master replied without missing a beat.

Hearing this, Baiter's brows furrowed in genuine perplexity.

However, his thoughts naturally drifted toward another recent event.

Just the day before yesterday, Rhine had stepped down from his position as Bishop, and the Nidon Family estate had been breached by an unknown entity. Now, so soon after, he himself was being probed and tested. Was this merely a coincidence?

The deep-seated suspicion he held toward Rhine uncontrollably flared up within his heart once more.

'I cannot afford to be impulsive. Perhaps the Baiter Merchant Guild has simply been too flashy lately, and that is what triggered today's incident.' Baiter forced his tense muscles to relax.

His disguise was not entirely seamless, but it was certainly not something that could be easily seen through.

There was a very high probability that his true identity had not yet been exposed.

If he had truly been unmasked, given Rhine's ruthless personality, the man would likely already be standing right outside his front door.

"Here is what we will do." The moment Baiter spoke, the Guild Master immediately bowed his head in rapt attention, awaiting his orders.

"Tomorrow... no, tonight. I want you to immediately issue a bounty. Put a heavy reward on any information regarding the identity of that attacker." After passing the relevant details to the Guild Master, the golden hue within Baiter's eyes rippled with an ominous, dangerous light.