Based on the information I gathered from Mount Luo, there are indeed certain supernatural phenomena that allow individuals to travel back and forth between the past and the future. However, these are extraordinary occurrences that are absolutely impossible to replicate through human means. They are also rare, fortuitous experiences that cannot be sought out intentionally.

Just how firm is Mount Luo's stance on the claims of being "irreproducible" and "fortuitous"? One only needs to look at their publicly accessible archives to understand. Knowledge about rituals related to time travel is boldly displayed there for anyone to consult. The general gist of these records is: "I successfully traveled to the past and the future using the following steps, but for some reason, I could never replicate the success again. Anyway, I’m writing it down here, believe it or not."

As for Mount Luo's attitude toward these claims, while it isn’t as dismissive as how serious scientists view "amateur inventors discovering perpetual motion machines overnight," they clearly do not take it seriously at all.

If the "Creator of Oddities" wasn’t lying, it’s very likely that they also traveled to the past or future using one of these irreproducible methods. Considering the innovative nature of their peculiar technology, the future seems like the more probable origin. Of course, it’s also possible that they simply "foresaw the future" and acquired technology that won’t emerge until much later. However, judging by their tone, this seems unlikely. If I wish to ensure that the Seed of the Heart becomes mine forever, pursuing the path of the "future" might not be a bad direction.

I have no idea how to "foresee the future," and I am even less confident about being able to "travel to the future." But with no other clues to follow, I can’t just sit idly by. For now, I can only attempt to put into practice the ritual knowledge I’ve found in the public archives. Dwelling endlessly on the various difficulties I might face in my mind is the most futile thing to do—everything starts with action.

Then, I began killing.

This time, my prey was, of course, another individual with special abilities from the general populace. People who possess such abilities—or "superpower," so to speak—often serve as substitutes for many ritual materials. Killing them on-site and using their blood as components for ritual formations can, in itself, significantly enhance the effectiveness of many such formations beyond expectations.

As an agent of Mount Luo, if I were to recklessly collect large quantities of ritual materials through my connections, it might arouse suspicion from those with ulterior motives. Killing is far more convenient. Moreover, due to the nature of my work, I have a knack for identifying individuals with magical abilities among ordinary people. Before long, I discovered a suitable target in an apartment complex not far from Xianshui University.

On the surface, he was just an ordinary company employee renting a room on the fifteenth floor of a residential building. In reality, he was a dormant superhuman. The moment I saw him, I could sense the rich fragrance of a high-quality soul emanating from his body.

Using my official identity as a Mount Luo agent, along with years of experience, I quickly managed to gain a certain level of his trust. Through investigation, I learned that his ability was "Phasing," which allowed him to transform into an intangible shadow capable of passing through any object.

In other words, while his ability was active, no object could harm him. Not even a nuclear bomb or an asteroid impact could affect him as long as his ability remained activated. It was a highly valuable superpower with a focus on defensive performance.

The reason he hadn't exposed himself was likely due to a lingering respect for the state and society, as well as a lack of interest in the thrills of an exciting life. However, it was clear from his demeanor that he harbored a deep-seated arrogance toward ordinary people. He no longer considered himself one of them. Even while living among the masses, he likely saw himself as a wolf hiding within a flock of sheep, relishing in this self-perception with smug satisfaction.

Unfortunately for him, superhumans like him, whose strength lies in one exceptionally strong "pillar," can often be dealt with through a simple surprise attack from behind. Being intangible while his ability was active meant, conversely, that as long as he couldn’t activate it in time, he was no different from an ordinary human.

I sent out my Substitute and, with minimal effort, managed to kill him in his rented apartment. He didn’t even have the chance to activate his "intangible" ability before he died.

As for the ritual formation I set up using his blood, it included one or two symbols meant to target a specific time in the past or future. However, since I couldn’t determine the exact number of years into the future the strange technology originated from, I couldn’t encode it into the formation. Instead, I added my own blood as a strange person into the formation, theoretically using it as a substitute condition for the search.

And, of course, theory is just theory—I failed.

Not only that, but the burst of magical energy upon failure attracted the attention of a Mount Luo Demon Hunter who happened to be patrolling the area.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

The one patrolling at that time was Zhu Shi. Unlike the superhuman I’d just dealt with, she wasn’t someone I could easily handle. Not wanting to escalate matters, I had no choice but to command my Substitute to retreat for the time being.

And now, eight months have passed since that day.

After countless hunts, the strength of my Seed of the Heart has reached its limit.

The Strange Person Maker once told me that if I wanted to break through to the next stage, there were two paths: either overcome my inner demons and let my soul naturally ascend, or devour a sufficient number of souls and forcibly elevate my soul.

I chose the latter.

Over these eight months, many other events have occurred.

First, the Creator of Oddities created another "Oddities" in Xianshui City.

I made covert contact with this Oddities. He never bothers to hide the traces of his crimes and harbors a mysterious hatred toward the wealthy and powerful. Ironically, he himself is rather affluent, yet he despises those who are even wealthier and more influential. Over the past two or three months, he has killed five local elites in succession.

I despise him. He carelessly leaves biological evidence at the crime scenes. When I deliberately left a few hairs with follicles in the fifteenth-floor apartment, it was to create a plausible disassociation from myself. What is his excuse? Fortunately, Mount Luo forces in Xianshui City lack modern forensic expertise and, for the time being, have lumped me and him together. Still, it’s only a matter of time before he exposes himself and implicates me in the process.

Dealing with him quietly isn’t simple, either. All Oddities share the ability to summon shadow-based mirror duplicates of ourselves. Though these duplicates are much weaker than our main bodies, but he also possesses an inherent ability called “Shift and Swap.” This ability lets him ignore spatial distance and instantly exchange places with one of his distant duplicates.

What’s more infuriating is the underhanded aspect of this ability: it can activate passively. If he’s faced with a fatal strike he cannot react to, the ability will trigger on its own, guided by some mysterious mechanism, to protect his life. It’s pure, unadulterated cheating.

Perhaps his reckless behavior stems from this ability as well. In any case, I am powerless against him. Currently, Zhu Shi is handling the cases related to him—I can only hope he meets his end beneath her blade soon.

Then, two days ago, I encountered a mysterious superhuman.

It happened during the daytime while I was resting at the Mount Luo office across from the Public Security Bureau. A commotion of unprecedented scale broke out across the street. When I rushed over, I learned that someone had infiltrated the bureau to steal firearms and ammunition—a major incident for them. And amidst the chaos, I caught the distinct scent of a soul.

Just as a carnivore can detect the blood of wounded prey in the air, I can easily track down nearby prey with injured souls. At that moment, I smelled exactly such a presence. I ordered my Substitute to move in the direction of the scent, eventually tracing it to an alley behind a fried chicken shop.

The source turned out to be a girl, around thirteen or fourteen years old, with a pale, fatigued complexion. She held a real gun in her hand, confirming her as the culprit behind the theft from the Public Security Bureau.

Judging by the scent of her soul, she must have once been a remarkably powerful superhuman. In her prime, someone like me—or even my Substitute—wouldn’t have even registered as a threat to her. But her current state was abysmal, leaving her even weaker than my Substitute.

If I could devour her soul, my Seed of the Heart would undoubtedly break through to the next stage—and I might even gain more than I expected!

I immediately commanded my Substitute to launch a sneak attack on her, but the outcome was deeply disappointing.

It turned out she possessed the power of spatial transfer. Although she initially fell into a disadvantage and suffered severe injuries, she quickly teleported to a location far beyond the reach of my soul-sensing ability.

Shortly afterward, an unforeseen development occurred. My superior handed me a report on someone and ordered me to track them down by any means necessary. The target was none other than the same girl who had escaped from me earlier.

It wasn’t just me or my superior who wanted to locate her—my superior’s superiors and various factions within Mount Luo also began mobilizing their efforts. They were all well aware of her spatial transfer abilities and even planned to expand the search nationwide, determined to secure her at all costs.

An unimaginable storm swept my mind into chaos.

—Just who is that girl?

---

Given the gravity of the situation, I dared not make any further moves against the girl and instead focused on another matter.

This issue was one I couldn’t ignore: Zhu Shi’s older brother, Zhu Chang’an, had rented the fifteenth-floor apartment from eight months ago—the one that belonged to the superhuman with the power of phasing. There, he discovered the ritual formation I had left behind. To my surprise, the formation had somehow activated on its own without my knowledge.

Whether it had activated successfully, I couldn’t say. It was reported that a mysterious basement had appeared at the center of the formation, which I could only interpret as the result of the ritual. When Zhu Shi told me about this and asked for my help investigating it, I set out without hesitation.

Once again, however, I came up empty-handed. I didn’t find the basement in the fifteenth-floor apartment—instead, I encountered Zhuang Cheng.

Zhuang Cheng is a relatively well-known figure within the local Mount Luo network. In these increasingly chaotic times, it’s baffling that someone like him, dedicated to investigating strange phenomena, repeatedly returns empty-handed. His peculiar track record has even become a lighthearted topic of conversation among myself and a few familiar Mount Luo agents. Even my superiors and several local Demon Hunter are familiar with his name.

After learning about Zhuang Cheng, I couldn’t help but harbor suspicions about him. I wondered if he had genuinely encountered strange phenomena or if he was deliberately concealing his experiences, feigning ignorance of our world. What motive could he have for hiding his knowledge? Naturally, I began to suspect that he had gained some benefit—or even supernatural powers—from past strange events.

Or perhaps it was precisely because he had acquired such powers that he was able to escape from those incidents. Unable to reveal his experiences without exposing his abilities, he chose to remain silent.

And individuals with such unique abilities are exactly my kind of prey.

Yet, perhaps by coincidence, every time I set out to investigate or hunt Zhuang Cheng, various reasons would arise to make me abandon my plans. In the end, nothing ever came of it.