Chapter Twenty-One: Strange Revival

Faced with Director Tian’s ignorance, Feng Tianlin could not help but find it laughable.

He hopped onto the desk before a stack of documents and began to read aloud, his voice vivid and expressive, right in front of Director Tian.

“In 2031, more than forty years ago, the first anomalous creature was discovered. Ordinary firearms and ammunition proved useless against it. In the end, it was strangled with the help of a wandering Taoist. More anomalous creatures soon appeared, so this period became known as the Anomalous Resurgence…”

After reading this passage, Feng Tianlin cast a probing glance at Director Tian, who was now visibly trembling, his expression caught somewhere between fear and shock. He pointed a quivering finger at Feng Tianlin.

“You… You can actually read?”

Feng Tianlin’s smile deepened. “I am quite fascinated by you humans.”

At these words, Director Tian’s face drained of all color. He knew he had lost any value in Feng Tianlin’s eyes, and death was close at hand.

Yet Feng Tianlin paid no attention to this useless official, who posed no threat to him. Instead, he lowered his gaze to examine the documents.

In 2031, the Anomalous Resurgence began, and from then on, humanity embarked on a journey of resistance against anomalous creatures.

These creatures were classified into seven levels: G, F, E, D, B, A, and S. The earliest anomalies were not particularly powerful—mostly unranked or G-level. Some wandering Taoists discovered that their usual tricks, once used for show or deception, could actually be used against these beings.

But as time passed, anomalous creatures grew in both number and strength. Humans had no choice but to take these new threats seriously.

A scientist inadvertently discovered that some lower-level anomalous creatures—mostly object-types—could be captured and controlled by humans with strong mental fortitude using a Taoist technique. Thus, Spirit Masters were born.

Why was this called the Anomalous Resurgence? Further research revealed that anomalous creatures were not a recent phenomenon, but had existed since ancient times. The Taoist profession had arisen to combat them, only to fade away for unknown reasons.

Researchers continued to investigate what major event in 2031 had triggered the resurgence. All clues pointed to the excavation of an ancient tomb.

Inside this tomb, there were no valuable burial objects—only piles upon piles of books. These books contained no text, only illustrations of people performing bizarre actions, movements so strange that no ordinary human could replicate them. Historians speculated these were ancient martial arts techniques from Huaxia.

Since these books appeared in the tomb, there must be some connection between Huaxia’s ancient martial arts and anomalous creatures. The state recruited a large number of people to cultivate these arts, but those who attempted either went mad or died in inexplicable ways. Only a tiny handful survived.

These survivors were called Martial Artists. Exceptionally powerful, they generally remained on standby in Investigation Bureaus of major cities like Spirit City. As for small towns like Tianjing, they could not hope for such protection.

There was also the Anomalous Creature Research Center, which worked tirelessly and discreetly, conducting experiments that could not be made public, all to ensure humanity retained an advantage in the ongoing war against anomalous creatures.

Currently, humanity’s main forces against these beings comprised three groups: Taoists, who grew stronger like the anomalies themselves; Spirit Masters; and the rare Martial Artists.

Most of these specialists worked within Investigation Bureaus, though some formed independent organizations. Taoists typically remained in their temples, devoted to cultivation, having discovered that ancestral methods of practice were now effective. Many aspired to ascend to immortality, heedless of all advice.

Anomalous creatures grew stronger by absorbing humans’ fearful emotions. Humanity soon realized this and implemented a policy of ignorance, withholding the truth to prevent irrational panic and the loss of control.

This ignorance policy meant the truth was never disclosed, and most ordinary people remained unaware of the Anomalous Resurgence even now.

Feng Tianlin then uncovered a significant secret: recently, many special anomalous creatures had appeared, such as the Rampaging Bear with combat skills, the Nether Wraith who mocked humans, and the Seductive Fox Demon capable of enticing mortals.

All these signs pointed to a single truth—the world was about to change.

The Rampaging Bear was likely the teddy bear he’d encountered, though he knew little of the others and cared even less. No anomalous creature could rival his intelligence or strength.

The following pages contained various reports—major breakthroughs in research, failed projects, and so on. The only thing that piqued Feng Tianlin’s interest was the fall of the White Banner Nation.

Tracing this thread, he learned that the world was divided into five great civilizations: Huaxia, powerful and vast; the Beacon Nation, advanced in technology; the Cherry Blossom Nation, known for its bowing customs; the White Banner Nation, lovers of peace; and the Holy Lord Nation, where faith was paramount.

Huaxia had stabilized early thanks to the Taoists. The Beacon Nation, by stealing Huaxia’s research, developed specialized weapons against anomalous creatures. The Holy Lord Nation’s paladins inexplicably gained miraculous powers. These three nations managed to endure.

Meanwhile, the unfortunate Cherry Blossom Nation was doomed from the start of the Anomalous Resurgence. Countless strange creatures crawled out from the ocean and invaded their land, erasing the nation in an instant.

The White Banner Nation initially had the Holy Lord Nation’s protection, but as the latter became overwhelmed, it abandoned the White Banner Nation, which then disappeared as well.

Of the five great civilizations, only the Holy Lord Nation and White Banner Nation were not mutually hostile. Even the emergence of anomalous creatures could not halt their antagonism.

The common people knew nothing of the fates of the Cherry Blossom and White Banner Nations. Official reports merely claimed they were swallowed by tidal waves.

No one questioned this explanation—after all, to their minds, those nations were just large islands. Being swept away by the sea seemed entirely reasonable.

Just as Feng Tianlin was about to continue reading, his pupils suddenly contracted! In a flash, he used his anomalous movement technique to dodge backward. The moment he vacated his spot, a spirit talisman appeared out of nowhere, unleashing a powerful energy. Feng Tianlin was certain that had he touched it, he would have perished.

Steadying himself, he stared in astonishment toward a certain direction.

There stood a figure—most likely human. The aura emanating from this person was exceedingly strange, utterly unlike that of anomalous creatures. It inspired genuine terror in such beings, yet also carried a trace of human essence.

Judging by this aura, this person was at least D-level!

At that very moment, Feng Tianlin advanced to E-level. He glanced at the Spirit Masters from earlier, who were now frothing at the mouth, their eyes rolled back—apparently scared to death.

Seeing this, Feng Tianlin grew excited. This must be the Taoist he had just read about. If those three Spirit Masters could provide him with so much fearful emotion to aid his evolution, what about this individual?