Die, Replay, Repeat

"Ahhh! A devil!" several reporters screamed in terror.

Though they were professional journalists, they were still ordinary people. Most of them had never encountered anything remotely as horrifying as this.

Watching something terrifying on a screen was one thing—it felt detached, like a fictional movie. But witnessing it in person was an entirely different experience.

The fear went beyond the grotesque appearance of the Specter. It stemmed from the overwhelming Specter energy that filled the room.

This energy wasn't just oppressive—it was suffocating, a primal force that clawed at the subconscious mind. It instilled a visceral sense of dread, as though the presence of the Specter itself was an affront to the natural order.

"Wife" carried an energy comparable to a true Specter God, like Wedding God or the Angel. Echoing whispers seemed to emanate from her being, gnawing at the sanity of those who heard them.

Although Fang Xiu's Pain Manifestation ability couldn't replicate the full strength of a Specter God, it perfectly imitated the energy, appearance, and soul-crushing terror they exuded.

This was why Fang Xiu hadn't directly summoned the Angel or the Wedding God—Even through a screen, the mere presence of a true Specter God could have been fatal to weaker-willed viewers.

…

"Silence." Fang Xiu's voice rang out, calm yet imbued with undeniable authority.

There was something in his tone—something commanding, almost supernatural—that cut through the panic like a knife.

Instantly, the chaos in the room subsided. The reporters, who moments earlier had been shouting and stumbling in fear, froze in place, their breaths held as though compelled by an unseen force.

While order was restored in the hall, the online audience erupted.

On livestream platforms, comments flooded the screens:

"Did you guys see that? Fang Xiu's right eye—it was glowing red!"

"Yeah! It looked like it lit up for a moment. Was that just a trick of the camera?"

"No way, it wasn't the camera. His eye turned blood-red! And right after that, everyone in the hall calmed down. That's gotta mean something!"

"Is Fang Xiu… a psychic? Or maybe he's a cultivator!"

"A cultivator!? Finally, proof they exist! I'm quitting my job tomorrow to focus on cultivating full-time!"

Unbothered by the online frenzy, Fang Xiu continued speaking with the same steady authority, "There is no need to panic. The Specters I summon are entirely under my control."

With that, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers again.

SNAP!

This time, the figure that appeared was not a horrifyingly elegant woman, but a small girl.

She looked little, with her hair tied into pigtails and a lollipop in her hand.

"Oh no, not another one!"

"Wait, this one's… adorable? Is this really a Specter?"

"How are Specters so good-looking before they transform?"

"I'm just saying… that first one looked kind of cool after she transformed, too."

…

Under the gaze of millions, the sweet-looking girl began to change.

Her transformation was far more grotesque than "wife's."

Her small frame started to balloon unnaturally, swelling rapidly as if her body were being pumped full of air.

Chunks of scarlet flesh burst from within her, spilling out as she grew larger.

Within seconds, the girl had morphed into a towering monstrosity, standing over two meters tall.

Her body was a grotesque integration of exposed, pulsating muscles, stitched together by writhing crimson veins.

Her once-cute pigtails had transformed into two massive, black horns jutting menacingly from her head.

The innocent lollipop she had been holding was now a grotesque white club, carved from what appeared to be a large bone.

The sight was utterly horrifying.

While "wife" retained some semblance of human form after her transformation, the girl had turned into something completely inhuman—a writhing mass of flesh and gore that seemed to pulsate with its own heartbeat.

Fang Xiu watched the girl's monstrous form with a sense of familiarity.

This Specter was one he had encountered during his first venture outside his home.

At that time, she had appeared just as she had moments earlier—small and innocent-looking, holding her lollipop with her pigtails bouncing cheerfully.

After their initial encounter, she had vanished, a wandering Specter always on the move. Fang Xiu hadn't seen her again until now.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The horror was far from over.

With another snap of Fang Xiu's fingers, a new Specter materialized on stage.

This time, it was a woman wearing a pristine white lab coat. Her limbs were unnaturally elongated, bent like spider legs, giving her the grotesque appearance of a human-shaped spider crouching on the ground.

Her eerie, distorted elegance sent a fresh wave of terror rippling through the audience.

For a brief moment, the entire nation fell into a stunned silence. Even the flood of comments in the live stream froze, as though everyone needed time to process what they were witnessing.

Then, the silence broke, and the comments erupted:

…

"There really are Specters! This is terrifying!"

"I've worked in visual effects for years, and I swear this isn't CGI or a composite. It's 100% real!"

"Are you kidding me? Why even debate it? This is a national broadcast organized by the government—it can't be fake!"

"This world is insane. How can such horrifying things exist? I can feel the pressure just watching through my screen!"

Fang Xiu didn't stop there.

With every snap of his fingers, more Specters appeared, each one unique in its grotesque design.

Some bore vaguely human forms, while others defied all logic, emerging as monstrous abominations that seemed ripped from the deepest corners of nightmares.

The variety was overwhelming.

There were Specters with jagged, exposed bones; ones with eyeless faces but mouths running the length of their torsos; and others that oozed shadow-like liquids with every movement.

Some were towering giants over three meters tall, while others slithered along the ground, their tar-like skin glistening under the lights.

Each new manifestation sent fresh waves of shock through the audience, leaving viewers pale and wide-eyed.

All the Specters Fang Xiu summoned were creatures he had encountered and killed before. Some were relatively weak, while others had once been terrifyingly powerful.

But for this broadcast, strength wasn't the point.

The Specters were nothing more than hollow projections, created using Fang Xiu's Pain Manifestation ability. They had no real power, and their strength depended solely on how much Spiritual Energy Fang Xiu chose to expend.

For example, manifesting a Class-A Specter at full strength would consume over half of Fang Xiu's total Spiritual Energy. However, by recreating only their form without their full capabilities, the cost was negligible.

Even if Fang Xiu wanted to, the projections could never surpass the original Specter's true power. His Pain Manifestation ability was a replication skill, not a true summoning skill—it could only recreate what was already there, capping at 100% of the original's strength.

For Specter Gods, the limitations were even greater. Even if Fang Xiu exhausted all his Spiritual Energy, he could only replicate a minuscule fraction—perhaps one ten-thousandth—of their true power.

Within moments, the stage was teeming with summoned Specters.

The once-spacious platform, where Fang Xiu had stood alone, was now crowded with grotesque entities. Their horrifying forms exuded an oppressive atmosphere that seemed to chill the air itself.

The venue's temperature seemed to drop, and an eerie stillness settled over the hall.

The reporters, who had barely regained their composure after Fang Xiu's earlier illusions, began to panic again.

The sheer number of Specters—and their oppressive presence—was too much for most of them to bear.

Fear overwhelmed their instincts, overpowering even the lingering effects of Fang Xiu's Blood Pupil ability, which had initially calmed them.

Of course, this was intentional on Fang Xiu's part.

While the full power of Blood Pupil's illusions could have kept the reporters calm, overusing the ability could cause lasting damage to their minds.

Instead, Fang Xiu allowed the natural fear to take hold once more, ensuring the event's gravity would sink in fully.

…

Viewers at home were no different.

With every new Specter that appeared, their grasp on reality slipped further. For many, the endless parade of grotesque forms was simply too much to comprehend.

Some younger viewers tried to cope by flooding the livestream chats with jokes and memes, turning their fear into humor.

But for older viewers, or those with more fragile nerves, the experience was anything but amusing.

Many were gripped by sheer panic, and a select few with guilty consciences felt an especially personal terror.

Those who had committed immoral or heinous acts couldn't help spiraling into paranoia. Their thoughts raced uncontrollably:

'What if the people I mistreated became Specters? What if they've come for revenge?'

Unbeknownst to these people, Specters weren't vengeful spirits or ghosts from folklore.

Unlike the stories of haunted vengeance passed down in myths and movies, Specters didn't arise from acts of injustice or betrayal. Their existence was far more complex, rooted in the incomprehensible phenomena of the Other Side.

In fact, if Specters operated like fictional ghosts—haunting and punishing the wicked—the world might arguably be a better place.

But this was not the case.

Instead, Specters were chaotic and unpredictable manifestations of otherworldly forces. While their origins were shrouded in mystery, one thing was certain: their existence was terrifyingly real.

And Fang Xiu's demonstration ensured that no one in Huaxia could deny it any longer.