Volume One, Chapter Nine: A Dragon, an Immortal, and a Buddha; Two Tigers, Three Sages, and a King of Hell

Wang Meng grabbed each of them with one hand, and in the blink of an eye, they vanished from where they stood.

When they reappeared, Montage realized with surprise that they were already seated in a car.

“Meng, was that teleportation?” Montage asked curiously.

“How could it be? Teleportation is one of the top ten ranked abilities. What I did is just a minor offshoot,” Wang Meng replied with a wry smile and a shake of his head.

“Top ten? What does that mean? Are abilities actually ranked by level?” Montage looked at Wang Meng in confusion.

“That’s right. Ever since the great change in the world, not only have humans appeared with powers, but so have monsters—abilities of all kinds are emerging endlessly. The upper echelons of Huaxia have registered these abilities according to their practicality and uniqueness,” Sun Yueyue interjected with a smile. “That’s why we use the term ‘Supernatural Sequence,’ and why we’re called ‘Sequencers’.”

To them, it was inevitable that Montage would join them sooner or later, so explaining these things now seemed harmless.

“How many supernatural sequences are there now?” Montage asked again.

“There are over five hundred known so far. These abilities aren’t ranked by strength, but simply recorded in the order they appeared,” Sun Yueyue added, then supplemented, “Except for the top ten.”

“That many? Can you tell me about some of them? Oh, by the way, what’s your ability, sister?” Montage asked eagerly.

“Alright, since it’s still a way to your house, I’ll give you a brief introduction. The highest combat strength in Huaxia consists of nine individuals: the Dragon, the Immortal, the Buddha, Two Tigers, Three Saints, and the Judge of the Underworld. Each of their abilities is powerful enough to shake the heavens and the earth—they are the true anchors of our nation’s strength. As for what their abilities are, you’ll have to wait until you officially join the Guardians squad to find out. We can’t tell you now,” Sun Yueyue said, her eyes shining with admiration as she spoke of these figures, like a star-struck fan.

“But wait, that’s only nine people. Didn’t you say there were ten?” Montage, quick with numbers, immediately caught the discrepancy.

“There is one more, but that person hasn’t appeared yet, and no one knows what their ability is,” Sun Yueyue replied with an embarrassed smile.

“???” Montage’s face was a picture of confusion.

How could someone who hadn’t even appeared yet be ranked among the top ten? Or was she just hiding the truth from him?

Perhaps noticing Montage’s puzzlement, Wang Meng explained, “Yueyue isn’t lying. That individual really hasn’t appeared yet. As for why they’re ranked in the top ten, we don’t really know. Rumor has it that the second-ranked ‘Half-Immortal’ predicted it. He said that within a hundred years, Huaxia would see the rise of someone whose power would surpass all others—someone with the most terrifying ability. But this is just hearsay. Whether it’s true or not, I can’t say for sure.”

“So, little brother, do your best! Maybe you’re the one from the prophecy!” Sun Yueyue teased with a smile.

“Heh heh… Don’t tease me, sis. How could I compare to those legendary figures?” Montage scratched his head, embarrassed.

“You were curious about my ability just now, weren’t you? Let me show you—see if you can guess what it is.” Sun Yueyue smiled as she spoke.

“Huh? Body swap?” Montage was startled to find that he had somehow switched seats with Sun Yueyue.

“Hahaha… Little brother, you guessed wrong!” Sun Yueyue tapped him lightly on the forehead.

“Her ability is acceleration. She can not only accelerate herself, but also any object she touches. Well, as long as it’s an inanimate object,” Wang Meng said with a laugh.

“Idiot, do I need you to introduce me? Just drive!” Sun Yueyue snapped, kicking the front seat in frustration.

“Hahaha…” Wang Meng burst out laughing.

“What are you laughing at? I finally met a cute little guy to tease, and you had to ruin it,” Sun Yueyue grumbled, rolling her eyes.

“Oh right, little brother, what’s your ability? Can you show your sister?” Sun Yueyue suddenly asked.

“Uh?” Montage was caught off guard, unprepared for the conversation to shift to him.

“I can’t talk about the Ten Thousand Demon Tree, and if I claim to be just an ordinary person, they probably won’t believe me. What should I do?” Montage was at a loss.

“Actually, I…” Just as he was about to say he hadn’t awakened any ability, Wang Meng suddenly slammed on the brakes.

“What happened?” Sun Yueyue asked quickly.

“I think I just saw a shadow flash by in front of the car. It was too fast to see clearly,” Wang Meng replied, his tone grave.

They were seasoned veterans, not the sort to let their guard down at the slightest disturbance—especially not now.

“I’ll go check it out.” Before Sun Yueyue had finished speaking, she was already outside the car.

“Wait, this is… Bird Street? Why did you drive us here?” The moment Sun Yueyue got out and recognized her surroundings, her expression changed.

“I don’t know, wasn’t it Little Montage who gave the directions?” Wang Meng was just as bewildered.

After all, they had just escaped from this area, and now they’d somehow circled back.

Both of them turned to Montage, as if waiting for an explanation.

“Um, my house is nearby,” Montage said, a bit sheepish.

He didn’t understand why the name Bird Street elicited such a strong reaction from them.

“You live here? Impossible! This place was abandoned ages ago. The Security Bureau ordered everyone to relocate for resettlement,” Sun Yueyue said, eyeing Montage suspiciously.

“Relocate? How come I never heard about it?” Montage asked, confused.

He truly hadn’t received any notice, nor had his family ever mentioned it.

They stared at each other for a few seconds; seeing that Montage didn’t seem to be lying, Sun Yueyue’s suspicion only deepened.

“Probably someone’s been skimming off the resettlement funds again. Not uncommon. I’ll report this to Elder Jiang—anyone who dares play with people’s lives must be severely punished,” Wang Meng said coldly.

Bird Street had been plagued by mysterious incidents for years, with frequent disappearances. They had investigated for a long time without finding the cause, ultimately declaring the area high risk and ordering all residents to move. The authorities had allocated a large sum for resettlement.

Who would have thought that after more than a decade, people were still living here? If they hadn’t happened to pass by today, they’d never have known.

But…

Looking Montage up and down, neither of them could imagine him as some hidden master. How had someone like him managed to live here for so many years? Had the monsters somehow learned not to harm those at home? If so, what about the previous disappearances?

They exchanged a glance, both sensing something unusual, but chose not to say anything for now. They would wait and see what was really going on.

“That alley up ahead is my house. The lane’s too narrow for a car, so I’ll get out here. Thank you both for today,” Montage said politely, bowing before running toward the alley.

“Since we’ve come this far, let me walk you home,” Sun Yueyue said, cheerfully slinging her arm around Montage’s shoulders.

“That’s fine. But my family can be a bit eccentric—if they’re rude, please don’t take it personally,” Montage said after a moment’s thought. It did seem impolite not to invite them in after coming all this way. Still, just in case, he thought it best to give them a little warning in advance.