I'm a proper student; I only take nine kinds of potions every day.

Chapter 121 Spiritual Vision, Rank Suppression

Gray and Peg first cleaned up the scattered debris on the ground.

The shattered skull fragments, the splattered brain matter, and the broken heart were all wrapped in a special oilcloth by Peg and stuffed into a sealed tin box.

Evidence, and the mediums used in subsequent rituals.

The group then boarded a carriage and headed towards the police station.

The carriage bumped along the cobblestone road, the kerosene lamp inside casting flickering shadows as it swayed.

Ivan leaned back in his chair, the effects of the Ironblood Potion still lingering, making him appear cold and serious.

"Brother Gray, why couldn't I see the opponent's attack methods just now?"

Gray, with the perpetually unlit cigar dangling from his lips, explained, "Because of personality suppression."

He glanced at Ivan and exclaimed in surprise.

"I must say, you're really cautious! The timing of drinking the Iron Blood Potion was crucial. If you had been a few seconds later, you'd probably already be his puppet of desire."

Ivan pressed, "Could you elaborate?"

Gray coughed and twirled his cigar halfway around his lips.

"Ahem—this is an inside secret. I hope to see Alcott again next time—"

"Don't worry!" Evan immediately understood what he meant.

"I'll never forget you if there's a bounty! What kind of relationship do we have?!"

Gray chuckled, his gold tooth flashing in the dimly lit carriage.

"Okay! Let me tell you about it."

He stopped smiling and his tone became serious: "First, let me explain what positional suppression is."

"Breakthrough in spiritual vision 1, become an apprentice; break through 10, become an expert; break through 20, become a master."

"You should know that spiritual vision is your spiritual perspective, and its level determines how many hidden aspects of this world you can see."

Ivan remembered the border ghoul and nodded, "Yeah. I know."

Gray held up one finger: "The same principle applies to positional suppression. Some expert-level techniques are invisible to those with less than a 10 level of spiritual vision."

"If you can't see it, it means you can't predict it, you can't dodge it, and you can't defend against it."

"This is the power imbalance, which is why so few people can kill opponents of higher levels."

"An opponent with superior vision is like a dimensional reduction attack on you. You are in the open, while he is in the dark. You can't even see what cards he's playing."

After listening, Ivan instantly understood the source of the eerie feeling he had experienced during the battle.

It's not that the other party's abilities are particularly strong or strange; it's just that my spiritual vision is too low to see them!

If his spiritual vision had reached level 10, he might have been able to clearly see the thread that cut him in half hanging in the air and easily bypass it.

Gray continued, "And improving one's clairvoyance has always been quite difficult."

"Aside from some potions that can temporarily or permanently enhance spiritual vision, the only other way is to see some special extraordinary beings with your own eyes."

His expression turned serious as he said, "But this behavior is extremely dangerous."

"Every time you see those things, your willpower may weaken, you may talk nonsense, or you may fall into endless fear."

"Because every improvement in your spiritual vision brings you closer to the truth of this world."

"And in this process, our brains will inevitably come into contact with many things that we cannot understand, and those things will erode our sanity."

Evan nodded calmly: "Understood, very clearly, Brother Gray."

Then he changed the subject, asking, "Does he have any ability to remotely control puppets?"

"I used the calming effect of the Ironblood Potion to smash his head and crush his heart."

"But this guy's remains stood up like a puppet, and then flew away."

Upon hearing this, Gray nearly dropped the cigar from his mouth, then sighed.

"You're a real monster! An apprentice managed to sneak up on an expert to this extent."

"Looks like we'll have to rely on you more for missions from now on."

After making a couple of jokes, his expression turned serious again.

"This is due to Alcott's abilities; he is an expert and has already taken the first step towards becoming a master."

"He has already fused two extraordinary traits. If he fuses a third one, his spiritual vision will reach level 20, and he will become a master. Then you will have no ability to resist him."

"He currently has two characteristics. The first is: Desire Spirit, the number of which is unknown, and its appearance is that of a spider with a human face."

"This thing can absorb the target's emotions to weave tough threads, making it quite difficult to deal with. It is formed by the fusion of two unknown fundamental properties."

He turned the cigar halfway around and continued.

"Second: Desire Fusion. Without the basic characteristics of fusion, he can use this ability to fuse with a designated target, making the other party a part of himself."

Gray looked into Evan's eyes to make sure he understood what was coming next.

"That's why you didn't die even after blowing my head off and crushing my heart."

"That's not a puppet, that's his true form."

"You shattered his original organs, but he later fused with the spirits of desire, making them serve as his head and heart."

"But what about you? Because your spiritual vision is too low, you can't see those spirits, so you look very strange."

After listening, all the previously confusing details suddenly connected for Evan.

"I see!"

He thought of something else.

"But I've witnessed experts fight before. Why can I see some of their techniques but not others?"

He recalled the battle between Richard and Pris.

He could see the methods Pris used, but he couldn't see the effects of the spells Richard cast.

Gray explained, "If it's a regular, unfused basic attribute, you can see that because the basic attribute's rank is still at the apprentice level."

"What you can't see are the characteristics after fusion; only the level of characteristics after fusion belongs to the expert."

Evan said "oh" and memorized the rule.

During the conversation, the carriage stopped in front of the side gate of the police station.

The group walked into the familiar corridor and arrived at the side hall.

This time, Gray didn't go through the left door, but instead led Evan through the right one.

Behind the door on the right is a completely different area.

An open-plan office space of approximately 100 square meters.

Seven or eight desks were neatly arranged, each piled with various odds and ends.

Folders, coffee cups, a jacket draped halfway over the back of a chair, several rubber balls for stress relief, and even a small lead soldier figure on the corner of the table.

A fairly normal and lively office environment.

"This is our office area," Gray said, leading Ivan across the desks to the door of a private office at the far end.

He took a deep breath, straightened his chest, and knocked on the door respectfully.

A dozen seconds later, the door opened from the inside.

The man who came out was a middle-aged man in a black police uniform. The material of his uniform was clearly several grades higher than Gray's, and the insignia on his shoulder straps were also more intricate.

But it wasn't just the uniform that caught Ivan's attention, it was also the aura he exuded!

The person's skin was so pale it was devoid of any color, just like that of an albino.

With deep-set eyes and a silvery-white iris, it looked quite eerie at first glance.

Although this middle-aged man was thin and sickly, he gave off an indescribable sense of oppression.

Gray took a deep breath and introduced loudly, "Arkham! Let me introduce you."

"Our Special Operations Superintendent, Robbins Vick."

He said with a touch more seriousness in his voice, "A master owl."

Ivan straightened his back unconsciously.

This was the first time he had stood face-to-face with a clearly master-level extraordinary being.

"Night Owl! A profession under the moonlight, skilled in the darkness."

Vic's gaze fell on Ivan.

From his right arm to his chest, and then to half of his cheek, the dried and blackened bloodstains were shocking under the light.

He then nodded: "A very good reaction and response strategy."

He turned and walked back to his office, gesturing for Ivan to follow.

The office wasn't large, but it was extremely tidy.

A table, two chairs, and a lamp set to its lowest brightness.

The curtains were drawn tightly shut, not a single ray of light could get in.

Vic sat down, gesturing for Evan to sit as well: "You were very wise to choose to call for backup instead of going it alone."

"Even with your super healing ability, without enough potions, you are no match for him."

Ivan blinked. "You saw our fight?"

Vic said calmly, "I suppose so."

"I have eyes and ears in that area, which is why Gray was able to get here so quickly when you shouted just now."

After hearing this, Ivan secretly rejoiced at his own caution.

He did not use copper poison throughout the entire battle. When he pierced Jack's chest cavity, he secretly injected a large amount of copper plague virus the instant his fist made contact with the opponent's body, causing it to enter the incubation period.

From the outside, he only displays superb physical qualities and the super self-healing ability of the Bloodthirsty race.

The true nature of the copper epidemic has not been revealed.

Vic continued, "You have a blood feud with him for killing his son, who was also his favorite eldest son. You should know the weight of that."

Ivan nodded solemnly: "I know, he won't let me go."

Vic hummed in agreement and then suddenly asked, "How about we make a deal?"

Ivan: "Please speak."

Vic provided his intelligence: "We know that Alcott is currently hiding in Sap's manor, and that he took action with Sap's approval."

"He returned severely injured this time. Although he didn't bring you back, he did find out your background."

"This is enough for Sap to be certain that you killed Elton, and to know that you have a strong physique and superhuman healing ability."

His gaze locked onto Evan's eyes, his eyes filled with curiosity.

"I'm curious, with such a self-healing ability, why aren't you afraid of the sun?"

Ivan met those silver eyes without flinching, and spoke calmly and casually.

"Because I drank a potion that increases my resistance to sunlight."

A very subtle change appeared on Vic's pale, almost expressionless face.

I was filled with shock and confusion.

A sense of bewilderment that I've never considered in all my years of life.

Given the Bloodthirsty nature of the species, why would they drink the potions of the Solar System?

Those potions do indeed increase sunlight resistance, that much is true.

However, the terrifying side effects are something that no bloodthirsty race can withstand.

The bestial nature of the Solar System potion will trigger a violent rejection reaction in the Bloodthirsty race, causing the whole body to burn or even the spirit to collapse on the spot.

Isn't this fucking suicide?

Vic stared at Evan, his brain starting to work rapidly.

After a full five seconds of silence, he blinked as if he had just come to his senses, looking like a robot that had just restarted after a system crash.

Clearly, they haven't figured out the underlying principles.

"You know what you're saying, don't you?"

Evan nodded: "I know, but you should also know about my bloodline problem, and that death warrant that expires in a month."

Vic glanced at the folder in front of him and nodded.

That folder contains detailed information about Evan.

Name, age, school registration, address, family history.

But beneath those ordinary documents were several pages of extraordinary files written in official high-level secret documents.

An immortal witch, a mysterious ruler, and the curse of three generations of the Arkham family in Bolton.

Vic nodded, signaling him to continue.

"As Dr. Forem said, this is both my death warrant and my blessing," Evan said.

"The bloodline she bestowed allows the side effects of potions to take effect slowly, rather than erupting immediately."

"This gives me enough time to process and adapt."

After listening, a look of understanding appeared on Vic's pale face.

"A classic, cursed gift."

His tone held no surprise, only a calm acceptance of someone who had seen it all.

It's clear that he's seen similar situations many times throughout his long career.

Having voiced his question, Vic did not dwell on the topic any further.

He closed the black folder, pushed it aside, and got down to business.

"We all want to catch this guy, but for some reason, we can't get into Sap Manor to make the arrest."

"Now that you've become a thorn in his side, are you willing to become bait for us to fish?"

"You help us catch Alcott, and we'll help you get rid of a madman enemy. You won't have to live in fear anymore."

"After all, you're no match for Alcott now."

Ivan did not answer immediately.

The absolute rationality granted by the Ironblood Potion allowed him to weigh all the pros and cons of the proposal within seconds.

"How do you fish?" he asked.

"How can you be sure the other party doesn't know we've already reached a cooperation agreement?"

"What if there's a mole on your side?"

"What if they turn the tables on you, planning to use me as bait while simultaneously attacking you anglers?"

"Since you don't dare to enter Sap Manor to arrest people, you probably won't dare to go in to rescue me if I'm arrested and brought into the manor either."

""

At this moment, Evan made full use of the clear and rational mind that the Ironblood Potion had given him.