"The necessary condition is—cannibalism."

When Wu Liang uttered these two words, he couldn't help but feel a deep sense of helplessness.

He had never thought that the condition for ascension would be so simple, yet so absurd and ridiculous.

What is cannibalism? Which normal Fierce Ghost wouldn't do such a thing?

In a typical supernatural event, there would at least be a single-digit number of victims, and at most, it could reach double or even hundreds of digits, among which being devoured by a Fierce Ghost is the most common scenario.

But this very normal occurrence among ordinary Fierce Ghosts seemed so strange when placed among Wu Liang's group of Fierce Ghost Minions.

Because they truly had not engaged in such behavior, and usually, Wu Liang's orders when dealing with enemies were merely to kill or trap them.

No one would randomly take a bite on a whim.

"Wait a minute, boss! Brother Nightmare and I haven't eaten anyone, have we? Why were we able to ascend?" Puppet Ghost asked in confusion.

To its confusion, Wu Liang sighed and said, "Nightmare is rather special. For it, consuming a person's consciousness is equivalent to satisfying this condition, and killing so many Promised Land members before was enough for its ascension, as for you guys..."

"The Fierce Ghost Fragments you've consumed have met this condition."

Although he didn't know where the inexplicable knowledge in his mind had come from, after spitting out the Shadow Ghost's tangled ball of yarn-like essence, Wu Liang understood the connection.

A normal Fierce Ghost needs to consume a certain number of humans to ascend to City Destruction level.

As for his own Fierce Ghost Minions, in order to ascend to City Destruction level, they need to consume enough fragments that have met the cannibalism condition to become City-annihilating Ghosts.

The reason Mist Ghost, Puppet Ghost, and Kitchen Knife Ghost could reach City Destruction level was simply because they had consumed the most fragments when purging City-annihilating Ghosts before.

So for the remaining Fierce Ghost Minions, no matter how many Red Robe Fragments they consume, it's meaningless. Only wild City-annihilating Ghosts can help them ascend!

"I understand, boss. You're saying I shouldn't eat this ball of yarn now and it should be saved for the other Red-clothed Ghosts, right?" Puppet Ghost pondered for a moment before speaking.

It realized the Fierce Ghost Fragments of the Shadow Ghost in front of it likely met the condition.

If they want the other Fierce Ghost Minions to ascend to City Destruction level, then fragments meeting the condition in the future can only be consumed by them.

"Yeah, so could you stop licking it? It's really disgusting. I feel like punching you."

Wu Liang nodded, with veins bulging on his forehead as he looked at the Puppet Ghost asking earnestly while hugging that Fierce Ghost Fragment and licking it for taste.

This guy's decency is really dwindling!

After scolding Puppet Ghost, Wu Liang turned and opened the door of the wood room and walked out.

He left only a few Red Robe Peak Fierce Ghost Minions to share that ball of yarn fragment.

Walking into the living room, the Sealed Yao Qingxue spoke with a sullen face, "The dishes are getting cold! Why is it taking you so long to purify a Fierce Ghost?"

Wu Liang immediately put on a friendly smile, quickly throwing a whole large chopstick of food into his mouth.

Chewing with his mouth stuffed, he raised a thumbs-up and said unclearly, "Not cold, not cold. It's delicious! Mom, your cooking is getting better and better. Lately, the dishes don't taste as salty anymore."

Watching her son gobbling down the food, the sullen look on Sealed Yao Qingxue's face gradually softened.

Finally, mother and son sat at the dining table, having lunch as usual.

But as they ate, Commoner Yao Qingxue noticed something was off with the atmosphere.

Wu Liang, who usually liked to chat during meals, was eating in silence today, his head down as if he hadn't eaten in three days or like he was worried this might be his last meal.

She couldn't help but glance at the other her, receiving only a slight nod in response.

Sure enough, the time was drawing near.

"Xiaoliang, there's news from the official side... isn't there? When do you leave?"

In the end, Commoner Yao Qingxue couldn't help but ask just as the dishes on the table were about to be finished.

After swallowing the food in his mouth, Wu Liang replied as calmly as he could, "The day after tomorrow. The bullets I shot have already reached the forehead of the Promised Land, and the night after tomorrow, I'll need to personally draw the knife to sever this head."

"But haven't only half the Fierce Ghosts been purged?" Commoner Yao Qingxue couldn't help but say.

"Yes, so I'll resolve them all in the next two days." Wu Liang said, standing up after finishing his meal.

Watching his back as he collected the bowls and moved to the kitchen, Commoner Yao Qingxue felt a pang of heartache.

She knew her child would soon be on the road again.

In fact, these past few days, she had been well aware of the situation with the purging of Fierce Ghosts. Wu Liang hadn't been exerting all his efforts to quickly resolve them, as if fearing that after purging those ghosts, he would have to leave Peach Blossom Spring immediately.

He was finding excuses to stay.

But now, there was a more important reason needing him to leave.

The old members of Ghost Valley had already caused enough trouble for those outside Promised Land members.

So much trouble that based on the situation of the past five days, the authorities had decided it was time to wrap things up.

The day Wu Liang leaves Peach Blossom Spring will be the day the Promised Land organization receives a crushing blow.

And this also signals the authorities' intention to focus wholeheartedly on preparing for the arrival of the second Supernatural Calamity after dealing with the Promised Land issue.

......

"Director Long, isn't this too aggressive?"

"Yes! People might not be able to handle such a big shock! What if..."

"What if what? Create panic? Do you think that keeping it secret until the day of the second Supernatural Calamity will make people not panic?"

"..."

At this moment, the official's highest-level meeting room was already in an uproar, almost lifting the ceiling.

Besides the members of the Zodiac Department, the rest were ministers from various departments of the headquarters.

Meetings where they all gathered together had occurred no more than five times since the establishment of the authority.

But this time was undoubtedly the most important.

Director Long slammed the table furiously and stood up, his eyes firm as he said, "We have enough time now to resolve the Promised Land and then reassure panicked people, restoring social order."

"I know you're worried some will flee abroad, some will abandon themselves, some will cause trouble, or even that some will incite those naive, innocent, and terrified people. In any case, all sorts of chaos might occur after the dissemination of the news."

"However! You also must reflect on what the official efforts these past years have been for!"

After speaking, Director Long's eyes, sharp like those of a real Azure Dragon, swept over everyone present.

Apart from a few members of the Zodiac Department who were close to him and had long known of this plan, the heads of other departments all bowed their heads in thought.

Finally, only Director Long's voice echoed in the conference room, "To gain people's trust, to uphold the hard-won social order, so humanity can continue."

"We are obligated to inform our people of everything that lies ahead."