Only I Cultivate

Inside the fifth floor of a building, Wu Yunru walked alone down a corridor connecting twelve different apartments. A large analog wall clock ticked away, the minute hand pointing at 11, the hour hand at 1.

With a dark expression, he muttered softly, "Using the young master of the Wu family as bait… You two better never set foot in the capital, or I'll have you hanged."

From the small earpiece he wore, Feng Fan's voice crackled in his ear. "You know we can hear you, right? Also, don't be so down. If you die, we'll be sure to avenge you. Just don't come back as a ghost, or we'll have to exorcise you too."

Wu Yunru's face darkened, but he kept silent.

"Focus on the mission," Luo Li's voice chimed in, clear and composed. "Keep moving between floors, and if you see anything unusual, report it immediately."

Outside, Feng Fan and Luo Li waited just beyond the building, ready to act. From time to time, Luo Li's expression twitched slightly, something that didn't escape Feng Fan's notice.

"Luo Li, are you okay?" he asked.

She looked at him coldly, her usual composure unwavering. But hidden beneath her clothes were five deep gashes on her back—the price of the punishment she had received yesterday after returning home.

"I'm fine," she said, unwilling to show any weakness, especially to a subordinate.

Feng Fan sighed. "We're teammates now, you know? If you ever need help, you can count on me."

For a brief moment, Luo Li's expression softened, but she quickly regained her usual demeanor. "No need."

A displeased voice crackled through their earpieces.

"Hey," Wu Yunru muttered, clearly annoyed. "Can you two stop flirting? I can hear everything."

Without Feng Fan noticing, Luo Li turned her head slightly, a faint blush appearing beneath her black mask.

While they continued waiting for the Parent Killer to appear, in room 606, a teenage girl slept peacefully, hugging a long pillow that stretched from her feet to her head.

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open. She sat up, then stood beside her bed. Her gaze was empty and unfocused, as if she were sleepwalking.

The teenage girl wore a cute bear pajama that covered her from wrist to ankle, with thick wool socks warming her feet.

Moving slowly toward the living room, she walked one step at a time, like a puppet on invisible strings. A foul, sulfuric stench lingered in the air with every step the teenage girl took.

Reaching the table, she picked up the keys and unlocked the door leading to the outside corridor.

Standing just beyond the threshold were two figures—men, yet not men who needed to breathe.

At a glance, they looked human. But their pale, sickly skin and the eerie energy pulsing from the wooden clubs in their hands told another story.

And if one dared to look into their eyes, they would see something far more unsettling: not the gaze of the living, but eyes that seemed to scream in endless pain and agony.

One of the ghosts was shirtless, his arms and chest covered in tattoos, while the other had a large forehead and short, dark hair.

Just as the teenage girl stepped aside to let the two figures in, Wu Yunru reached the sixth floor. His eyes immediately locked onto the two men gripping wooden clubs.

"Sixth floor, room 606! Get here fast! It's not just one ghost—there are two!"

His hand moved to his waist, where a thin baton rested. It pulsed with a heavy, ominous aura, clearly tainted by ghostly spiritual energy.

Gripping the baton tightly, Wu Yunru moved toward room 606. He knew Luo Li and Feng Fan wouldn't arrive in time. He couldn't take on both ghosts alone, but he didn't need to win, he just needed to buy enough time.

Because if he didn't, another couple would die tonight.

Outside the building, Feng Fan and Luo Li dashed forward. With her superior cultivation, Luo Li quickly took the lead, leaving Feng Fan trailing behind. 

He didn't mind, his focus remained on reaching room 606 as fast as possible.

Inside the apartment, Wu Yunru spotted the teenage girl standing in a daze. 

'She is likely under some kind of spell,' but he pushed that thought aside.

Standard protocol dictated removing civilians from danger first, but with the pattern of the last five cases, he knew the child wouldn't be harmed. Her life wasn't at risk, but her parents' lives were.

His gaze shot toward the bedroom. Two ghostly figures stood over the sleeping couple, their wooden clubs raised, ready to strike.

Without hesitation, Wu Yunru activated his second contaminated object—items tainted with ghostly spiritual energy, capable of harming spirits.

The black boots on his feet glowed faintly, tripling his speed.

This was proof of the Wu family's wealth. A member who had only recently awakened already possessed two contaminated objects, while most D-rank Hunters would be lucky to have even one.

Wu Yunru moved like a blur, his baton sweeping in a wide arc toward the nearest ghost. The strike landed cleanly, sending the shirtless ghost flying across the room, crashing into the big-headed

Seeing the impact, Wu Yunru smirked. "Ha! Looks like I won't even need backup. These two are nothing special!"

The moment those words left his mouth, he regretted them deeply.

The two ghosts rose from the floor, completely unharmed.

His attack had done nothing but anger them.

Their wooden clubs lifted again—this time, aimed directly at him.

"Mommy!"

Wu Yunru spun on his heels and bolted for the door. The ghosts lunged after him, relentless, like hungry wolves chasing after a rabbit.

Wu Yunru had been trained from a young age to deal with ghosts, but this was the first time he was truly facing one. 

It was clear that the gap between theory and practice was vast, or perhaps the Wu family hadn't been strict enough with his training.

But Wu Yunru didn't let his training go to waste, he kept his focus on the ghosts behind him. As long as they were away from the civilians, he knew that with the boots on his feet, he could buy enough time for Luo Li to arrive.

Just as he expected, a breath of time after he left the room with the two ghosts hot on his tail, Luo Li appeared on the sixth floor, ready to intervene.