Die, Replay, Repeat

BOOM!

Taotie's projection was abruptly blocked, freezing its attack. Ace of Spades didn’t waste a second and darted toward Joker, seizing the moment to escape.

As soon as he reached Joker’s side, Ace of Spades, spoke with rapid urgency, blurted out like a machine gun: "Boss! Now! Kill Fang Xiu! He’s found a way to break through the fifth tier from the future!"

"What?" Joker’s expression shifted instantly. The shock of the statement was so overwhelming, he didn’t even notice that the person in front of him wasn’t the real Ace of Spades, but Xiao Chuxia in disguise.

The news sent a ripple through the crowd. Even Fang Moli and the others stared wide-eyed at Fang Xiu, who was calmly walking toward them from the distance.

"Impossible! No one can break through the fifth tier in this world!" Joker’s disbelief was clear. It went against everything he knew.

Ace of Spades, sensing Joker’s doubt, pushed on, though his voice started to falter. "Boss, I swear it’s true. Earlier, when you told us to create chaos, I was worried Yan Changshou might struggle to open the Specter Gate, so I went to help him."

Hearing this, Joker’s suspicion eased a bit. He had noticed Ace of Spades was missing earlier, and this explanation clicked—he had been aiding Yan Changshou. That made sense. 

Joker even found a bit of respect for him. At least Ace of Spades had enough foresight to ensure the Specter Gate’s success.

"When I got there," Ace of Spades continued, "Fang Xiu was already fighting Yan Changshou. At first, Yan didn’t take him seriously since he was only a second-tier psychic. But Fang Xiu used his ability to glimpse the future and discovered a way to break the bottleneck. Right there, on the battlefield, he advanced from the second tier to the third and even gained the power to summon Specters. That’s how Yan Changshou died!"

"A method to break through from the future?" Joker’s suspicion deepened as he glanced toward Fang Xiu, who was closing in.

Joker had always kept an eye on Fang Xiu’s progress. He knew exactly how powerful he was. Fang Xiu had been a second-tier psychic not long ago, and now he was suddenly third-tier? 

'Does the future really hold the key to breaking the psychic bottlenecks? Or is there something else going on?' Joker wondered.

Suddenly, Ace of Spades began coughing violently, collapsing to his knees. He was barely holding on to life.

The sound snapped Joker out of his thoughts. He quickly caught him before he fell completely.

"Even if there is a way to break through the fifth tier, the conditions must be extreme. How could a third-tier psychic like him do that?" Joker demanded, still skeptical, his voice sharp.

Ace of Spades, now barely able to speak, managed to rasp, "The ma… ma…"

"Ma?" Joker leaned in, frowning as he strained to hear. "What are you trying to say?"

"Mask…"

With that final word, Ace of Spades’ body went limp, life slipping away.

The word "mask" left Joker frozen in place for a moment. Then, as realization dawned, a tremor of shock ran through him.

A mask?

The Genesis Mask!

Joker had only halfway believed Ace of Spades’ wild story. But now, connecting it to the Genesis Mask, it began to make a strange kind of sense.

The Genesis Mask was created by Zhou Qingfeng, a figure Joker deeply admired. Zhou was a legend, and anything he made was bound to have extraordinary power.

'Could it be... Fang Xiu used the power of the Genesis Mask to break through the bottleneck?' Once this thought entered Joker’s mind, it spread like wildfire, consuming his doubts.

Xiao Chuxia, lying on the ground, could feel the rush of deception power flowing from Joker. 

A wave of relief washed over her, mixed with a quiet sense of triumph—it seemed her performance had been convincing enough to fool a fifth-tier powerhouse with ease.

However, her success wasn’t because of her acting alone. The true mastermind behind this elaborate trick was Fang Xiu, whose plan had flawlessly led Joker into a well-constructed trap.

The first part of the plan involved having Xiao Chuxia pose as the severely injured Ace of Spades. The real Ace of Spades was a fourth-tier psychic, and there was no way a third-tier psychic could perfectly mimic his strength. But by making it seem like Ace of Spades was gravely wounded, any gap in power would be easier to overlook.

Next, Fang Xiu used a series of shocking revelations to distract Joker, preventing him from noticing anything out of place.

The final stroke of brilliance came with the mention of the "mask." That single word triggered Joker’s mind to jump to Zhou Qingfeng and the legendary Genesis Mask.

The genius of the plan rested in this connection. Zhou Qingfeng was a revered figure, someone whose influence stretched far and wide. 

The Pokers, as well as many others in the asylum, saw him almost like a god. Linking the outlandish idea of breaking through the fifth tier to Zhou Qingfeng made something impossible suddenly seem plausible.

If it had been anyone else, Joker might have doubted the story. But with Zhou Qingfeng’s name attached? It made the impossible seem achievable.

For people who had been steeped in Zhou Qingfeng’s legend, like Joker, he was the only person who could possibly help a fourth-tier psychic ascend to the fifth tier. 

Fang Xiu had played his cards perfectly by having Xiao Chuxia mention the mask, tying the idea of breaking the psychic bottleneck to Zhou Qingfeng's legendary reputation. This clever move was the key to fooling Joker.

Without allowing Joker any time to reconsider, Fang Xiu raised his pale right hand and swiped it across his face.

BOOM!

Black flames surged from the void, forming a mask on Fang Xiu’s face. 

The flames intensified, quickly enveloping his entire body. His long, silver hair shimmered under the eerie glow of the fire.

“Fang Moli,” Fang Xiu’s voice rang out, calm and authoritative. “I’ve seen the path to the fifth tier from the future. Now, I will help you break through.”

With that, Fang Xiu launched himself from Taotie’s projection, his body engulfed in black fire as he sped toward Fang Moli.

In that instant, Taotie’s projection vanished.

Joker, witnessing this, didn’t have time to question whether it was all real or just another trick. He had to act. 

If Fang Xiu was telling the truth, and Fang Moli truly ascended to the fifth tier, Joker would be in serious danger.

As a fourth-tier psychic wielding the powerful Xuanyuan Sword, Fang Moli was already someone Joker had to approach with caution. If Fang Moli became a fifth-tier psychic, Joker wouldn’t stand a chance.

Joker’s immediate move to interfere set off a chain reaction.

Because he believed so deeply in Zhou Qingfeng’s legend, Joker was convinced that the Genesis Mask had the power to help someone break through the fifth tier. 

Fang Moli, however, hadn’t been influenced by Zhou Qingfeng’s reputation in the same way. But the moment Joker moved to stop Fang Xiu, it sent a clear signal—if Joker thought it was real enough to intervene, then maybe it really was!

Xiao Chuxia, still lying on the ground, felt another surge of deception power flood into her. The web of lies she had spun was growing stronger.

In just a short time, the amount of deception power she had gathered was significant. There weren’t many people involved, but those who were—Joker, a fifth-tier psychic, and the captains of the headquarters—were among the most powerful figures in the world.

As the captains joined in, attempting to stop Fang Xiu, Joker’s belief in the lie deepened, which only reinforced the deception. 

It became a perfect, self-sustaining cycle of lies.

It was like someone putting a pile of counterfeit money on a table and telling a group, “It’s all yours, take as much as you want.” At first, people might be cautious, thinking it was fake. But the moment one person rushed forward to grab it, everyone else would follow, no longer questioning its authenticity.

Translator's note: LOL… And just like that, Fang Xiu managed to deceive both his enemies and his allies in a single stroke.

Translator's note: LOL… And just like that, Fang Xiu managed to deceive both his enemies and his allies in a single stroke.

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