With a swish, I swung the Hell's Sentinel in my hand upward at John Chou. With a tearing sound, a gash split open across John Chou's chest, crimson blood spraying through the air. The surrounding red threads were instantly frozen by my ghostly aura.
The sound of cracking echoed, accompanied by black snowflakes drifting down from the sky. Shards of glittering ice scattered all around my body.
“Not bad, brother. You used your instincts. But you’re still a bit too green.”
Suddenly, a burning pain shot through my arm. I clutched my right hand and screamed in agony as my entire arm twisted. The sinister aura that had spread around me seemed to be shredded apart. With a crack, my whole arm shattered into fragments, and John Chou was already swinging Rage Blood down at me again.
“Brother, since you can use the Specter Web to inject your ghostly aura and freeze mine completely, I can do the same—inject my power into your Specter Web and launch an attack.”
I was stunned. Rage Blood was already in front of my eyes. I roared, and my shattered arm instantly reformed. My left hand raised a sword condensed from sinister aura to block the strike. With a bang, followed by a cracking sound, the sword in my hand broke apart into fragments. I grabbed the Hell's Sentinel again and, with another bang, blocked Rage Blood’s attack.
It was a heavy blow, sending me crashing to the ground. John Chou had no intention of giving me any breathing room. With two swift movements, I stared in shock as John Chou split into two, appearing on both my left and right sides.
I couldn’t tell which one was the real body. Two Rage Blood swords stabbed toward me from different angles, both aiming straight for my heart.
Suddenly, I sensed it—the John Chou on the left radiated a stronger killing intent. Instinctively, I raised the Hell's Sentinel, turned, and blocked to the left.
“What a pity. Battles between ghosts are always brutal, brother.”
With a tearing sound, Rage Blood pierced my heart. I spat out a mouthful of black blood—the John Chou on the left was just a phantom.
With a snap, I turned into black mist and instantly moved further away from John Chou. I quickly reformed, clutching my chest as sinister aura patched up my body. A huge amount of my sinister aura was spent in that instant by John Chou’s strike. He didn’t hit my Ghost Soul, but destroyed my strength.
This was tricky. I watched quietly. The method I’d thought of to defeat John Chou—it wasn’t time yet. With his experience, he’d definitely notice. Now, I roared as a wild wind swept through.
“That’s all you can handle, Qingyuan. Any more and your body would burst.”
The Yin Ghost’s sickly smile echoed in my mind. I nodded. Instantly, black streams of energy surged from beneath my feet, forming a powerful barrier around me.
In an instant, all the sinister aura I’d lost was completely replenished. Now, I was brimming with power. John Chou watched me thoughtfully.
“Not bad, brother. You’ve gained a strong Ghost Soul, huh?”
John Chou spoke, then with a whoosh, flew toward me dragging Rage Blood, swinging the sword precisely at my neck.
I immediately raised the Hell's Sentinel to block John Chou’s attack. In that instant, the black cloak behind me billowed, and my sinister aura surged.
“Brother, you know? In ghost battles, Wraith Armament and the Shadow Realm are essential. No matter how fierce your sinister aura is, it can’t match a Wraith Armament.”
With a bang, we separated again. Staring at the Hell's Sentinel in my hand, I finally understood why John Chou had given me the Soulreaver Blade.
“Thank you.”
I knew clearly that if I conjured a sword from sinister aura to duel John Chou, it would be sliced apart by Rage Blood—just like before, as easily as cutting through tofu.
“No need, brother. That thing and I never really got along. I only used it for a while because I had no choice. But you and it—surprisingly, you’re a perfect match.”
As John Chou spoke, I could feel it too—the Hell's Sentinel fit perfectly in my hand. My ghostly aura flowed effortlessly into it and then out, like a medium for releasing my power.
Seeing John Chou attack again, I raised the Hell's Sentinel. Black winds swirled around it as I slashed several times, sending blades of wind flying at him, but he dodged them all.
A surge of black energy rose from the Hell's Sentinel’s surface. I immediately swung at John Chou’s Rage Blood. With a bang, the Soulreaver Blade, now charged with freezing power, touched Rage Blood. Ice began to spread along Rage Blood, freezing toward John Chou himself.
Suddenly, John Chou let go of Rage Blood. My focus remained on the Evil Ghost behind him. It didn’t attack every time, but when it did, I couldn’t defend against it. I was starting to understand.
As I pondered, John Chou suddenly grabbed my wrist and flung me with force. I stared at him in shock, his face radiating killing intent. In an instant, he severed my connection to the Hell's Sentinel. With a crack, Rage Blood broke free from the ice. I tried to escape, but John Chou gripped my right hand tightly.
John Chou yanked me forward, then slid past my side. Rage Blood was back in his hand. I stared in shock at a deep gash on my right flank as sinister aura kept spilling out, trying to repair my body.
How did he do it? I’d just seen the Hell's Sentinel in front of me, but in the blink of an eye, it was already in John Chou’s hand.
“The Specter Web can control Wraith Armament, brother. If your Specter Web is strong enough, you don’t even need to move a finger yourself.”
As John Chou spoke, with a swish, Rage Blood left his hand again, stabbing toward me. I spun, trying to block, only to find John Chou already above me, upside down, kicking down. Rage Blood feinted an attack, then suddenly stopped. My shoulder took the brunt of his kick.
“Take a rest, brother.”
I plummeted rapidly toward the ground. With a crash, I landed in the forest, panting as I stared at John Chou, who sat cross-legged atop Rage Blood, watching me with a half-smile.
“Pathetic, Ethan Zhang. Your brain’s worse than a pig’s. All that power, but you don’t know how to fight. If it were me, with John Chou this weak, I’d have already knocked him flat.”
Lan Jiuqing said impatiently from the side, while Grandpa Cat just laughed.
“Qingyuan, right now, instead of thinking, you should use your strongest power and fight Uncle Chou. Even if he’s teaching you, you won’t master it in such a short time.”
Before Grandpa Cat could finish, John Chou started laughing.
“Kitty, shut up. Mind your own business.”
Ji Yun’er covered her mouth and laughed. Everyone on the battlefield smiled knowingly, but I couldn’t share their joy. My mind was consumed by thoughts of how to defeat John Chou.
“A dull blade, brother. In your current state, you’re failing.”
As John Chou spoke, I realized it too. I stood up again, slowly floating. Right now, John Chou’s ghostly aura had dropped much lower—far weaker than mine. But after all this fighting, I was the one suffering.
I roared, and sinister aura burst out from me. I charged at John Chou. It was true—I’d been too focused on his moves, thinking too much, and it gave him plenty of openings.
With a bang, John Chou was sent flying backward. Sure enough, at full power, my strength surpassed his.
For a moment, John Chou managed to block my Hell's Sentinel, but the sheer force knocked him away.
“Still failing, brother.”
As soon as John Chou finished speaking, several new gashes appeared on my chest. I had no idea how he attacked, but I quickly realized—red Specter Webs were fading away.
He’d set it up from the start. Furious and frustrated, I glared at John Chou, gritting my teeth.
“You’re too treacherous, damn it.”
“Brother, there’s no such thing as treachery on the battlefield. As for you, fighting isn’t just about reason. Most of the time, it’s about emotion, and reason only gets in the way. Think about it—you’ve beaten enemies far stronger than you, not through reason, but emotion. It’s like your blade is chained—how can you cut down your enemy that way?”
I stared at John Chou, remembering all the times I’d fought out of pure anger—wanting nothing but to defeat my enemy, ignoring the consequences, and winning because of it.
Gradually, I calmed down. My mind emptied, and I looked at John Chou coldly.
“Next, I’ll unleash all my power, John Chou.”
I roared. Sinister aura surged from beneath my feet, spiraling upward, expanding rapidly. The power within me kept pouring out as I slowly raised the Hell's Sentinel, pointing it at John Chou.