Black flames flickered slowly. The apartment building stood like a solitary island—there was no place left to stand around it. Frenzied currents swirled above the vast, sunken pit. I gazed quietly at the Wraithlord’s Inner World before me; no matter what power I used, I couldn’t shake this inner world in the slightest.
The Wraithlord still sat cross-legged in the distant sky, his gaze cold and unyielding. I tried again and again to attack, but was powerless—unable to break through his inner world. The sensation was icy, mechanical, like facing a soulless machine. There was no room for dialogue.
Several hours had passed. The power granted me by Heaven and Humanity was growing weaker and slower. My final means remained unusable. If only I could pierce the Wraithlord’s spirit with Starwatcher directly, his ghostly body would surely collapse. But I couldn’t find any way to create such an opportunity.
“Ethan Zhang, what exactly are you waiting for?”
The Wraithlord spoke and laughed. The world before me lunged at me again. I darted and dodged through the air—if this instinct touched me even once, my form would collapse. The world kept chasing, trying to catch me. I moved toward the Wraithlord again.
With a boom, flames engulfed me, but I’d already escaped the range of those black flames. The world reformed into the Wraithlord’s shape, burning with fire. The beasts now had little strength left to help me; all they could do was keep my Ghost Domain stable. If the Ghost Domain collapsed, I might vanish from the Yin-Yang World altogether.
Nuwa once told me that the ghostly body she created for the Wraithlord was forged from the hardest Deathbane Aura condensate in the Unreal. Deathbane Aura has existed between Heaven and Earth since before their separation. When the gods split Chaos and broke open Heaven and Earth, Deathbane Aura separated out, and Nuwa used this pure substance to create humanity.
Only the Heaven-Mending Stone could restrain such a thing. When the newborn world broke open, Nuwa used the Heaven-Mending Stone to block the massive flow of Deathbane Aura from the Shattered Unreal Realm. Over time, the Heaven-Mending Stone developed a suppressive effect against such extreme forces.
The Unreal Covenant was the place where the sky broke open back then. Every world has its own consciousness, and so does the Shattered Unreal Realm. When the gods connected with the consciousness of the Shattered Unreal Realm, they established a pact to create darkness—a non-interference agreement between both worlds. Thus, the Unreal Covenant exists within the dark, serving as a contract between the two sides.
To enter the Unreal, one must go through the Unreal Covenant. The instincts born within the Unreal must also be transmitted into the Yin-Yang World through the Unreal Covenant.
I only have one chance. Though Starwatcher, this forged blade, could destroy the Wraithlord’s ghostly body, he could also use other powers to destroy Starwatcher. If the Wraithlord sensed my intent, he would stop at nothing to obliterate Starwatcher.
“Since this is the final stage, aren’t you going to step onto the field yourself?”
I asked, and the Wraithlord shook his head.
“I don’t know what you’re plotting, but I can clearly sense you’re confident of victory. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so calm. You’re very different from the Ethan Zhang I once knew.”
I widened my eyes. The Wraithlord lay down on the ground. I stared at his Inner World, trying to break through this instinct—it was far too difficult. I searched through all the threads of causality for a way, but found nothing.
“It’s time to consider another approach!”
A voice sounded in my mind—it was John Chou, but not truly him, rather his primal Battle Instinct. I nodded. Continuing this fight would be pointless, a meaningless waste of power.
I was still waiting for my strength to build, but only one thought filled my mind: since the enemy is pure instinct, I must fight with instinct too. But one instinct alone wouldn’t be enough.
“If you keep acting recklessly, you’ll burn through all our strength ahead of time.”
A female voice appeared in my mind—Expansion Instinct and Battle Instinct, sounding almost in harmony. I nodded. The world remained motionless; only when I attacked did it respond.
“It doesn’t have to be so complicated. Just use your usual way of fighting.”
A sardonic voice sounded. I nodded—Dreamtide was right. Long ago, this was how I overcame challenge after challenge. There was never any need to hesitate.
“I’m counting on you all!”
I shouted, charging straight at the Wraithlord. As expected, the world blocked my path. A streak of blood-red particles floated past my eyes, followed by a flash of crimson light—Slaughter had appeared, conjuring a blood-red sword to strike at the world. Instantly, the world split off another humanoid form, blocking Slaughter’s attack with its arm while the original world kept me at bay.
With a whoosh, two beams—one green, one multicolored—intertwined to shield me from the world’s attack. Colored light particles drifted down from the sky; Expansion Instinct and Battle Instinct instantly opened a direct path to the Wraithlord for me.
But the world soon split again. Expansion Instinct and Battle Instinct fought against the two split worlds, while another world blocked my way once more. Then a mass of black flame erupted—Malice Wraith flew out, transforming into a blazing black fire dragon that instantly devoured the world before me.
I was getting closer to the Wraithlord, but I could feel my strength nearing its limit—four instincts manifested.
“Coexistence!”
Sensing an invisible, wall-like aura, I called out. A massive, muscular half-humanoid appeared on my back, reaching out and pushing forward. With a thunderous crash, the world shook violently—the invisible wall began to collapse. The Wraithlord stood up, his gaze growing serious.
The instincts battling the world were gradually being overwhelmed, but I had to fight the Wraithlord myself.
“Dreamtide!”
Sensing the world’s aura around me, a purple humanoid figure floated out of my body, instantly transforming into ropes that bound the newly-split avatar of the world.
The Wraithlord looked surprised—I was close now. He still held his fist raised.
“Instinct... Indomitable Will!”
The Wraithlord was momentarily stunned, but I had already reached him. The ghost aura shattered instantly under the power of Indomitable Will.
“Instinct... Moonlit Reflection!”
In a flash, I moved behind the Wraithlord, just as his fist struck forward. His eyes widened—I raised my hand, a glaze-colored light shone in my palm. I used Basil Bertram’s two instincts and broke through the Wraithlord’s defenses in an instant. Indomitable Will’s trait was extreme hardness, while Moonlit Reflection plunged the Wraithlord into a hallucination.
“Got him!”
With a tearing sound, Starwatcher in my hand pierced the Wraithlord’s body from behind. In that instant, I saw it a moment ahead—the result was my Starwatcher stabbing into the Wraithlord’s ghost soul.
With a thunderous crash, violent currents surged around the Wraithlord. I gripped Starwatcher’s hilt tightly—glaze-colored currents abruptly stilled around him, and I found myself unable to move.
Instincts flew toward me—at once, the Wraithlord’s Inner World returned to his body. I knew I had only one chance and couldn’t afford to miss it.
“Instinct... Justice!”
Blue-green currents appeared all around. In an instant, Heaven and Humanity rushed toward me from both sides—wave after wave of immense power surged into my body.
I roared—instincts returned to my side, each raising a hand. Cracks appeared on my body, but I could move again. Starwatcher, still embedded in the Wraithlord’s body, hadn’t fully pierced his ghost soul. I had to drive it in completely to unleash its full power, destroy the Wraithlord’s ghost soul, and break his ghost body, trapping him in illusion.
The Wraithlord fought with savage desperation, his roar echoing through the void. Instincts around me flickered, on the verge of vanishing. I glared, forcing my body to hold together by sheer will. His power surged through me—I felt my form unraveling. If I broke, these manifested instincts would be lost forever.
“Instinct... Juchen Realm!”
Another instinct manifested—only by using Juchen Realm’s power, even for a few seconds, could I gain a better chance. My body kept cracking, then was repaired again in golden light.
The Wraithlord struggled violently, twisting his head to glare at me. The power on his body’s surface expanded wildly—cracks appeared on the instincts’ forms, and they couldn’t last much longer. Starwatcher’s power touched the Wraithlord’s ghost soul, but now I couldn’t move at all.
“Don’t even think about it, Ethan Zhang. What trick or words did you use to deceive my mother?”
I glared at the Wraithlord, my eyes burning with fury.
“It wasn’t any trick of mine. Your mother simply hoped everything could return to human hands, not yours.”
With a creaking sound, my hand gripping Starwatcher trembled violently—Starwatcher was enduring a tremendous impact, twisting in this very moment.