It was still the overseeing voice making announcements, but this time it reported five consecutive true kills—all by the same person: Gavin Jiang. That was terrifying. Killing five System Hosts in a row—just how strong had he become?
In the days that followed,
Gavin Jiang kept on killing, and the number of System Hosts he’d slain had reached one hundred and three. He was already an eighteenth-layer Ancestral Immortal, and now, after stealing one-tenth of the cultivation and three divine abilities from each of those 103 Hosts, his power was almost at the nineteenth layer.
Mindy Zhang was chasing Gavin’s kill count fast; she’d already taken down eighty-seven Hosts.
Henry He, who used to be third, had already been overtaken.
The one who passed him was Ethan Ye, who had now killed eighty-one Hosts.
Honestly, Ethan Ye was a ruthless one too. If he saw Ian Song now, he’d probably attack on sight.
"Not good!"
Xavier Cheng suddenly cried out in alarm.
"What’s wrong?"
Someone asked.
"Someone’s found us!" Xavier Cheng said, face darkening. "There are thirty people outside surrounding us. They haven’t attacked yet—probably waiting for us to come out on our own!"
"In that case, let’s go out!"
Ian Song let out a light sigh. He hadn’t wanted more killing, but with enemies coming to his door, he had no choice but to fight. Actually, there was another reason he didn’t want to kill—if he broke through to nineteenth-layer Ancestral Immortal here, he wouldn’t be able to stay in the Immortal World much longer after returning.
With a flicker of movement, Ian Song and his fourteen companions stepped out from the pocket world.
"Brother Ye—it’s actually you!"
Seeing Ethan Ye leading the group, Ian Song was a bit surprised. Compared to before, Ethan’s eyes now faintly glowed red, and his once warm, jade-like aura had turned cold and ruthless.
"How did you find us?"
Xavier Cheng asked.
"It’s simple. I planted a few little tricks on some of you earlier," Ethan Ye replied calmly.
"So why did you come looking for us? To kill us?"
Xavier Cheng pressed, his face growing even darker.
"Since you already know, why bother asking?" Ethan Ye chuckled, then turned to Ian Song. "Brother Song, you and I hit it off right away—why not bring Miss Mona Meng and join us?"
"Brother Song, you should just leave!"
Ian Song could only shake his head helplessly.
Another System Host said coldly, "Ian Song, don’t be ungrateful. Brother Ye is inviting you out of kindness—you should be honored!"
Ethan Ye raised his hand and smiled, "Since Brother Song doesn’t want to join, I won’t force it. But you and Miss Mona Meng can still leave. So—are you leaving, or staying?"
"I appreciate your kindness, Brother Ye, but I’d prefer if you withdrew instead," Ian Song said, frowning.
"Brother Ye, why waste words on someone so ungrateful? Just kill him already!" another System Host shouted.
"Ah, since Brother Song won’t accept my goodwill, I’ll have to offend you!"
Ethan Ye’s eyes went cold, killing intent flashing. He’d been willing to let Ian Song go—not because he truly felt a connection, but because Ian was too mysterious, and Ethan didn’t want to take the risk.
But after being repeatedly refused, anger welled up, and he decided to kill Ian Song—even if it meant revealing some of his trump cards.
The thirty-five Hosts behind Ethan Ye had all killed plenty already.
Seeing Ethan finally make up his mind, they couldn’t hold back and charged at Ian Song’s group.
"Brother Ye, is this really necessary?"
Ian Song sighed softly. He glanced at the thirty-five System Hosts—and instantly, they all froze in place. With a wave of his hand, every Substitute Life Talisman and Storage Ring on their bodies flew into his grasp.
"This... how is this possible?!"
Ethan Ye was stunned for a moment. Even though he’d already overestimated Ian Song’s strength, Ian was dozens of times more powerful than he’d imagined.
Realizing this, Ethan Ye sprang into action, rushing to kill the immobilized Hosts first—hoping to seize their cultivation and divine abilities before Ian could.
"Brother Ye, you’ve really let me down!"
Ian Song sighed again. Ethan Ye also froze in place, and with a wave of Ian’s hand, Ethan’s Substitute Life Talisman and Storage Ring flew into Ian’s grasp.
Although Ethan Ye gained one-tenth of the cultivation from more than eighty people, his soul power didn’t grow—in fact, the rapid increase in cultivation forced him to burn even more soul strength to keep control.
So he still couldn’t match Ian Song’s soul-type divine ability.
"Pfft!"
The next moment, Ian Song raised his hand and killed Ethan Ye. As for the others, he left them for Mona Meng and the rest to finish off.
News of Ethan Ye’s death spread through that mysterious voice.
Ian Song’s name, once unknown, now rang out across the battlefield. After all, Ethan Ye had been ranked third among the ‘butchers’—for Ian to kill him was no ordinary feat.
"There are seven left—they’re all yours!"
Soon, Mona Meng and the others killed twenty-eight of the controlled Hosts—about two per person.
This time, Ian Song didn’t hesitate—he simply killed the remaining ones himself.
After all, they’d come to kill him—there was no need to show mercy.
Including Ethan Ye, Ian Song now qualified for another twenty-four points.
"Are we going to keep hiding?"
Mona Meng asked.
"No more hiding! It’s time to deal with Gavin Jiang and Mindy Zhang. Compared to erasing memories and cultivation, true death is worse!"
Ian Song declared—he’d decided to end the Immortal Kingdom War.
Gavin Jiang wasn’t hard to find—mainly because he hadn’t bothered to hide.
Of course, he had no reason to hide. Faced with someone so deadly, every other Host was afraid of him.
Soon enough—
Ian Song led Mona Meng and the others straight to Gavin Jiang.
Gavin Jiang was already extremely powerful. After killing over a hundred people, his cultivation was now nearly at the nineteenth-layer Ancestral Immortal. Yet unlike Ethan Ye’s cold ruthlessness, Gavin seemed friendly and approachable.
There were ninety-nine people at his side, including Mindy Zhang—who ranked second on the kill leaderboard.
It seemed Gavin Jiang intended to claim all of the top hundred spots in the Immortal Kingdom War for himself.
"Ian Song?"
Gavin Jiang looked at him and smiled.
"That’s right!"
Ian Song nodded.
"If I’m not mistaken, we had a secret clash back in the last Trial World," Gavin Jiang said calmly.
"That’s right."
Ian Song nodded again.
"So, have you come to join me this time?"
Gavin Jiang asked, half smiling.
"No. I’ve come to kill you!"
Ian Song replied gravely. He could tell Gavin Jiang was extraordinary—after stealing so much cultivation, Gavin remained unaffected, meaning his soul power must also be formidable.
"How dare you disrespect Master!"
Mindy Zhang shouted angrily.
Hearing Mindy Zhang call Gavin Jiang ‘Master,’ Ian Song glanced at the other Hosts and found they all seemed to hold Gavin in awe. He recalled how Gavin had recruited many Hosts back in the Trial World—could these be the same ones he’d been training since then?
If that was true, then Gavin Jiang’s scheming was truly frightening.