"It's been two months now, Ethan Zhang. Is it still the same?"
Isabelle Frost hovered in the air while I sat on the ground. One year and two months had passed. In the Forest of Desire, I was beaten down by Isabelle Frost every single day, unable to get back up, forced to silently endure. Two months had gone by, and I still couldn't defend against her attacks. There were a few times I nearly dodged, but I still got hit.
I staggered to my feet and headed toward the dining area. Dusk had already fallen, and night would soon arrive. I planned to rest for the next few days and seriously think about a strategy.
After I finished eating, Isabelle Frost finally walked over and began to eat as well. I watched her silently from the side. Meticulous, precise—these four words described her perfectly. For the past two months, she had been extremely strict, never giving me any hints.
"Miss Frost, haven't you finished reading your books yet? You can go out and fetch some more if you want. I'm planning to take a break for a few days."
Isabelle Frost looked at me, then nodded.
That night, the Octagonal Tower was pitch black. Isabelle Frost was nowhere to be found—she must have gone outside. In the entire Forest of Desire, I was the only one left.
But then I remembered that other guy. He hadn't shown up in ages, which was odd. Lying in bed, I couldn't sleep, so I got up and decided to wander the forest for a while.
I began to think carefully. Several times, I had almost dodged Isabelle Frost's attacks. There was only one answer: my Specter Web had been greatly strengthened through constant clashes with her. My perception was growing sharper. As soon as I closed my eyes, everything within thirty meters around me became crystal clear.
Even the ground, the stones beneath the leaves—I could see them all clearly. The entire terrain formed a three-dimensional map in my mind; I knew exactly what was hidden within.
So, several times, I sensed Isabelle Frost's movements. She was incredibly fast, but as I gradually understood, her speed was still not as quick as Victor Duan's—just a bit slower. Even so, I couldn't keep up. And she was far more formidable than Victor Duan.
Every strike landed precisely on my Ghost Soul. But taking these hits every day did have some effect—I felt my resilience growing, and my Ghost Soul was recovering faster.
Before, it would take until the next day or even the third or fourth day for my Ghost Soul to fully recover. Now, if the damage was minor, it could heal completely in just an hour or two.
Recently, the worst injury happened when I unleashed all my power and managed to locate Isabelle Frost. I almost dodged her, but she must have lost control in her urgency and hit me so hard I couldn't get up.
That time, the most severe injury took only half a night to heal. By the next day, I was back to full strength.
"Your intentions are way too obvious."
Just then, a delicate girl's voice rang out. I looked around in surprise.
"We've known each other for so long. Aren't you going to come out and meet me?"
I asked, and the girl burst out laughing.
"Not coming out. I'll wait until that woman leaves. You should try harder, but don't be so obvious about your intentions. If you make it that clear you want to attack, do you think she's stupid?"
I let out a sound, and the girl's voice gradually faded, her laughter echoing through the forest.
Something seemed to click in my mind. I ran quickly back to the Octagonal Tower—still pitch dark, Isabelle Frost hadn't returned. I didn't feel like sleeping, so I went to the river, drank some water, and sat down. The moon reflected crookedly in the flowing water.
Now all I could do was wait for Isabelle Frost to come back. My intentions? Before, I just wanted to attack her. Ever since I became a ghost, my attacks were always tinged with hostility, mixed with killing intent—something I never had as a human.
Since becoming a ghost, my killing intent grew stronger and stronger. Often, it would unconsciously pour out from my body. This was the biggest change as an Evil Ghost—my attacks carried killing intent.
Suddenly, I stood up in shock, raising a hand. With a flick, a black wind blade shot out, slicing through a Desire Tree with a clean cut.
An icy, overwhelming killing intent. I swallowed hard, staring at my hand. In that instant, a strange feeling surged up—destruction, annihilation, the urge to kill—these emotions flooded my mind.
I looked at my trembling hand. Now, I seemed to understand—I was a ghost, yet still unaware of myself. Clearly, I had become an Evil Ghost, and now the killing intent pouring out of me made my Deathbane Aura spill uncontrollably from my body.
My Deathbane Aura thrashed violently. All around me, black wind blades and black ice crystals appeared in the air, automatically streaming out from my Specter Webs.
I took a deep breath. In this state, I was like a lit powder keg—killing intent kept surging from within.
Black flames began to burn outward from beneath my feet, evaporating the river water with their heat. On my shoulders, two pitch-black snakes flicked their tongues—my power was completely out of control, all triggered by my killing intent.
I didn't control any of it—the killing intent just kept pouring out freely. Gradually, my eyes turned blood-red, and inside, that violent urge to destroy everything started to dominate my thoughts.
Suddenly, I started laughing—maniacally, uncontrollably, my mouth wide open. The forest, the trees, the earth around me were swept up in my power. The whole Forest of Desire began to distort, with me at its center.
The power seemed endless, surging out of me nonstop. Whenever my Ghost Soul released a bit of energy, it was instantly replenished.
The sensation was utterly strange. I slowly rose into the air, spreading my Deathbane Wings, looking down at the Forest of Desire below as it was devoured by Deathbane Aura, wind blades, and flames, all while laughing wildly.
My mind was filled with killing intent—an endless sea of blood-red rage. I felt more and more exhilarated.
Suddenly, a flash of green light appeared beside me—Isabelle Frost materialized. I looked at her.
"It seems you've started to understand, Ethan Zhang."
I roared, swinging my Hell's Sentinel at Isabelle Frost. But in that instant, all the raging power around me vanished.
With a rush and a clang, I crashed to the ground. The river splashed, the earth cracked, and I raised my hand, feeling numbness ripple through me. But just now, I had truly blocked Isabelle Frost's attack.
I started laughing again, unable to stop. Isabelle Frost slowly descended.
At that moment, the full moon in the sky was tinged with crimson all around. I stood before Isabelle Frost, brandishing Hell's Sentinel, laughing madly as I swung at her.
With a swish, a black light flared behind me, shrinking toward the Hell's Sentinel I swung. My face was twisted with wild excitement as I laughed and struck down.
Split in two—Isabelle Frost's green staff left a gash on her body. I had done it; the third stage was finally over.
The Isabelle Frost before me turned into a wisp of smoke and vanished. The real Isabelle Frost stood far away, coldly watching me, holding her broken staff. With a wave, it dispersed.
"Thank you, Miss Frost, for these two months of training."
Isabelle Frost raised her hand and tossed me a phone glowing with green light. It buzzed loudly in midair until I caught it.
"At last, you've grown, Ethan Zhang. For ghosts, combat isn't just about raw power. More important is..."
"Killing intent..."
Before Isabelle Frost could finish, I spoke up. Then, gradually, I withdrew Hell's Sentinel and reined in my power. I finally understood what she was trying to teach me—mastery of force, the hardware, and mastery of killing intent, the software. Sometimes icy cold, sometimes raging like fire—this was what I needed to control.
Now, I had achieved both. Killing intent must be released in the heat of battle, when crushing the enemy. Power surges with killing intent. Just now, my killing intent had manifested—black, emotionless, all-consuming.
At this moment, I saw the Octagonal Tower in the distance dissolve into white light, fading into the forest. Isabelle Frost glowed red, and a giant Red Spider Lily bloomed at her feet, closing around her and wrapping her up.
"These are the only two things I can teach you. Go and explore, Ethan Zhang—create something that's truly your own."
Isabelle Frost's voice echoed all around, then she vanished.
"Yeah, I will. Things are only going to get tougher from here."