"My parents?" I looked at Master Zachary Wu in surprise. He nodded, flicked his whisk, and as golden motes of light danced around him, he strode forward, walking through the air toward us.
"Thank you for telling me, miss."
As soon as he arrived, Master Zachary Wu thanked Vivian Maple. Vivian responded coldly.
"No need. We simply share the same enemy, that's all."
"Yes, Ethan, it was your parents who brought me here. After I returned last time, I intended to withdraw from worldly affairs, but lately, as I observed the heavens at night, I sensed something was about to happen. So I came back to the mortal realm once more."
"Weren't my parents in a coma? How—?"
"Ethan, what parents do not love their child? Even though they are comatose, their concern for you reached me, so I came here."
As Master Zachary Wu spoke, I saw a massive golden talisman floating beneath his feet. He looked across to the other side.
"Junior brother, I hope you have been well."
With that, the Taoist on the other side bowed deeply and greeted him respectfully.
"Senior brother, it's been decades since we last met."
The Taoist said this, and I looked at him in surprise—I hadn't expected him to be Master Zachary Wu's junior.
"Even though it's three versus three, Ethan Zhang barely counts."
Luo Yichen, the revenant, remarked. His words made me grit my teeth in anger, but he wasn't wrong—even the weakest Taoist among the three opponents was beyond my ability to deal with.
"Ethan, you should be careful. The three on the other side are not to be underestimated. Junior brother, after all these years, your skills have improved so much."
As Master Zachary Wu spoke, he flicked his ceremonial whisk. The golden glow around his body quickly faded. I had sensed something was off—his magic was harmful to both me and Vivian Maple. Now that the glow was gone, I felt much better.
"Junior brother, I can't believe you're still mixing with those people. Have you truly forgotten our master's teachings?"
Master Zachary Wu spoke, and the Taoist shook his head.
"I've always kept our master's teachings in mind, senior brother. We grew up eating from the same pot, and though we had many disagreements, my departure years ago wasn't because of you. With our master's passing, it's time for us to go our separate ways, senior brother."
The Taoist said this as he tucked the ceremonial whisk under his left arm, then performed a salute with his left palm over his right fist. I watched in surprise, recalling that the meaning of this gesture changes depending on which hand is on top.
"Junior brother, do you truly intend to go through with this?"
Master Zachary Wu's expression darkened. He sighed and slowly raised both hands—his right hand clenched in a fist, his left in a palm—and returned the salute.
This was a fight to the death. I remembered: left fist over right palm means a friendly match, but right fist over left palm means a duel to the death.
"Disciple of Master Zhiqing, Zhang Anle, respectfully greets the immortal master. Today's battle with my senior, Master Zachary Wu, will sever all ties—life and death are left to fate..."
I watched the Taoist as he spoke solemnly. He held his fists together, stepped forward with his right foot, traced a Taiji symbol on the ground, then withdrew his foot, bowed deeply, pressed his palms together, and kowtowed three times toward the rising sun before standing and looking our way.
Master Zachary Wu looked grim. He set down his ceremonial whisk, tucked it under his right elbow, and raised his fists, shouting loudly.
"Disciple of Master Zhiqing, Master Zachary Wu, respectfully greets the immortal master. Today's battle with my junior, Zhang Anle, will sever all ties—life and death are left to fate..."
With that, Master Zachary Wu suddenly tore off a corner of his robe with a ripping sound and tossed the cloth into the air. Zhang Anle did the same, tearing off a piece of his robe and throwing it up.
The two strips of cloth fluttered in the wind, slowly drifting down.
"Let's move elsewhere. If those two start fighting here, it will be nothing but trouble for you, Miss Vivian, and for me as a revenant."
As Luo Yichen spoke, Vivian Maple never took her eyes off him, watching him intently without a moment's relaxation.
"Ethan, you help that old Taoist. Leave those two to me."
Vivian Maple said resolutely, then, with a sharp sound, drew her blade and charged toward the opponents.
"Haven't you ever heard of 'Tian Ji's Horse Racing,' Miss Vivian?"
As Vivian Maple flashed in front of Luo Yichen, I widened my eyes—there was something beside me.
"Ethan, be careful!"
Master Zachary Wu shouted, and with a splash, a clump of mud spattered beside me.
"I don't like little bugs buzzing around my ears. So, Ethan Zhang, you'd better lie down."
I immediately unleashed my Deathbane Aura, but at that moment, a lump of mud stuck to my body. I cried out in shock.
"At the summit of infinity—Purple Lightning Thunder..."
A crackling sound filled the air. Master Zachary Wu suddenly attacked, wielding his ceremonial whisk and charging at me, a ball of golden lightning crackling in his hand.
"Is this really wise? Old Taoist, Ethan Zhang might be obliterated along with you."
Instantly, Master Zachary Wu stopped in midair, the golden lightning in his hand still crackling. His gaze, sharp as a sword, was fixed on me, full of worry.
"Senior brother, you don't have time to worry about others now."
With a loud shout, Zhang Anle drew his magic sword, lightly stepped onto it, and, flicking his ceremonial whisk, flew toward us.
"Thirty-six at the extreme, with two weights—hup!"
As Zhang Anle roared, his ceremonial whisk emitted bursts of silvery thorns. Master Zachary Wu immediately dispersed the golden lightning in his hand, crouched, and stepped forward with his right foot, drawing a golden Eight Trigram Formation before him.
This chapter isn't over ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!
"It's useless, senior brother. Feel the power I've gained."
Suddenly, my mouth hung open as I stared in shock at blood spraying through the air. Master Zachary Wu threw his head back, his body slashed open by the silvery thorns, his robe instantly shredded.
With a loud smack, Zhang Anle's ceremonial whisk struck Master Zachary Wu's shoulder, sending him flying backward.
I couldn't move at all, as if I were being absorbed. Luo Yichen had completely transformed into a mass of mud. My whole body trembled as my strength was rapidly drained.
With a whoosh, Vivian Maple appeared beside me, raising her blade. This time, I finally saw clearly—two crossed slashes, a double attack, and two streaks of green blade light appeared.
"Quadruple Extremity..."
Suddenly, I heard a piercing shout, and with a squelch, a black fist emerged from the mud—it was Wei Chengwu.
With a thunderous roar, a ring of energy blasted out. I saw Vivian Maple fly backward, and the two surrounding buildings and the ground seemed to explode. Glass shattered, buildings collapsed, and Wei Chengwu immediately soared through the air, charging toward where Vivian had been thrown.
"Ethan Zhang, you should heed good advice. If you're weak, admit it. There's no place for you on this stage today."
Luo Yichen spoke, his eyes fierce. I saw the muddy hand clinging to my chest suddenly swell as if inflated, rumbling loudly. My body started to shake from the immense force—I stared wide-eyed.
Even my Ghost Soul began to wail—I could hear it clearly.
With a deafening roar, a blinding white light erupted. I had no idea what happened—I'd lost all sensation, as if everything inside me had been drained in an instant.
I watched my skin and bones slowly disintegrate, turning to dust and crashing to the ground in the white light.
"What just happened?" I stared in astonishment—my body had reverted completely to human form, utterly drained of strength, unable to even move a finger. I lay on the ground, looking up at the sky as Luo Yichen slowly descended, the mud shrinking around him.
A man in black-and-white casual clothes, looking clean and fresh, with a square jaw and handsome features, squatted beside me, his smile bright and sunny, his build well-proportioned.
"Ethan Zhang, you've met Lance Quinn, right? He's a real piece of work, isn't he? I can smell his scent on you."
"Are you one of the Nine Extremes of the Corpse Realm?"
I immediately realized this guy was powerful—just like Lance Quinn. He also knew Vivian Maple and was a revenant.
"Oh, you know me? Haha, Luna Quay probably told you about me. Times have changed, Ethan Zhang. If you see Lance Quinn, tell him not to bother looking for us—we've decided to leave the three major clans of the Nether Syndicate."
I gaped, completely at a loss.
"Haha, for now, though, it's Miss Vivian who's the real trouble. That last move really pissed her off. I should go help her out. Ethan Zhang, just stay put."
With that, Luo Yichen stood up and looked into the distance. With a thunderous crash, a massive blade light sliced the moving building into countless pieces. A figure flew toward us, crashing to the ground and leaving a huge crater.
It was Wei Chengwu. He crawled out of the dust, blood streaming from his body.