In that instant, as Ryan Ling shouted, the ghosts unleashed by the onmyōji all froze in confusion. With his full Seventh-Grade Spirit Officer uniform plus the Infernal Glass Ghost-General Armor, the ghostly aura pouring off him was so intense it even outclassed the spirits themselves. No wonder they panicked.
It was like Ryan had suddenly morphed into a 'Ghost King'—how could those spirits not freak out?
"Who the hell is this kid?" Hiroshi Ampei's face went pale. He'd grown up surrounded by this kind of ghostly energy, so he knew it well. Even when his grandfather Shinsuke Abe was at his peak, he couldn't release such a fierce ghost-qi, but now Ryan had totally surpassed him.
Right now, the onmyōji were completely stunned!
"Lord Abe, he... he doesn't seem human at all. He comes from Hell—we're not his match!" One older onmyōji stammered, voice shaking.
"Impossible! No way!" Hiroshi Ampei clenched his teeth. Raised under the aura of a genius onmyōji, he'd never lost in his field. That's why he was called 'Little Yama.' Coming to China today, he refused to lose—he saw Chinese celestial masters as totally washed up, and believed Japanese onmyōji would rule China.
That was one of his main reasons for joining Mitsui Group and coming to China.
So when he hit a snag like this, there was no way he'd back down!
"All of you, attack! Keep gnawing at his soul—kill, kill, kill!" Hiroshi Ampei shouted, determined to fight Ryan Ling to the bitter end.
In a flash, the ghosts and vengeful spirits he unleashed regrouped. Hiroshi Ampei's talent for soul-refining was top-tier—so even under Ryan's crushing aura, the number of attacking spirits didn't drop, it actually increased. It was like they'd been brainwashed, swarming at Ryan Ling.
"Looks like you guys need a little lesson. Time to show you what I'm made of—Hell Furnace, open!" Ryan Ling grinned coldly and hauled out a massive furnace. Instantly, hellfire roared to life. He could now fully control the Furnace, and the flames inside came in different grades—right now, he was using the basic hellfire.
Ryan had already experimented with the Hell Furnace before—its flames came in basic, intermediate, advanced, and top-tier levels, each with different power. But for these wild ghosts, even the basic hellfire was more than enough!
In an instant, thousands of ghosts started chattering their teeth. No matter how much Hiroshi Ampei drove them from behind, they didn't dare move—in fact, most tried to run away!
"Now you want to run? Too late! Burn!" Ryan bellowed. The whole area became a mountain of fire—ghosts vanished in a flash, their souls wiped out.
And not just the ghosts—the onmyōji around them got swept up in the inferno too!
Even Hiroshi Ampei was stunned. He staggered back, eyes wide with terror and frustration, and let out a furious howl.
"Lord Abe, fall back! That guy's a demon straight out of Hell—we're no match for him!" a loyal onmyōji shouted, yanking Hiroshi Ampei out of the fire.
In a split second, every onmyōji except Hiroshi Ampei was swallowed by the flames.
"President, things have gone south—you'd better pull back!" Upstairs, the Mitsui executives started to panic. Ryan Ling's power was way beyond anything they'd expected; even Japan's pride, the onmyōji, couldn't stand against him.
Meanwhile, the Chinese martial artists watching were fired up. They couldn't see exactly what Ryan Ling was doing, but hearing the onmyōji scream and watching them get burned alive left a huge impression.
For Chinese martial artists, Japanese onmyōji were basically a forbidden zone.
Eighty years ago, China and Japan went to war. On the surface it was a clash of armies, but behind the scenes, the outcome was really decided by battles between the two countries' martial grandmasters and the war between Japanese onmyōji and Chinese celestial masters.
Back then, China's grandmasters scored a huge victory—wiping out over a hundred Purple Realm masters, dozens of Void Realm experts, and even some top-tier elites. That win pretty much sealed the fate of the whole war.
But the Chinese celestial masters paid a brutal price—tons of casualties, and in the end, the grandmasters had to rush in and sacrifice several Void Realm experts, even losing a few top names from the national Heaven Ranking, just to wipe out those onmyōji and secure the win.
And the Japanese onmyōji? There were barely more than a dozen of them!
That kind of heavy loss made China's top brass deeply wary of Japanese onmyōji.
That's why, when Japan brazenly seized Shark-Hook Island a while back, the Chinese government didn't strike back—one big reason was the fear that Japanese onmyōji might launch a surprise attack!
Now, Ryan Ling had wiped out so many onmyōji single-handedly. That achievement was basically as good as taking back Shark-Hook Island—China's whole martial world got its pride back, and it was a massive morale boost!
At that moment, the Chinese martial artists couldn't help but cheer. On the sidelines, Rose Yates saw the whole thing—Ryan's mysterious, overwhelming methods left her in disbelief.
Before, when Anqi Chen called him a 'god,' Rose didn't buy it. But now, she was totally convinced!
Ryan Ling's supernatural moves were way beyond anything a normal martial artist could pull off.
"Hiroshi Ampei, what the hell are you doing? Are you trying to disgrace all Japanese onmyōji? If you lose, how will you face your grandfather Shinsuke Abe!" Upstairs, Chiharu Mitsui ignored all calls to retreat and instead stormed onto the high platform, shouting at Hiroshi Ampei.
Losing three Purple Realm grandmasters was already a huge humiliation.
If every onmyōji got killed, that would be a full-blown national disgrace!
In that instant, Hiroshi Ampei's veins bulged as he roared, "Japanese onmyōji will never lose! I don't care where you're from—even if you're Hell's Yama, I'll skin you alive! Evil Generals, come forth! Fight for me, fight for Japan—kill!"
Hiroshi Ampei had snapped. He bit his finger and started frantically scribbling on a half-meter-wide talisman—his strongest move, and the ultimate secret technique of Japanese onmyōji.
This was the same move that had once cost China a terrible price.
As he scribbled the talisman, a bunch of freakish, terrifying Evil Generals leapt out—they weren't human, but native Japanese evil deities, worshipped as gods and totally outside the cycle of reincarnation.
Right then, the System piped up like a military advisor, briefing Ryan Ling: these Evil Generals weren't the strongest—back in the old China-Japan war, the summoned evil gods were even fiercer. But with Ryan's current power and his Ghost-Head Greatsaber, he could totally handle this batch!
Ryan could hear not just the cheers of the Chinese martial artists around him, but also the voices of elders who'd died decades ago fighting Japanese onmyōji—like they were all rooting for him.
"Evil Generals—kill, kill, kill! Wipe out that brat!" Hiroshi Ampei howled madly. Ten Evil Generals instantly surrounded Ryan Ling. These weren't ordinary onmyōji—Evil Generals were China's weak spot.
"I don't know if Ryan Ling can hold out—my grandfather died to these terrifying Evil Generals. It was brutal!"
"These Japanese sorceries are terrifying. If you're wounded, it's certain death—their evil is off the charts. Some of them even swallow grandmasters alive!"
"I wish I could fight alongside Ryan Ling. Is all of Jiangdong Province really relying on just him to take on the Japanese? Where's the Azure Dragon Society—the so-called guardians of Jiangdong?"
The Chinese martial artists were fired up and anxious, but all they could do was watch—no one could help!
"Even if you're Yama himself, today I'll scatter your soul—Evil Generals, eat him alive!" Hiroshi Ampei screamed, as Ryan Ling was completely surrounded. No escape above or below, and even the Netherworld aura he'd released was being devoured by the Evil Generals...