I was stunned, staring at Luke Ling’s thigh—half of it was missing, the exposed flesh and bone a bloody mess. Black blood dripped steadily onto the floor, yet he seemed completely unfazed, simply gazing quietly at his inexplicably shattered left leg.
"A bit of awareness."
Luke Ling said this with a laugh. Suddenly, his right leg bent, and in a flash, he appeared right in front of Lan Yin. The spot where he’d just stood was now deeply sunken.
Luke Ling raised his left hand and struck at Lan Yin’s face. I cried out in alarm, but Lan Yin didn’t move at all—he simply stood there, motionless.
I watched as Lan Yin’s cheek caved in, but then something strange happened.
"The interesting part is still to come!"
Lan Yin shouted, flicking the Phoenix Blade upward. Luke Ling’s attack was completely neutralized, and his punch seemed to vanish as if it never existed. Dodging Lan Yin’s Phoenix Blade, Luke spun in midair and landed steadily on one foot.
"Where did the power from my attack go, Lan Yin?"
Luke Ling asked, and Lan Yin suddenly burst into wild laughter. He bent slightly, raised the Phoenix Blade high with his right hand, and laughed excitedly.
"Yes, where did it disappear to?"
As they spoke, Lan Yin launched his attack. The Phoenix Blade dragged a long trail of crimson flames through the air, already reaching Luke Ling.
With a thunderous boom, the flames vanished the instant they were about to erupt. This time, I was even more bewildered—Lan Yin had struck only Luke Ling’s afterimage, while the real Luke had already moved a hundred meters to Lan Yin’s right, watching silently from afar.
Lan Yin straightened, and with a swish, slammed the Phoenix Blade into the ground. Flames ignited once more, but there was still no burst of fire—there wasn’t even the slightest sound of burning. Everything was eerily static; Lan Yin’s attack was utterly silent.
This kind of attack left everyone present—including Luke Ling’s subordinates, the Blue-Faced Men—completely astonished.
Suddenly, I saw one of the Blue-Faced Men dart toward Lan Yin’s position. He leapt high, his whole body rocketing at Lan Yin like a cannonball.
"I warned you not to step in..."
Lan Yin spoke in a low voice. The Blue-Faced Man had already rushed behind Lan Yin, fist raised.
"Fourfold..."
Suddenly, the Blue-Faced Man’s body twisted and creaked. In an instant, his head burst into a spray of blood, and two wounds on his body erupted into flames, burning in midair before gradually turning to ash.
At that moment, Lan Yin seemed relieved. He straightened up, lifted the Phoenix Blade, and faced Luke Ling. The wings on his back slowly began to flutter.
"Here it comes."
Luke Ling said nothing, simply standing there. Lan Yin’s Phoenix Blade was already stabbing toward him, but he didn’t react at all. Just as the flames were about to scorch Luke, he suddenly tiptoed and dodged Lan Yin’s attack in an instant.
Still, there was no eruption of flames. Strangely, Lan Yin didn’t attack again but stopped and drifted backward. It was as if something was weighing him down—his legs slightly bent. At that moment, a smile appeared in Luke Ling’s eyes. He raised his left hand and made a taunting gesture at Lan Yin.
"What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to attack?"
The smile vanished from Lan Yin’s face. He held the Phoenix Blade, hovering in midair, looking as if he was stuck between advancing and retreating.
"If you’re not coming, then I’ll take the initiative. It’s already been ten minutes—I don’t want to drag this out any longer."
Luke Ling said, stomping hard on the ground. With a thunderous crash, I saw him launch his attack in midair.
"Extreme... rapid strikes..."
Suddenly, a flurry of fist shadows struck at Lan Yin with incredible speed. This time, they landed—Lan Yin couldn’t dodge them all. In just a second or two, I saw countless fist marks on Lan Yin’s body, his form completely distorted, floating in midair, while Luke Ling landed back on the ground.
A series of loud pops echoed—Lan Yin’s body was bursting apart, sprays of red blood splattering everywhere. His figure in the air was utterly mangled, then, with a crack, he shattered into pieces, turning into a mass of flesh.
"If you don’t attack soon, you’ll die."
Luke Ling said, raising his fist. His eyes gleamed with excitement as he confidently turned to watch Lan Yin slowly recover.
"Did you see through it?"
Lan Yin, panting, crouched on the ground, gripping the Phoenix Blade for support.
"Ah, that strange scene when my subordinate charged in—I did understand it. In this Fourfold Black Realm, attacks don’t vanish; you store them. All attacks, friend or foe."
Luke Ling’s voice rang with confidence, and Lan Yin didn’t refute him.
"Heh, Lan Yin, just now I was wondering where my attacks went. It seems this barrier has a space invisible to everyone but you. Any attack in front of you gets transferred—not erased, but moved to a space only you can see. You store the power from those attacks, and the trigger for unleashing them is killing intent, right?"
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For a moment, I saw Lan Yin stunned. He slowly straightened, as if Luke Ling had hit the mark. Aunt Lan’s mouth hung open in shock.
"To grasp it so quickly—no wonder you’re a monster who’s lived for over two thousand years!"
At that moment, I saw Luke Ling suddenly bend over and roar. His missing right hand and left foot, slick with oozing black liquid, suddenly sprouted back with a wet pop, covered in sticky white-gray residue.
Luke Ling flexed his right hand, then lifted his left foot. Suddenly, he spun and swept his leg sideways—there was a sharp slicing sound. Lan Yin tensed, instantly flapping his wings. With a swish, I cried out in shock—Lan Yin’s right hand, gripping the Phoenix Blade, flew off as if severed.
Shouts erupted, followed by a thunderous crash. I turned to see the Ghost Burial Squad’s building split in two as if by a gigantic blade—both halves collapsed instantly, sending up clouds of dust.
"Just grew back—still not very nimble. Hard to control the force. Sorry about that."
Lan Yin clutched his injured right hand in agony, then dropped to the ground. The severed hand suddenly ignited, turning into a flame that slowly reconnected to his arm. His hand was restored once more.
"You look even more like a monster now. But I’m human."
My mind buzzed as I stared at Luke Ling. Maybe this was the biggest joke I’d ever heard, but I couldn’t laugh. Beside me, Rachel Lan watched the battle intently, her breath quick and her concern for Lan Yin obvious.
"It’s okay."
I quickly said, grabbing Rachel Lan’s hand.
"Human? Hah! That’s the biggest joke I’ve heard in my life."
After recovering, Lan Yin immediately raised the Phoenix Blade and snarled.
"Oh, is that so? I’ve only lived a few more years than most people, but I’m very much human."
Luke Ling spoke, flexing his right hand until it creaked. Suddenly, he shrugged off his suit jacket, then slowly undid the buttons of his white shirt and tossed it aside, revealing his black torso.
Luke Ling’s body was nothing like any other member of the Immortality Society I’d seen. Those sharply defined, visually striking muscles looked as if carved by a master sculptor—each one chiseled and polished, like a work of art displayed before us.
"Do you think I still have a chance to defeat myself?"
As Luke Ling spoke, I heard a clear thumping sound—his heartbeat, rising and falling in his chest.
"This thing is still asleep. I’m wondering if I should wake it up."
Luke Ling pointed at his heart. At this moment, Lan Yin seemed completely trapped. I was extremely anxious—we couldn’t intervene at all. Only Lan Yin could stand firm against Luke Ling’s onslaught, but as the damage increased, even he would eventually fall.
I saw despair creep across Lan Yin’s face—the kind of hopelessness you feel when confronted by overwhelming power. With that look of despair, he casually tossed the Phoenix Blade toward us.
Lan Yin looked like he was in agony. I saw black flames slowly dye the right half of his body black. In the end, only the black side remained, and the barrier around us—once half black, half crimson—turned completely black.
"Lan Yin..."
Rachel Lan suddenly called out. Lan Yin turned his head and gave a faint smile.