"My old man is possessing me himself?" Ryan Ling heard this and felt his blood boil all at once.
"That's right. Besides last time's King of Hell Command Token, your old man left a wisp of Yama aura with me—super badass stuff, just because he can't stand seeing his kid bullied. I think now's the perfect time to use it!" The System didn't hesitate; it waved its hand, and a mass of screaming, wolf-howling 'red flames' shot straight into Ryan.
"Son, don't panic—your old man is here!" Even inside the aura, his dad's voice rang out, warming Ryan's heart. Man, this adopted dad was seriously clutch.
In the blink of an eye, Ryan felt all that crushing pressure on his body instantly blasted away. Not only did he feel great, but it was like a thousand powers all flooded into him at once.
"Hell yeah! Old bastard, today I'm gonna wipe you out—and wipe out all of Little Hades!" Ryan roared from the depths of his soul. He shot straight into the air, grabbed wildly with one hand, and instantly shredded all the 'black whips' to pieces. Even the grandmaster gang-qi swirling in the air jumped back in shock.
"Brat, how the hell did your power get so strong so fast?" Tony "Tiger" Wang was stunned, his eyes bulging like a bull's. The other grandmaster ghosts were just as floored.
"Old bastard, you'll never know how strong I really am. In a minute, I'm gonna skin you alive and rip out your tendons in front of everyone!" Ryan sneered, then glanced over at Jason Lin, Warren Yuan, and the rest. "Guys, sorry you had to suffer. From here on out, leave everything to me!"
As soon as Ryan finished, everyone nodded hard. They could all feel the insane, overwhelming aura pouring off him, blanketing his head. It was like some giant god was watching over him.
"Big talk, kid! I've got the whole Grandmaster Cemetery backing me. Even if you had powers through the roof, you'd just be a flash in the pan—gone before you know it." Tiger Wang clearly couldn't see the real situation, and even the grandmaster ghosts were still acting all high and mighty, like they were the gods here.
Right now, Ryan wasn't holding back at all. With Lord Yama's aura backing him, he charged straight in, while Tiger Wang went full berserk mode. All the grandmaster ghosts behind him shrieked like banshees—their combined momentum was way stronger than Ryan alone.
In an instant, two top-tier powers collided head-on.
The surrounding martial artists—even the villagers of Little Hades—were all stunned. No one had ever seen such a wild clash of power. It was like the whole village was about to be destroyed.
With a thunderous crash, several houses in the middle of Little Hades collapsed, and the ground shook violently. Even the ancestral tablets in the shrine toppled over in an instant.
"That kid is definitely dead!"
"Yeah, after taking such a crazy barrage from all those grandmaster ghosts, there’s no way he survived. But he’s really something—even got the grandmaster ghosts to gang up on him. This guy’s on a whole different level from other martial artists."
"True, with the power he’s showing right now, at his age, he really deserves to be called a 'genius.' Too bad he’s up against Little Hades, and with our beloved Chief Tiger Wang around, even a genius has to fall!"
......
Right then, all the villagers of Little Hades were still backing Tiger Wang. But just as they finished talking, Tiger Wang suddenly spat out another mouthful of blood, and the old ghosts behind him were sent flying.
......
The surrounding martial artists fell flat on the ground, staring at Ryan in terror, unable to believe what they were seeing.
"Tiger Wang, you still won’t give in? Still won’t kneel and admit your crimes?" Ryan hovered in midair like a god, staring down at Tiger Wang. The chief, who’d just gotten a second wind, suddenly looked decades older—his whole body seemed ancient and frail before everyone’s eyes.
But the older he got, the more stubborn he became. Even with one foot in the grave, he refused to back down. Gritting his teeth, he stood tall and shouted, "I don’t believe I can lose with the whole Grandmaster Cemetery behind me! Little Hades is at its final hour—all grandmaster ghosts, come help me! I’ll fight this punk to the end, even if I die today!"
After saying this, Tiger Wang slowly pulled out a weird flag painted with five skulls. As soon as he waved it, the entire Grandmaster Cemetery trembled, and all kinds of ghosts started gathering around him.
"So that’s it! Tiger Wang has a Ghost-Gathering Banner—that’s why he’s been able to dominate the Grandmaster Cemetery for so long, and why all the grandmaster ghosts help him. That banner’s basically a Netherworld decree. Once it’s unfurled, it’s like the king’s command—no ghost around here would dare defy him!" Warren Yuan, who knew his ghost-path stuff, shouted this as a warning to Ryan, clearly saying the Ghost-Gathering Banner was nothing to take lightly.
Tiger Wang heard this and burst out laughing. "So someone here actually gets it! Since you know how fierce this Ghost-Gathering Banner is, you’d better surrender now. That punk might block one attack, but I bet he can’t block ten, a hundred! The banner can summon endless vengeful ghosts to serve me, and his strength will run out sooner or later. Fighting me is a dead end!"
Soon, the Ghost-Gathering Banner was packed with every ghost from the Grandmaster Cemetery. Tiger Wang’s whole body turned pitch black, his features dyed by countless spirits. Every living thing, no matter how strong, retreated. The shrine’s front yard became a hellscape.
"Dad!" Ryan was shaken—he’d never seen thousands of ghosts crawling all over one person before!
"Don’t worry, just a minor scene. I’ll handle this—you watch and learn!" Lord Yama’s aura snorted, clearly unimpressed by Tiger Wang’s tricks.
"Got it!" Ryan nodded. He knew he couldn’t handle a fight like this, but seeing Lord Yama take action was a rare treat. The aura in his body was just a drop in the ocean compared to Lord Yama’s power—he’d have to train for years to reach that level.
The road to becoming King of Hell is long—Ryan had no idea how many years he’d need to learn it all!
"All you grandmaster ghosts and vengeful spirits of the cemetery—what are you waiting for? Attack now and tear that punk apart!" Tiger Wang was ready; the Ghost-Gathering Banner whipped out, and countless ghosts lost all sense, charging at Ryan like mad flies.
But Ryan wasn’t scared at all. He watched coldly as a giant figure stepped in front of him—Lord Yama. Smiling coldly, Yama faced the onslaught, swung both fists, and unleashed a godlike punch. The force was earth-shattering; all the attacking ghosts were blasted away, some exploding instantly.
In just a blink, over nine thousand ghosts were wiped out.
Everyone watching was totally stunned!
Tiger Wang’s eyes almost popped out of his head, and he kept spitting blood. Still clutching the Ghost-Gathering Banner, he screamed, "Keep attacking! I don’t believe it—so many ghosts and we still can’t beat him! Keep attacking!"
Seeing Tiger Wang fight so desperately, Lord Yama shook his head. "Looks like I’ll have to show my real face today. Fine, I’ll let you brainless little ghosts see who I really am. All ghost-path beings, listen up—your ancestor is here! Kneel before me, or are you all planning to rebel?"
As soon as Lord Yama finished, a giant ghostly face slowly appeared in front of Ryan…