"What the hell is going on?" Mason Ma was stunned, almost dizzy—he wasn’t the only one; even the Orthodox Unity Patriarch was caught off guard by the scene.
But before he could react, several golden beams swept out, blasting apart countless green, ghostly heads one after another. The rest of the fierce ghosts scrambled to retreat, shaking all over like they’d met their natural enemy—too terrified to do anything but tremble!
"Patriarch, hurry up and wipe him out!" Mason Ma was so panicked he was spinning in circles, but what shocked him even more was that the Orthodox Unity Patriarch seemed completely spooked—standing there trembling, not daring to move a muscle!
In just a couple blinks, those golden beams had already smashed through all the fierce ghosts’ defenses—the Ten-Thousand-Ghost Grand Art was basically dead. Ryan Ling burst out like a golden war god, swinging his sword and pulverizing a thousand heads in one slash. The whole crowd was stunned; the Taiyi Sect and Golden Immortal Sect people practically dropped to their knees, treating Ryan like a living deity.
"Orthodox Unity Daoist Sect—today, you’d better confess and submit!" Ryan Ling flicked his sword, his Ghost-General armor clanking, the blade pointed straight at the phantom of the Orthodox Unity Patriarch.
The Orthodox Unity Patriarch didn’t dare show the slightest disrespect. He finally spoke: "Lord Ghost-General, I didn’t realize you were gracing us with your presence. Please forgive my ignorance. For today’s events, Orthodox Unity will reopen the investigation and give Warren Yuan proper justice!"
"Justice? Hahaha!" Ryan Ling burst out laughing.
Beside him, Mason Ma broke out in a cold sweat—he knew exactly how much weight the title 'Ghost-General' carried.
"Now you want to investigate? Now you want justice? Too late! Warren Yuan always put the sect first—even after you kicked him out for no reason, he still cared about Orthodox Unity and never complained. This time he went through hell just to come home, to do something for the sect. And how did you treat him? You tried to squeeze him dry, and you even wanted to attack me? You must be blind!" Ryan Ling shot Mason Ma a glare. "You bunch of bastards—all of you deserve to die! You should all go straight to the Eighteenth Level of Hell!"
"Patriarch, save me!" Mason Ma was scared out of his wits and dove behind the Orthodox Unity Patriarch.
The Orthodox Unity Patriarch steadied himself and quickly said, "Lord Ghost-General, I admit Orthodox Unity has made mistakes, but you’ve already killed plenty—shouldn’t that be enough? Besides, I’m the Underworld Mountain God of Dragonridge now; Hell itself gave me an official plaque. Since we’re both Netherworld colleagues, can’t we just let this go...?"
"Let it go? You think I’m a three-year-old? When you tried to wipe me out with the Ten-Thousand-Ghost Grand Art just now, were you thinking about letting it go? Mason Ma is vile, but you—this muddle-headed, self-serving excuse for a Patriarch—are even worse. I’m stripping you of your Underworld Mountain God title right now!" As Ryan Ling spoke, his blade slashed down hard.
"You dare? You might be a Ghost-General, but you don’t have the authority to execute me! I’m officially appointed by Hell, and I’m also a Western Selection Officer—" The Patriarch hadn’t finished speaking when Ryan Ling’s demon-slaying sword came slashing down at his head.
There was a crisp ‘swish’—but the demon-slaying sword couldn’t touch his soul-body at all, just sliced through like it was cotton. Ryan Ling felt like he’d stabbed a pile of fluff.
"You think you can kill me with a mere mortal sword? You really underestimate me!" The Patriarch sneered, then continued his earlier threat: "I’m a Western Selection Officer under the Western Pacifying King—if you dare to kill me, the King will definitely..."
Right then, the System suddenly shouted, "Stop arguing—use the Hell Furnace to destroy him! Do it now!"
It was the first time Ryan had ever seen the System so agitated. He didn’t hesitate—grabbed the Orthodox Unity Patriarch and shoved him straight into the Hell Furnace.
"Hell Furnace? Western Pacifying King’s been searching for ages—how is it in your hands? Who the hell are you?" The Patriarch barely got the words out before his soul-body vanished in a puff of smoke.
"System, who the hell is this Western Pacifying King? Don’t tell me Hell actually has its own Wu Sangui?" Ryan Ling was stumped, totally confused.
The System sighed, "It’s way too complicated. You’re not ready to touch this stuff yet—just focus on your job in the human world. I’ll handle the aftermath for you."
The System didn’t say anything more, and Ryan Ling knew better than to ask.
With the most powerful Patriarch wiped out, only Mason Ma was left. He was already deathly pale, his cultivation scattered, half his three souls and seven spirits gone. He just stood there, giggling blankly at the ruined Orthodox Unity Daoist Sect.
"Old Yuan, you do it—end him and close out your karmic mess with Orthodox Unity!" Ryan Ling looked at Warren Yuan and handed him the demon-slaying sword. Even with his Dao root shattered, Warren could still swing a sword just fine.
Right now, the demon-slaying sword wasn’t suited for Ryan Ling anymore—better to give it to Warren Yuan, who could use it to cut down demons and evil.
But as Warren Yuan gripped the sword, facing his once-close senior brother—now his enemy, Mason Ma—his feelings were a tangled mess. Warren was tough on the outside but soft inside; Orthodox Unity was still his root. He hated Mason Ma and his son to the bone, but actually striking the blow was more than he could bear.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to kill him—just that with Orthodox Unity destroyed, if he also killed Mason Ma, there’d be nothing left to hold onto.
But as he hesitated, Mason Ma suddenly charged at him, eyes wild, aiming straight for the sword. He screamed like a madman, "It’s over—everything’s over! There’s no more Orthodox Unity, no more Mason Ma in this world! Warren Yuan, I’m paying back all my debts!"
With that, he threw himself onto the sword—there was a wet smack as the blade pierced his chest, killing him instantly.
Immediately, Warren Yuan’s body convulsed, his throat went sweet, and he vomited a mouthful of old blood before collapsing, completely unconscious.
……
Three days later, the Orthodox Unity incident finally began to settle down. Warren Yuan’s spirit had recovered a bit, but the destruction of Orthodox Unity was a huge deal. To minimize the fallout, the sect was renamed the Righteous Unity Daoist Sect—“righteous qi” meaning the pure energy of heaven and earth. Even though Mason Ma had run things into the ground, some senior brothers still had a sense of justice. So Warren Yuan became the new sect master, gathering the old brothers and opening the doors to new disciples. It was the best possible outcome.
At Warren Yuan’s insistence, Ryan Ling was made the founding patriarch of the new Righteous Unity Daoist Sect. Ryan accepted gladly, but the urgent matter was to restore Warren’s Dao root—and it had to be soon, or the root would rot and Warren would be finished.
Luckily, Ryan had the perfect material: the demon-snake spine from the serpent he killed last time in Peachvale. He’d stored its flesh and bones in the Demon-Snaring Bowl, and its spine was ideal for the graft.
Once the new spine was attached, not only would Warren Yuan’s strength recover—it’d multiply several times over.
But bone-setting was a serious skill, and Ryan Ling clearly didn’t have it. He knew the legendary physician Hua Tuo, but Hua Tuo was now a ghost doctor—he could prescribe miracle pills, but helping out in the human world was out of the question.
"If we want Warren Yuan’s Dao root fixed here in Dragonridge, there’s only one person for the job: the Bone-Setting Saint Hand, Simon Sun!"
"That’s true, but Simon Sun is notoriously hard to approach. Most people can’t even get a meeting. Mason Ma’s son had his Dao root shattered—Mason personally begged him, and Simon Sun didn’t even give him the time of day!"
"Right, but Warren Yuan’s condition is getting worse. We have to find Simon Sun, no matter what!"
The Taiyi Sect and Golden Immortal Sect folks started chiming in—they’d all become diehard Ryan Ling fans after the Orthodox Unity showdown.
"Whatever it takes, let me meet Simon Sun first. Even if I have to beg, I’ll get him here!" Ryan Ling said firmly, and everyone sprang into action.
Night fell over Dragonridge City. Ryan Ling returned home, brow furrowed—he’d just gotten word that Simon Sun refused to see him. Word was, his wife had recently passed away and he wasn’t seeing anyone.
If they waited any longer, Warren Yuan really would be crippled for good. On the way back, Ryan kept turning it over in his mind—if all else failed, he’d have to try it himself.
"Ryan, still stressing over Warren? What if I told you I have a way—would you believe me?" Suddenly, Angie Chen slapped him on the back.
"You have a way? Spill it!" Ryan Ling was startled, then pressed her urgently.
"I’ll tell you, but it’s been days since you’ve touched me. I’m dying for it!" Angie Chen said, slapping her own backside with shameless flirtation.