The wind was like a blade, ceaselessly tearing at the scorched earth. In the distance, the sky had split open, and blue flames ignited the night. It was past midnight; the Nine-Tailed Fox was still battling the Wraithlord, completely suppressing him, while the Blueflame Warden and Eugenia quietly waited nearby.
The supernatural beasts couldn’t use their full strength, all restraining their power. If they unleashed too much, they’d be expelled from this world. I stood quietly at the pavilion near the apartment building, helping Rachel Lan recover her vitality. At last, Zhong Kui could move again; Yixue Han and the Earthly Soul were also recuperating.
"Do you really have a way to deal with that guy?"
The Ghostworm muttered. I nodded, and Rachel Lan looked at me gently. I smiled at her.
"Ethan Zhang, your body..."
I nodded. Everyone present could see it—my body had no physical substance, and in their eyes, I must have looked strange.
"We’ll talk after all this is over."
Seeing Rachel Lan’s complexion improve, I stood up and looked into the distance. Some of the supernatural beasts who stayed behind to help me were still blocking the Wraithlord, who continued to fight with apparent indifference.
"He looks like he’s certain of victory."
The Ghostworm muttered again. I smiled, feeling power surging within me. I began to devise a strategy—there would only be one chance. If I could shatter the Wraithlord’s ghostly form, scatter his Three Souls and Seven Spirits, then use overwhelming force to drag them into an illusion, I would win.
"It seems you've mastered the power of Karmic Force quite well. Impressive, Ethan Zhang."
If not for the foresight granted by Karmic Force, the Wraithlord’s strike would have reduced my form to dust in an instant. Out of countless possible outcomes, there was only one where I could evade, so I moved to the precise spot and narrowly escaped his attack.
The Wraithlord stared at me coldly, and I sensed the surrounding energies shift. Instantly, a layer of golden radiance shimmered across my skin. I raised my hand, and a black, ink-like Bagua appeared before my left palm. Before the crushing force could descend, I channeled Daoist power to redirect it entirely to the left.
With a thunderous crash, a massive crater appeared to my left, black currents erupting like geysers into the air. I thrust the sword in my right hand forward.
The Wraithlord blocked my sword with a heavy blow, but I had anticipated this. Seizing the moment, I pressed my palm to his chest, branding a blood-red swastika onto him. With a deafening roar, a column of crimson light engulfed the Wraithlord. I released the Starshard Radiance; the sword dissolved into countless white-hot motes, linking together like flames in the air.
White beams shot toward the Wraithlord as the crimson glow faded. He dodged nimbly, evading every light mote, but those that grazed him burned through his skin. The ultimate power of humanity—only it can restrain a wraith.
As the Starshard Radiance began to converge, the Wraithlord’s fist was already before my eyes. I twisted his fist with both hands, and just as his power was about to erupt, I hurled him away, instantly relocating myself to a distant spot. Gripping the gathered Starshard Radiance, I lunged at the Wraithlord once more.
A thunderous explosion erupted as the Wraithlord’s power carved a black void. My sword pierced his brow. The Wraithlord roared, crashing into me. Two colossal forces collided; I had no intention of brute-forcing against him, though my power was nearly limitless.
"Coexist!"
A stream of black energy surged into my sword. The Wraithlord laughed maniacally, twisting his body as I swept past his side. The moment I landed, black streams erupted from the ground like geysers. The Wraithlord drifted toward me; I dodged the surging currents, but he appeared behind me in an instant. As I turned, his fist struck me head-on with crushing force.
With a deafening crash, I slammed into the ground, black currents swirling around me. My form began to collapse, but a golden radiance seeped from my skin, restoring me instantly.
As I rose again, a pair of chilling eyes appeared before me. Sensing danger, I vanished from where I stood in an instant.
A burning, black humanoid figure rose from where I had just been. The Wraithlord hovered in the distant sky, his primal instinct deadly and overwhelming—an instinct that could synchronize with its master for coordinated attacks. This was my first time witnessing such power.
This primal power could crush all other instincts. Yin Choujian once told me his own instinct was the strongest—capable of instant slaughter if his strength surpassed his opponent’s. Yet even at his peak, Yin Choujian could never inflict real harm on the Wraithlord with instinct alone.
I stared coldly at the Wraithlord.
"What will you do, Ethan Zhang? Against the power of The World, your strength is nothing but dust."
I shook my head and instantly teleported before the Wraithlord. He and his primal instinct merged once more, but this time a red glow flared within me, and a blood-red humanoid form appeared along my spine.
"Slaughter!"
The Wraithlord’s eyes widened, bracing himself for defense. Cracks appeared across the Starshard Radiance in my hand, showing signs of collapse. In that instant, the power within me surpassed The World.
With a sharp hiss, a blood-red beam slashed through the Wraithlord, splitting his body in two. I roared, and the entire world seemed to drown in blood. The Starshard Radiance, overwhelmed by the force, was utterly destroyed.
"Justice!"
In a blink, I was between the Wraithlord’s severed halves. As his body began to merge, I matched my power to his, drawing on Shen Yanjun’s instinct for justice.
"Ethan Zhang!"
The Wraithlord roared furiously. I crossed my arms, and two golden streams of energy instantly wrapped around his split bodies.
At that moment, the forces of Heaven and Humanity surged, converging toward me.
"Split apart again, Wraithlord. I’ll scatter your three souls and seven spirits. If you crave battle, I’ll let you fight endlessly—in a boundless illusion from which you’ll never escape."
The Wraithlord unleashed his power, but mine kept growing, matching him completely.
Gradually, the Wraithlord’s bisected body drifted toward Heaven and Humanity. My eyes widened—just as I thought I’d succeeded, both halves suddenly reached out to grab me.
"No one can kill me—no one at all. On my path to creating a new world, I need no grains of sand! You are nothing but sand beneath my feet, Ethan Zhang!"
This is my only way. I glanced at Heaven and Humanity, not far from the battlefield, slowly closing in. I raised my hand, a white glow appearing in my palm; instantly, the entire apartment building was bathed in soft, white light. In my grasp was the Starshard Radiance, a sword forged of pure crystal, its blade shimmering with flowing currents.
I floated upward, a streak of black light coursing through the Starshard Radiance. Looking back at Rachel Lan, I nodded.
"Don’t worry, Rachel. I’ll take care of everything."
Raising the Starshard Radiance, I watched as its white glow returned to the blade. I stared at the distant Wraithlord, sensing a stream of energy flowing into me. I smiled faintly as a black-and-white humanoid figure appeared beside me, instantly merging into my body.
My eyes slowly spiraled, transformed by the power of Outcome Marker. I could see everything about the Wraithlord. After dodging the Nine-Tailed Fox’s flames, the Wraithlord landed, and I instantly moved before him, slashing at his head with my sword.
With a resounding crash, the Chimera Beasts retreated into the apartment building to guard it—my only anchor in the Living World.
The Wraithlord blocked my sword with his arm, grinning coldly at me. Instantly, I punched him, my fist embedding in his body with a thunderous crash. He looked at me in surprise, but instead of being sent flying, he used his overwhelming ghost energy to recover and fling me away. Steadying myself in midair, I became a streak of white light, stabbing at him again.
Countless outcomes flashed through my mind; among them, I found the one way to wound the Wraithlord.
With a swift slash, my white sword cut across the Wraithlord’s chest, leaving a long scar. He turned his back, pressing a hand to his wound, laughing with a touch of madness in his eyes.
A thunderous boom echoed as I darted left in midair. A black current swept past my ear, its pressure threatening to engulf me whole. Stunned, I stared at the Wraithlord as he turned and swung his fist.