My mind was already growing hazy, my consciousness beginning to blur, when suddenly, from the pool of blood dripping from my body at my feet, I heard a string of curses.
"Rage Blood, I'm not going to argue with you. Let's not waste time with pointless bickering. Just tell me, do you like this kid's blood?"
I looked helplessly at the pool of blood at my feet. There was a squelching sound, and to my surprise, a shadow appeared within the blood—a blood-red shadow. The amount of blood was slowly decreasing.
"Not bad. It's decent enough. John Chou, listen up—I'm coming out this time, and you won't be able to seal me again. If you try, I'll take this kid's life."
I stared blankly at the blood, which was gradually vanishing. As my blood dripped down, it disappeared the moment it touched the ground.
"Have you had enough? If you keep going, Ethan Zhang will die, you know."
"Alright, alright, John Chou, let's get this over with."
Suddenly, beneath me, a blood-red light flared up. Something swollen emerged, and while I was still stunned, a sharp screech rang out. It was the hilt of a sword. I saw a round-tipped hilt with a mouth like a little snake. It suddenly wrapped around my right hand, slithered up to my neck, and bit down hard.
I cried out in shock, feeling the strength in my body being drained away bit by bit. Gradually, I saw a weapon—entirely crimson, only half of it remaining. I couldn't tell if it was a knife or a sword. There were three grooves on the blade, black in color, while the rest was engraved with clusters of unknown three-petaled red flowers. The decorations on either side of the hilt were different: on the left, three crescent-shaped red protrusions, resembling claws.
On the right side, along the long strip of the hilt, there was the character '殷' stamped within a small circle. This mysterious weapon—whether sword or knife—gave me a strange feeling. Waves of destructive impulse rose up inside me. Staring at everything before me, only one thought filled my mind: destroy it all.
The urge to crush everything, that restless desire, kept swelling inside me. I screamed.
"Brother, this thing hasn't acted up like this in centuries. You'll see soon enough—Rage Blood is no ordinary weapon."
Just as John Chou finished speaking, I suddenly felt a surge of electricity rise from my feet. An overwhelming excitement burst forth from within me, impossible to suppress. I shouted, feeling an intense itch spread across my back and through my whole body.
Blood-red particles sprayed from my spine, gradually forming the shape of a Six-Petal Flower—just like the Six-Petal Flower John Chou had grown in the apartment building.
This blood-red Six-Petal Flower slowly spun on my back.
"Alright, brother, it's all up to you now. Go out there and defeat that bastard Martin Lane."
Suddenly, I gripped the broken sword in my right hand and pointed it at the Black Tortoise's stomach wall. The wall pressed toward me, and without hesitation, I roared and swung the broken sword.
In an instant, dark red lines—like vines—shot out from the broken edge of the sword, striking at the stomach wall that was squeezing toward me.
With a gurgling sound, I saw the brownish stomach wall slowly turn dark red. Then, with a ripping sound, I willed it, shouting loudly as the Six-Petal Flower on my back spun, scattering blood-red particles all around.
With a bang and a painful howl, I burst a huge hole through the Black Tortoise's body. I rushed into the water. Looking back, I saw a massive hole in the tortoise shell on its back. The Black Tortoise looked wrong, its limbs sprawled on the ground, moaning in pain.
Without hesitation, I rushed toward the surface. Through the Specter Web, I sensed something closing in at breakneck speed from all directions—slender icicles, stabbing straight at me.
Dark red particles flickered across my body. In an instant, I burst out of the water, only to realize Old Moe’s shadow had vanished. On the pillars, aside from the White Tiger, both the Vermilion Bird and Azure Dragon were already closing in to attack.
Above me, the Vermilion Bird and Azure Dragon drew together—one shrieking, the other howling. Suddenly, both Sacred Beasts spat out a torrent of fire and a streak of violet lightning.
In a flash, fire and lightning intertwined. A massive blaze, wreathed in violet lightning, crashed down on me. A wave of heat slammed into my face, and steam began to rise from the water beneath my feet.
I reacted instantly, raising Rage Blood. Dark red bloodlines shot out, lashing onto the oncoming fire and lightning.
I didn’t fully understand it, but I knew in my gut—I could make all of this vanish.
The dark red bloodlines tangled around the fire and lightning, branching like a dense web of twigs. In moments, the storm of fire and lightning from above sputtered and faded into nothing.
"Brother, take out the Four Saints first!"
As John Chou called out, I used the Specter Web to dart between the Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird, raising my broken sword.
"Rage Blood, unleash—destroy, paralyze..."