The Lord Shenyan before me is a far cry from the one I once knew. His icy gaze makes him seem devoid of emotion, nothing more than a weapon, his entire being radiating an intense, chilling aura.
With a swoosh, Lord Shenyan moved. In an instant, his sword slashed toward John Chou’s head at a vicious, unexpected angle. John Chou immediately raised his Sinblade to block, and after the brief clash, he instantly dissolved into a blood-red mist that scattered in all directions.
Once again, I saw John Chou split into multiple forms. This kind of bewildering ghost soul division seems possible only for John Chou and Yixue Han, able to evenly distribute power among all their ghost souls.
Suddenly, Lord Shenyan lunged toward one of the John Chou forms on the left, completely ignoring the ghost souls pursuing him from behind, and stabbed accurately with his sword.
With two sharp clangs, John Chou swayed his Sinblade, deflecting Lord Shenyan’s attack. He quickly drifted backward, putting distance between them, raising one hand.
One John Chou, close to Lord Shenyan, exploded the moment they made contact. Instantly, a cloud of blood mist burst forth, spreading all around. Lord Shenyan had already escaped the mist’s range, and as soon as his feet touched the ground, he lunged at John Chou with another sword strike.
In a flash, I saw the red flames on Lord Shenyan’s body transform into the shapes of countless swords, whirling around him. The swords converged, but I felt no hint of their power—though deep down, I knew just how deadly this strike was.
With a clang, John Chou twisted his body and blocked Lord Shenyan’s thrust with the back of his Sinblade. Instantly, he darted to Lord Shenyan’s side, raising his Sinblade as a torrent of blood mist converged toward them.
Lord Shenyan leaned back, flipping in midair and leaving the blood mist’s range in an instant. John Chou, wrapped in blood mist, flew toward Lord Shenyan.
With two swishing sounds, Lord Shenyan unleashed two sword strikes. All I saw were two fiery red, crisscrossing sword beams flying toward John Chou. With a bang, the sword beams exploded, and the blood mist swirling around John Chou vanished instantly. The moment John Chou’s form appeared, Lord Shenyan’s sword was already at his throat.
With a swish, my eyes widened. Even though the sword hadn’t touched John Chou’s head, it was already severed.
"What just happened?"
I stared in disbelief at the scene. There hadn’t seemed to be any force used, yet John Chou’s head had vanished. Soon, his body exploded into a mess of blood, spraying everywhere. Lord Shenyan’s hand moved with a gentle grace, and every drop of blood that splashed toward him was effortlessly deflected.
I stood up, my heart pounding. I knew well that John Chou was now using Bloodbane Power. If Lord Shenyan got hit, it would be trouble. The blood kept splattering, but every drop aimed at Lord Shenyan was knocked away.
John Chou reformed in midair far away, raising his Sinblade and charging at Lord Shenyan. The two tangled together in an instant, swords slashing at angles as they clashed for several rounds. Then John Chou plummeted toward the ground.
With a crash, the bones on the ground shattered, leaving a deep pit. Lord Shenyan swooped down from the sky, and the moment he landed, he unleashed several sword strikes.
John Chou refused to yield, darting back and forth. Visible trenches formed on the ground, black smoke rising everywhere. I swallowed hard—their fight didn’t look like much, but the bones here were made of Bone Spirit Essence, incredibly tough. Just now, Lord Shenyan’s slash turned bone to black smoke in an instant.
High-density ghost energy attacks—even Isabelle Frost couldn’t do that. She excels at controlling ghost energy, but only for defense; her attacks rely on curse power.
"So boring."
Just then, Yuna Ji muttered, stood up, and turned away.
"I'm going to rest for a bit. You all can keep watching."
I snorted. More and more people were gathering outside to watch, but no one dared to make a sound. The fight itself was almost silent.
Neither side used any large-scale attacks. The two kept grappling, as if they could read each other's moves—almost like they’d rehearsed it for us. But I quickly smiled to myself.
That’s absolutely impossible. It’s all about quick thinking in the moment. In the world of ghosts, only these two could reach such a level.
It looks like it’s a stalemate, but John Chou will probably be suppressed soon. His power isn’t complete, and most importantly, his weapon—while Sinblade, as a ghost weapon, has power similar to Bloodrage, John Chou once briefly used Lord Shenyan’s Sinblade as a substitute when Bloodrage was destroyed.
At that moment, Basil Bertram spoke. The two, still locked in aerial combat, were separated by a burst of red light. Lord Shenyan steadied himself in the air, while John Chou crashed to the ground again.
The two have been fighting all this time without exchanging a single word, constantly searching for ways to strike each other down.
They keep probing each other with inconspicuous attacks, reacting instantly, seizing every opportunity. It’s all to kill the other. I haven’t seen such a thrilling battle in ages.
With a clang, John Chou gripped his sword with both hands, blocking Lord Shenyan’s slash. His body bent under the immense pressure from above, but he managed a smile.
Suddenly, John Chou let go of his sword and stepped back. Lord Shenyan, gripping his sword with one hand, slashed toward the ground. In an instant, Lord Shenyan twisted in midair, changing his attack path and thrusting his sword at John Chou.
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Using the Specter Web to connect to the Sinblade, John Chou retrieved it the instant the sword neared him, slashing upward. As their swords crossed, both made their moves at once.
John Chou rolled to the left, swinging his sword as he moved. Lord Shenyan dodged in midair, switching his sword from right to left hand, leaning back and thrusting toward John Chou’s sword.
With a clang, their swords locked again, but this time John Chou was slower. Lord Shenyan’s sword pulled precisely, and with a swish, a gash opened on John Chou’s left shoulder, sending him flying backward. He slid along the ground for some distance before finally stopping.
At that moment, I noticed a similar scratch on Lord Shenyan’s left shoulder, blood streaming down.
"Is this really necessary? Using that ability."
The red-haired one bared his teeth, glaring at the two in frustration. After a brief clash, the pair separated again with a series of clangs.
"What on earth is going on?"
I've seen this ability once before—under the influence of justice instinct, it’s like a double-edged sword. Whoever lands a hit, both attacker and target suffer the same wound. Absolute fairness.
My eyes widened as Lord Shenyan attacked again. John Chou was being suppressed, and Lord Shenyan’s sword grew faster and faster, showing no sign of stopping. John Chou’s expression grew grave as he struggled to fend off the attacks.
"He’s sped up his rhythm. When his strength fades, Lord Shenyan will lose."
The red-haired one spoke. John Chou was nearly driven to the brink—he could only keep retreating under Lord Shenyan’s assault, unable to fight back at all.
"Stop fighting."
Suddenly, an angry female voice rang out. My eyes widened—Yuna Ji was already there, grabbing the swords in both John Chou’s and Lord Shenyan’s hands.
"What are you doing, Yuna Ji?"
John Chou asked coldly. Lord Shenyan was panting, and Yuna Ji glanced at him.
"If you keep fighting, you’ll only both end up badly hurt. If you can’t agree, John Chou, go with Lord Shenyan and see for yourself. Lord Shenyan, if anything happens when you try, you’ll listen to John Chou. Stop fighting."
But Lord Shenyan’s eyes were still icy, his breathing harsh. Suddenly, I saw ten streaks of green light descend—the Ten Swordmasters each placed a hand on Lord Shenyan. Sizzling sounds filled the air as their palms blackened instantly.
"What a hassle. Snap out of it, Lord Shenyan."
Perry Min pressed two fingers to Lord Shenyan’s forehead. After a while, Lord Shenyan’s gaze softened, and he gasped for breath. John Chou lowered his Sinblade, then tilted his head back and let out a bitter laugh.
"Are you certain now, John Chou? Are you satisfied?"
Lord Shenyan pushed past Yue Nu and Madam Gongsun, stepping up to John Chou.
John Chou let out a sigh, his voice tinged with sorrow.
"You’ve always been like this. If you tried another way, maybe things would be easier. What you’re searching for doesn’t exist in this world."
Lord Shenyan tilted his head and smiled radiantly. Amidst a chorus of cries, the Azure Luan slowly descended, landing beside Lord Shenyan. It stretched its neck affectionately toward him, and Lord Shenyan stroked its neck.
"Who knows whose influence it is."
As he spoke, John Chou looked at Lord Shenyan.
"Isn’t it right here? This child was supposed to die, but survived because of someone’s stubbornness. Once, I set aside my sword, because just as you said, what I was searching for didn’t exist anywhere. But..."
John Chou turned away and waved his hand.
"Let’s rest for a bit, then go. It’s good to pick up the sword again! But this time, the Ten Swordmasters don’t need to come—I want to investigate something myself."
I stared for a long time, then smiled helplessly.
"Taking the world’s burdens upon oneself, huh!"