"Oblivion, don't provoke Winona. She's lost over a hundred subordinates because of that twisted doctor."
Thousand Hands laughed hoarsely, clutching his stomach as he produced Belle.
Everyone's eyes focused on the fractured Belle, now split in two.
"It looks like this thing predates our era."
Lao Chongyuan walked over, reached out, and gently stroked the surface of Belle.
"Mr. Lao, I heard you wanted some new toys. Need my help?"
Lao Chongyuan shook his head.
"If I let you play with it, it'll probably break in no time. Better to wait until it's sturdy enough—then you can have your fun."
The sunken spot on Oblivion's chest returned to normal. He grinned wickedly and stepped up beside Lao Chongyuan, throwing an arm around his shoulder.
"Old Lao, how about it? Want me to help you out?"
"Oblivion, Mr. Xu Fu said you're not allowed outside. If you must go, you have to wear chains. You just want to destroy everything, don't you?"
Lao Chongyuan spoke, shaking off Oblivion's hand. But Oblivion was grabbed by Winona, who yanked his ear and forced him back into his seat.
"Thousand Hands, how do you explain this? My hundred-plus subordinates aren't your toys, damn it."
Winona gripped Thousand Hands by the throat, but he kept laughing hoarsely.
"Lady Wu, scientific progress always comes with death. Your subordinates were sacrificed for our great plan to move forward—wasn't that their purpose?"
As Thousand Hands spoke, applause echoed from a nearby corridor. Soon, I saw another Golden Mask—Warren Qi, whom I'd met before. He smiled.
"Well said. People are expendable—lose some, get more. In these troubled times, there's no shortage of villains. Want me to fetch a few for you myself, Wu?"
Warren Qi yawned widely, then sat down.
"No need, Warren Qi. You bastard, I haven't settled last time's score with you yet. You sold our intel to the Ghost Sovereign—what's your game?"
Warren Qi stood up, clutching his stomach, and burst into manic laughter.
"Isn't it great? Xu Fu's down, killed by John Chou. With less restraint, what will become of us? Right, Oblivion, Ms. Genesis, and the rest—what will happen? I've always wanted to know. Without Xu Fu, will we make this shattered world even more chaotic, or will we build a new order called Immortality?"
"Oh, what a lunatic. Whatever, Wu. It's fine that Xu Fu's gone—that guy was out of his mind long ago. You know that. Let him sleep for a few centuries, who cares? We're free now."
Oblivion spoke, while Wu sighed and looked at Warren Qi, who kept smiling.
"Wu, you're out of line. Don't forget, we thirteen were chosen to stand above all for the sake of establishing the eternal order of Immortality. Don't get it twisted. What we need is Immortality, not a few toys. Your loving games with subordinates end here. Put away your fake, hypocritical face. Seeing your men cut open and reassembled by this twisted doctor, you were actually delighted, weren't you? You enjoyed it, didn't you? You wanted to see it, didn't you? You wanted..."
With a slap, Wu struck Warren Qi, but he blocked it with one hand. Wu's eyes gleamed with excitement, her whole body trembling.
"Is that it? Pleasure? So it's pleasure, huh? Heh heh heh..."
Wu laughed in a sickly, coquettish way. Only Lao Chongyuan and Ms. Genesis didn't laugh out loud.
"You brain-burnt lunatics, I'm leaving. Oblivion, don't run off. Ms. Genesis, keep an eye on him. If he even thinks about going out, beat him so hard he can't get up for decades."
Lao Chongyuan gave the order and prepared to leave.
"Ghost Burial Squad, right? That's the toy organization you want to start."
Warren Qi looked at Lao Chongyuan with contempt and smirked.
"People can be terrifying sometimes. Remember this, everyone: this organization isn't a toy. I gave them the right to slay ghosts. What will happen when humans kill evil spirits? We'll see in a few centuries."
"Mr. Lao, don't waste your energy. Those people you found who can see ghosts—I checked, they're useless. Not even good enough for research material."
"Thousand Hands, focus on your work. Thanks to the Ghost Sovereign, we're depleted—there's not much material left for you to use."
Thousand Hands bowed and laughed harshly.
"Then let's wait and see, Mr. Lao. Your toy...organization—what will it become in centuries? Heh, this time I've found something good: a ghost soldier that grows by absorbing human souls. Impressive, isn't it?"
Thousand Hands spoke, raising Belle. Warren Qi watched Belle with interest, wanting to take it.
"No way, Warren Qi. This thing is fragile now. Everything inside the sword was burned away by Lord Shenyan's flames. I need to repair the Soulreaver Blade first."
Thousand Hands spoke, as if he'd just renamed Belle.
In the days that followed, Thousand Hands carried the Soulreaver Blade to war-torn places, choosing a puppet and arming them with the blade.
Over several decades, the Soulreaver Blade was repaired, but cracks remained where it had broken. As more and more people were slain, the cracks slowly healed and eventually disappeared.
(This chapter isn't finished yet~.~ Please click 'Next Page' to continue reading!)
"Still not enough. So few souls—too weak. If things get too chaotic, that's no good either. I'll just have to keep searching for evil men with you, slowly."
One night, Thousand Hands took the Soulreaver Blade to a prison, picked out a convict, and planned to use him to unleash carnage inside.
"Amitabha, Amitabha."
Just then, Thousand Hands suddenly heard chanting behind him. He turned, startled, and saw a towering, muscular monk nearly two meters tall.
"You managed to bypass my Specter Web and approach me. Impressive, Master. May I ask..."
"Amitabha. My Dharma name is Leo Yuan."
I stared in shock—this was Brother Owen's junior, Leo Yuan. I'd heard before that the Soulreaver Blade was sealed by a high monk, brought to the Ghost Burial Squad, and protected by the powerful Voidlock Barrier.
Thousand Hands had heard of Leo Yuan and was a bit afraid, but he didn't want to hand over the Soulreaver Blade.