A faint trace of sorrow flickered in Perry Min's eyes, barely noticeable and gone in an instant.
Night had already fallen, and Swordspire City was ablaze with lights. After an entire day, not even a third of the ghosts had been screened. The investigation was temporarily halted; except for the Ten Swordmasters, all other Blue Wraiths were now serving as city guards.
I quietly watched Perry Min. He had just spoken cheerfully about how the ghosts here viewed them, yet there was sadness in his eyes. Now, he was laughing and drinking with a burly, bearded man beside him.
"Any findings, Ethan Zhang?"
Lord Shenyan asked, and I shook my head.
"The only thing I found is that Elder Zhou once saw members of the Immortality Society across the river. I didn't sense any trace of malevolence."
Lord Shenyan nodded, then turned to the Ten Swordmasters, but none of them had found anything either.
Earlier, when Lord Shenyan mentioned letting them go outside, everyone was still arguing. But now, they were discussing countermeasures—what to do if anything happened, and how to flush out the enemy next.
"We all know how terrifying the Immortality Society is. I've encountered them before."
Madam Gongsun, beside me, spoke up. I looked at her in surprise and swallowed hard.
"Back when I was alive, the Immortality Society member I met was Xu Fu. At the time, he was the Grand Tutor's bodyguard. When I was young, I almost got lured into joining the Immortality Society by him. Many here have crossed paths with their people. Through the ages, they've hidden in the shadow of power, doing things that can't see the light of day."
"Xu Fu!"
I muttered, unconsciously picking up my wine cup and taking a sip. Suddenly, I tasted the sharpness of the alcohol. Puzzled, I looked at the cup and drank again, but the sensation was gone—it was tasteless.
"From ancient times, emperors have always believed in the arts of immortality, and the older they get, the more they believe. That's why these former sorcerers easily infiltrated the center of power. They're experts at exploiting human weakness, which makes them so frightening."
Yvette Chao, sitting beside Madam Gongsun, wore a worried expression and suddenly set down her wine cup.
"Everyone, I'm still uneasy. Tonight, I'll personally patrol the entire city."
With a whoosh, Yvette Chao floated out. The figure in the bamboo hat behind her burped, grinned, raised two fingers, and drifted out as well.
Jing Kerr couldn't sit still either. He stood up.
"Everyone, keep calm. Since we know how dangerous the enemy is, we must not lose our composure."
The speaker was a man about one meter sixty tall, short and a bit overweight, with a face full of scars and stubble—coarse and even somewhat ugly.
"Leo Yali, in your opinion..."
"Lord Shenyan, I don't think there's any need for such a massive search. If the enemy was able to get in, they're confident they won't be discovered. If we go around frantically searching, they might even take advantage of our distraction. So, I have a proposal."
Leo Yali smiled mysteriously, drawing everyone's attention.
The carpet-style search was temporarily halted. Early the next morning, everything returned to normal. I wandered the streets absentmindedly; all the Blue Wraiths had returned to Swordspire Peak.
Leo Yali's method was extremely simple: wait for the enemy to come to us. If the Immortality Society wants to do something, they'll target the area around Swordspire Peak. The circular plaza at the base of the mountain is surrounded by powerful Ghost Arrays. To threaten them, the enemy must break these arrays.
My sense for baleful energy is stronger than theirs, so I simply wandered the city. The ghost network of the Ten Swordmasters was already attached to me; if anything happened, they'd rush over immediately.
Many Blue Wraiths disguised themselves as ordinary ghosts and mingled among the regular ghost population in Swordspire City at dawn, all waiting for the right moment to act.
Now, all we needed was for the enemy to make a move. The streets were full of ghosts, and daily life had returned to normal. These ghosts wore smiles, seemingly unaffected by yesterday’s events.
Some ghosts still discussed the enemy’s intrusion, but most didn’t care. They had complete faith in Lord Shenyan and the swordmaster group, believing they'd be protected no matter what happened.
My head felt uneasy. I wasn’t sure why; everything here seemed fine, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that what I saw was just a fleeting dream.
By noon, many ghosts had gathered at restaurants to eat. I wandered alone through the streets and alleys, not knowing how long I'd been walking or where I was going.
In a daze, I stopped. Maybe I was just like the ghosts here—heartless, wandering endlessly, not knowing where to go. More and more things faded from my mind; everything seemed meaningless.
Suddenly, a deafening explosion shook the city. I sensed a surge of powerful ghost energy and floated upward. Instantly, green lights dotted the city as Blue Wraiths rushed toward the blast site. Several square kilometers in the southern part of Swordspire City were reduced to rubble.
A green barrier spread outwards, shielding the surroundings from further harm caused by the explosion’s shockwave.
Cries and screams echoed everywhere. The battle erupted in an instant—a Blue-Faced Man, half crouching on the ground with his head raised, while the bearded swordmaster hovered in the air.
In that moment, I realized the baleful energy I sensed yesterday morning came from this Blue-Faced Man.
"Why have you come here? What are your intentions?"
Barrett Beard shouted angrily, blood dripping from his shoulder. The Blue-Faced Man stood up silently, taking a fighting stance. He was completely surrounded—among so many Blue Wraiths, he had no chance of winning or escaping.
[SKIP: This is a system prompt for the reader to continue to the next page and is not part of the novel's narrative.]
"Barrett Beard, your techniques are too flashy. If you fight this guy here, the collateral damage will be massive. Let me handle it."
The youngest of the Ten Swordmasters, dressed in white robes, looked barely twenty. His long hair was neatly tied back, held in place by a silver needle, and his angular face radiated calm. In his hand was a sword over a meter long, black with red dragon patterns.
"Chong Da, this is my fight. Stay out of it."
Barrett Beard, the big, bearded swordmaster, said bitterly. Blood on his shoulder began to heal—it seemed the Blue-Faced Man had ambushed him and Barrett Beard hadn’t reacted in time.
With a whoosh, Barrett Beard waved his hand and a massive broadsword with cloud-like patterns appeared in his grip. The blade was nearly two meters long, its tip sharply curved, and red-and-blue cloud patterns ran beneath its gleaming edge. The whole sword vibrated, humming, as anger slowly overtook Barrett Beard's face.
"Wait a moment."
Madam Gongsun spoke calmly, and Barrett Beard turned to look at her.
"Madam, what's there to wait for? That bastard just sucker-punched me out of nowhere!"
Everyone turned their heads as Lord Shenyan drifted over.
"State your purpose, and I'll let you leave unharmed."
As Lord Shenyan spoke, the Blue-Faced Man's eyes flashed with a smile. In a burst, he was airborne, flipping upside down and driving his right foot toward Lord Shenyan's left shoulder.
"You bastard..."
Lord Shenyan raised a hand with a bang—he caught the Blue-Faced Man’s right foot, but was forced downward by an overwhelming force.
With a rush, a concentrated stream of air surged as the Blue-Faced Man raised his right fist high.
"Sixfold..."
With a flash, the third female swordmaster among the Ten Swordmasters—petite, dressed in black, with short hair—slashed off the Blue-Faced Man’s hand with her short sword. She was so fast I couldn’t even react.
Perry Min was already at Lord Shenyan’s side, supporting him with one hand.
With two swift moves, the petite, black-clad female swordmaster dodged several kicks from the Blue-Faced Man. Fierce currents of air pressed down on the ground, echoing with bangs.
"Little Guan, I don’t need your help."
Barrett Beard rushed forward, his face twisted in anger.
Suddenly, I saw the Blue-Faced Man’s eyes bulge, and from the sides of his eyeballs and around his sockets, tentacle-like things began to writhe out.
With two bangs, Barrett Beard and Little Guan both retreated to the sides. The Blue-Faced Man’s body swelled, his fists clenching with a creaking sound.
"Ah, there’s no helping it."
Perry Min said, then flew upward with a rush. The Blue-Faced Man roared, the air around him crackling. I noticed all the swordmasters were controlling their ghost energy—the hastily raised barriers were fragile. If they unleashed their powers, the surge of ghost energy would kill any low-level white-robed or shadow ghosts nearby.
"Swordless Style... Finger Sword..."
Suddenly, the Blue-Faced Man froze. Perry Min pressed two fingers against the Blue-Faced Man’s chest. With a snap, his mask cracked. I stared in shock as a fissure split open along his spine, growing wider until the vertebrae were exposed and blood sprayed everywhere.
"Don’t kill him!"
Lord Shenyan shouted. Perry Min grinned and withdrew his two fingers.
"Relax. I just put a small hole in his heart so he can't use his powers for now. Madam Gongsun already helped me dispel the rest of his strength."
I blinked at Madam Gongsun behind the Blue-Faced Man. When did she get over there? I hadn’t noticed at all.