I stared in shock at the scene before me. The entire space was violently distorted, as if everything around us had been sucked into a vortex. Waves of life energy and death energy swirled together, converging relentlessly toward Ronan Wu’s body. Behind me, I heard frantic noises; turning around, I saw the Undying screaming in terror, clutching their heads in agony.
"Uncle Lee, what's happening to you all?"
I rushed over in a panic. Behind me, an overwhelming, despair-inducing aura surged forth—one I had never encountered before. It felt as if life and death were constantly exchanging places.
The entire cycle of life and death spun through my mind like a revolving lantern—birth to death, plants, animals, mountains, rivers, even humans and ghosts.
All of this was caused by Ronan Wu behind me. My consciousness was instantly invaded. Clutching my head, I endured the torment just like the Undying before me. Everything visible on the island had vanished, and to my shock, I realized that everything here was manifested from life and death energy—how immense must the quality of that energy be to make this possible?
Panting, I clutched my head. This power could crush everything. In the face of life and death, all resistance was futile—this thought echoed deeply in my mind.
"What on earth is happening here, Uncle Lee? Tell me!"
Struggling, I made my way step by step to Uncle Lee. The island was reduced to nothing but a blackened surface and the endless ocean surrounding us.
"I don't know. I really don't know..."
One by one, the Undying collapsed to the ground. I pressed one hand to my forehead, the other adjusting the flow of energy within me. Gradually, my body felt lighter. A streak of gray energy appeared on my skin—the power of coexistence.
I looked back again. Ronan Wu had transformed into a humanoid figure woven from black and white stripes, showing only a pair of gold-black eyes. The black and white patterns on his body resembled some kind of design; at his chest, they formed a flower-like motif. Black-and-white streams of energy drifted around him. In his hand, he gripped the bizarre black sword known as Ghostfang. His mouth slowly split open into a jagged grin—he seemed to be laughing.
Ronan Wu’s body swelled, the black-and-white armor-like patterns on his exterior appearing solid and impenetrable. John Chou stood motionless, staring at Ronan with an expressionless face.
"Xiao Rong, you’ve turned into a monster. Is this the power you claimed could break the boundaries of ghosts all these years?"
“Ah, John Chou, if you can’t defeat me, it all ends here. You’re unfit to be the master of the Hundred Ghosts. For years, they’ve waited for their king’s return. But your recent actions have been deeply disappointing. Who’s been influencing you? You were never this weak before.”
John Chou raised his head and slowly lifted Belle in his hand.
"Perhaps so. I’ve been influenced—twice, in fact. Strange, isn’t it? Some things defy calculation. Come, Xiao Rong, show me what your power truly is."
The ghostly aura around John Chou hadn’t changed much, which worried me most. The one called Ronan Wu wasn’t joking—he truly wanted to kill John Chou.
"Heh, interesting. I sensed it long ago—after Zhang Zhiqing died and you began changing your strategy, I asked Mr. Brown what you were after. He said you were simply doing what a person would do. I figured, times have changed. If the Hall of Bloodbane is to survive, we must adapt, sometimes giving up old ideas and advancing with others, not fighting for everything alone. But this time, your actions have surprised me again."
"Life is always full of surprises, whether a thousand years or ten thousand years pass. Everything changes, Xiao Rong. Clinging to old ideas won’t help you survive this era’s tide. That’s why I’ve changed..."
A burst of wild laughter rang out. Ronan Wu threw his head back, his eyes filled with madness.
"Change? No, John Chou, what you call change is really just giving up too much. You had countless chances to rise to the top, but you let them slip away. What truly angers me isn’t what you did, but how many opportunities you abandoned. So..."
With a whoosh of red light, Belle was suddenly at Ronan Wu’s throat. He tilted his head slightly, looking at John Chou who stood beside him.
"Xiao Rong, no matter how much we argue, the era has changed. Whether what I’ve done is right or wrong isn’t for us to debate now—the outcome will decide everything."
With a swish, John Chou struck with Belle just as he finished speaking. Ronan Wu twisted in midair, completely dodging Belle. Red streams of energy swirled around John Chou, his ghostly aura rising rapidly.
"It’s useless."
With a swish, Ronan Wu swung Ghostfang. As John Chou blocked, streams of black-and-white energy tore through his body. His ghostly aura was instantly devoured. John Chou plummeted toward the sea, while Ronan Wu laughed wildly, brandishing Ghostfang at him.
A whistling sound filled the air as spiraling streams of black and white energy shot toward John Chou. Waves erupted across the sea’s surface. I stared in disbelief as the ocean began to change, bit by bit.
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The ocean, woven from black and white, stretched endlessly. It was made of life energy and death energy. Everything I’d seen before was shocking enough, but now words failed me. Everything John Chou said before the battle had come true. I raised my trembling hand, feeling the vast difference between myself and the highest tier.
No amount of effort could bridge this gap. When I heard about Zachary Justice’s death, I felt only sorrow. I learned he unleashed immense power before dying—power that saved the Six Paths of Reincarnation and restored the balance between the Living and the Dead.
With a thunderous roar, black-and-white light erupted violently over the sea. Ronan Wu was the first to charge into the raging clash of black and white.
Everything before my eyes was incomprehensible. Such overwhelming power—I’d witnessed some in the Living World and the Dark Realm, but now, having gained the instinct of coexistence, I felt even more acutely that in the face of true power, all resistance was futile.
With a rush, as the black-and-white light faded, John Chou’s body was already pierced through. His once-mighty ghostly aura was now fragile and broken.
Ronan Wu slowly raised Ghostfang, lifting John Chou into the air.
"In the face of this power of life and death, everything is devoured. John Chou, unleash your ghost soul, or your attacks will be as useless as sand sinking into the sea—especially here, in my Shadow Realm, the Trial of Life and Death."
John Chou laughed coldly, blood streaming from the corner of his mouth. He shook his head. Ronan Wu, enraged, swung Ghostfang, sending John Chou flying backward. But he quickly steadied himself in midair. I swallowed hard—this was truly Ronan Wu’s Shadow Realm.
John Chou still didn’t move. Raising Belle, he swiftly closed in on Ronan Wu and swung the sword. Instantly, Belle seemed stuck—as if glued—absorbed into Ronan Wu’s body the moment it struck.
"See? Just as I thought..."
A flash of intense red light shot past. Blood sprayed from Ronan Wu’s jagged mouth as he staggered back in midair. He stared in disbelief at the flower of black-and-white lines on his chest, now slashed open and oozing green blood.
"It’s true, your power can shatter ghostly energy and other forces completely. But Xiao Rong, overconfidence can be deadly."
As John Chou spoke, he stabbed at Ronan Wu again. Ronan caught Belle with one hand, his gaze shifting as he looked at John Chou, while his other hand raised Ghostfang.
"You used the Soulreaver Blade’s trait to draw out my ghost soul in an instant—a clever move. After all, I am a man. But this trick will only work once on me."
As Ronan Wu swung Ghostfang, streams of black-and-white energy pierced John Chou’s body, riddling him with holes as if he were strung together by threads. Ronan Wu raised Ghostfang high.
"Perish in life and death!"
With a thunderous sound, I stared in shock as countless black-and-white threads filled the world. John Chou was pinned in place, his entire body pierced through.
Then, the black-and-white threads before my eyes began to move, stretching John Chou’s body bit by bit. He glared coldly at Ronan Wu. The seawater had vanished, replaced by more and more threads, until everything became a mass of intertwining black and white. John Chou was caught in the middle, completely unable to move.