"Heh, you little bastard, I'll give you one more chance: tell me the secret formulas for your saber art, and maybe I'll let you live. Otherwise, this blade goes down—I'll slice your carotid artery right here!" At this moment, Grant Fujita gave a cold, vicious smile. He didn't care about anything anymore. The smell of blood was fueling his killing intent, and his blade was about to slash straight at Ryan Ling's neck.
To the System, Ryan Ling absolutely cannot die. If he does, the entire Human-World Hell Court plan will go up in smoke, and Lord Yama will never forgive it. But right now, fate seems dead set against him—Ryan is basically doomed.
"Looks like I'm gonna have to break Hell's ban myself!" The Ghost Elder's face was grim; suddenly, his whole body swelled up. Ryan was stunned. The System usually felt weak, like some random wandering ghost, never showing any hint of real strength—and mostly just scamming him for money. But now, its power was skyrocketing, and not just by a little. In a blink, it multiplied thousands of times, instantly blasting past the grandmaster realm to a level that was downright unimaginable.
That kind of power could crush the whole island in an instant. But right then, Granny Soul appeared and grabbed the System, urgently shouting, "Ghost Elder, don't be reckless! If you kill mortals with your own hand, that's knowingly breaking the law—you'll be thrown into the Eighteenth Level of Hell, never to reincarnate!"
"But if I don't act, Ryan Ling is dead for sure! Him surviving matters a hundred times more than us—don't you get that?" For the first time ever, the System sounded genuinely serious, almost desperate.
Ryan was still in a daze—it was the first time he'd ever felt this important to the System.
"He won't die—absolutely not! I've already checked his fate. His lethal tribulation isn't today, so there must be a way out!" Granny Soul was just as tense, but managed to stay calm as she spoke.
"Not gonna die? There's still hope?" The System froze, face full of disbelief. And right at that critical moment, something deep in the cave trembled—the leftover ice shards started melting at lightning speed.
"What the hell is that?"
"Could it be...?"
In that instant, both the System and Granny Soul froze, their eyes going wide—they couldn't believe something like this was hidden on this nameless island.
In a flash, the System yanked Ryan forward, barking, "Don't think about anything else—put all your strength into your legs and follow me to the deepest part of the cave, as fast as you can! Got it?"
Ryan instinctively nodded hard. He'd never had parents, but right now, the System felt like his closest kin—his one true lifeline.
Without a second thought, Ryan clenched his fists, channeling every last drop of power into his legs.
"Kid, what are you trying to pull? Even now, you still wanna go all out against me?" Grant Fujita sneered as Ryan's face shifted.
"Grant Fujita, quit yammering with him! This kid's a real piece of work—just finish him now before things get complicated!" Logan Long was already losing his cool; he'd had enough of these twisted Japanese humiliations.
"Moron, you don't know crap! I can't stand people interrupting me—so shut your damn mouth!" Grant Fujita, true to his violent nature, swung a brutal slap at Logan Long the moment the words left his mouth.
Smack! Logan Long went flying. No matter how tough he was, he was still a step short of Green-Realm grandmaster—perfect target for abuse, totally helpless to fight back.
"Chinese trash! Don't think being Water-Breaker's dog makes you special. You bark when I say bark, and you shut up when I say shut up—got it?" Grant Fujita kicked him hard, sending Logan crashing into the cave wall. He didn't dare move a muscle.
But at that crucial moment, Ryan didn't hesitate for a second—he poured every ounce of strength into his legs, sprang up like a coiled leopard, and shot toward the cave's deepest depths.
"Damn it, still trying to run? Next time, I swear I'll break both your legs!" Grant Fujita snarled, tearing after Ryan at breakneck speed.
"System, what do I do now?" Ryan gritted his teeth, feeling his power was almost spent.
"I dunno either!" the System blurted, sounding genuinely panicked.
"What?" Ryan nearly choked—at a moment like this, the System says it doesn't know? Seriously, how am I supposed to rely on you?
Ryan was about ready to pass out.
Suddenly, the System got all serious: "Before we came to the East Sea, I told you something—remember?"
"I totally forgot!" Ryan felt like he was about to die, but facing the System's sudden seriousness, he couldn't even get angry.
"Hell Furnace!" The System took a breath and said, "I mentioned it before, but with the East Sea so huge, I figured we'd never find it. But just now, Granny Soul and I both sensed its aura—it's right here, at the cave's deepest point. You feel the temperature climbing, right?"
With the System's words, Ryan realized something was off. Normally, the deeper you go in a cave, the colder it gets. But now, just like the System said, the deeper he went, the hotter it got.
Even though it was blazing hot, the crushing pressure from the sacrificial formation was fading fast. The relief was like a drowning man suddenly dragged to the surface, or a desert wanderer gulping down lifesaving water.
"Still trying to run? I'm about to catch you—then I'll break your legs and arms, turn you into a human swine!" Suddenly, Grant Fujita's voice roared from behind, so close Ryan felt like he'd be grabbed any second.
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But just as he finished speaking, a massive wave of heat exploded toward Ryan. He jumped in shock—he'd barely escaped the agony of the sacrificial formation, but this blast was so intense, if it didn't burn him to a skeleton, he'd be roasted alive in seconds.
"Don't panic, I've got you!" The System, still attached to him, suddenly made a move. A rush of coolness swept through Ryan's mind, instantly wiping out all the burning heat. In Ryan's heart, the System's strength shot up another notch.
Ryan managed to block the heat wave, but Grant Fujita wasn't so lucky. The wave slammed straight into him—he staggered back, screaming as chunks of skin burned and a hole got scorched right through his pants. He couldn't help but howl in misery.
"Damn mutt, hope it burns you alive!" Ryan cursed viciously.
"Kid, forget about him for now. See that burning cauldron?" The System shouted urgently.
"I see it! It's still smoking—could that be the legendary Hell Furnace?" Ryan gulped. Sure enough, a giant cauldron was wedged halfway into the cave wall, half exposed. He couldn't see the whole thing, but its aura was overwhelming. He felt like if he could just open the lid, he'd have enough power to turn everything around.
"What are you thinking? Don't even think about opening that lid, or you'll cause a disaster!" The System saw right through Ryan and yelled immediately.
"Then... what do we do now?" Ryan froze. Now that he'd found the Furnace, it would be a waste not to use it. Just looking at it, he could feel its terrifying power—never mind anything else, even the heat pouring out could wipe out everything outside, including those three Japanese masters.
"With your current strength, opening the Furnace is absolutely forbidden. At least you need to push your Purgatory Soul-Suppressing Art one more stage before you can even try. The Furnace's power is way beyond your imagination!" The System was dead serious, then quickly added, "But even though you can't use the Furnace as a weapon yet, don't forget Granny Soul gave you those two Fire-Eye Orbs. Just melt the orbs, apply them to your eyes, and boom—your Fire Eyes will awaken. Once your Fire Eyes are done, your dao body will be complete, and you'll have the strength to fight back!"