I gasped for breath, my chest heaving in the oppressive silence. Standing in the middle of the street, I watched as blood—dark and sticky—dripped steadily from my fists, splattering onto the cracked pavement below.
A chorus of haunting wails echoed through the empty street. I tipped my head back, drawing in a lungful of cold air, and cast my gaze over the battered figures sprawled around me—none of them could move, beaten down beyond recognition.
"Do you want to keep going?"
I asked, but no one answered. Martin Huang chuckled and walked out from the house.
You really are something, Ethan Zhang, haha. Looks like these guys aren’t getting up anytime soon. Might as well toss them outside and let the monsters eat them, save us the trouble of...
Martin Huang clammed up instantly as the men on the ground shot him venomous looks. I hadn’t tapped into any supernatural force—only the unnatural resilience of my ghost body—to put them down. Bare-handed, with strength that didn’t belong to the living. I’d never imagined I could fight like this before.
After the fight, my whole body felt strangely light, as if a shroud had lifted. The Deathbane Aura clinging to these men had thinned out, its suffocating pressure barely noticeable now.
"You think this is over? I'll tear you apart..."
One of the men lying beside me kept groaning, struggling to rise. I glanced at him—his eyes burned with a wild, murderous intent. It unsettled me. These people were hopelessly outmatched, yet their hatred for me was raw and relentless. During the fight, they’d hurled themselves at me again and again, even after being smashed to the ground, driven by a single, desperate urge: to kill me, no matter the cost.
I strode up to Martin Huang, then sprang onto the roof in a single bound. Sitting cross-legged, arms folded, I watched the scene below in silence. Some of the men, dazed and limping, dragged themselves back into the stone house, leaving streaks of blood behind.
The brief chaos had ended for now. Gradually, those guys left the street, apparently heading back to nurse their wounds. There was no reasoning with any of them.
It reminded me of my early middle school days, when I used to get bullied. There was a guy in ninth grade who gathered a bunch of students and dragged anyone he disliked up to the rooftop for a beating. Everyone was afraid of him.
Back then, I wasn’t good at talking to people, always kept to myself. Eventually, I caught their attention and got beaten up badly. I asked why they hit me, and the answer was just that they found me annoying.
Later, my cousin found out and brought a group to the school gate, cornering them and beating them up hard. I remember that guy tried to fight back, but my cousin—who’d been scrapping since he was a kid—beat him so badly he ended up in the hospital. My cousin got suspended, and my uncle and aunt were called in. I was called to the teacher too, but that time, my uncle didn’t scold us.
Thinking about it now, that guy was just like these people here. I couldn’t help but smile.
Ethan Zhang, I was thinking maybe...
Martin Huang was still trying to get me to take him to the cliff. He climbed up, forcing a smile as he looked at me.
Just help me out, Ethan Zhang.
"You brought this on yourself. It’s got nothing to do with me."
I said bluntly. Martin Huang’s mouth twitched, like he wanted to explode but held it in. I knew all about his situation, and what kind of person he was—I’d never help him. Most importantly, he’d leaked the secrets of the Immortality Society. After death, his soul was devoured by a special Deathbane Ghost, and he was probably suffering some kind of torment right now.
Martin Huang quieted down and went back inside. I kept sitting on the roof, thinking. Even though it was just a little, I could feel my body changing—after that fight, my Deathbane Aura seemed stronger.
"Have you ever wondered why you were born with Deathbane Aura?"
Suddenly, my eyes widened—the voice of the Wraithlord echoed in my head, making my mind grow hazy.
The instant I opened my eyes, I saw a flash of purple—the Wraithlord was already seated before me. Everything here felt out of control. It was my own body, but the Wraithlord could forcibly drag me into his Instinctive Space and even keep my Ghost Souls out.
"What do you want?"
I asked, and the Wraithlord just chuckled and shook his head.
"It’s wise to be wary of me, Ethan Zhang, because my goal is to resurrect and personally crush every human created by Mother Goddess Nuwa—like ants."
I swallowed hard—a wave of pure evil radiated from the Wraithlord.
"I asked you a question earlier—answer me, Ethan Zhang."
"My body only came into being through countless sacrifices."
I’d known the answer to that question for a long time—I’d already found my origin. Back then, the Immortality Society tried to build bodies for the three of us, using the flesh and blood of many people and help from the Nether Syndicate. In the end, they failed. The three of us managed to mimic the Threefold Soul and merge it into a single body, but the flesh turned to stone and we were trapped inside. If it hadn’t been for what happened that rainy night, I never would’ve become human.
Many things in this world are built on sacrifice. If you want to grow stronger, you won’t get far just by training at this stage. Why do you think you were brought here to witness all this? Surely you know the answer.
"Let me out of here."
I muttered, but suddenly the Wraithlord flew at me and slapped my forehead. Instantly, my world spun, and my body no longer felt like my own.
Without realizing it, I gradually came to. I was still on the roof, but suddenly I couldn’t move—my body didn’t respond at all, even though I wanted to cover my forehead with my hand. My body slowly stood up on its own.
"What are you trying to do?"
I shouted angrily—my consciousness had been seized by the Wraithlord, just like that, without warning. Even my strength was under his control.
"If you want to strengthen your Deathbane Aura, the only way is to take lives. You know this, but you won’t do it because of your conscience—so I’ll help you, Ethan Zhang. Besides, these people are already dead, just clusters of thought. Killing them shouldn’t be hard."
I tried desperately to resist, but suddenly a stream of Deathbane Aura appeared in the street, swelling like water. Everyone around noticed and panicked, trying to flee.
A sharp sound rang out—the surface of the Deathbane Aura stream split into thin, needle-like strands, spreading in all directions like barbed spikes.
"Stop! What do you think you’re doing?"
I roared, but my body was completely out of control. My consciousness clashed with the Wraithlord’s, but he was relentless—he had no intention of stopping.
"Didn’t you hear me? I said stop!"
In that instant, at my shout, the Deathbane Aura that was about to pierce everyone suddenly stopped. Huang Mingfa stood beside me, his face full of terror.
"What’s wrong? Aren’t these guys all evil? They killed countless people when they were alive, and their thoughts are still wicked. They want to kill you too."
"My life is none of your business, Wraithlord. Listen up: I made it this far because I refuse to become someone like you. That’s why I’m still standing. Now get out of my head—get out!"
With a whoosh, the Deathbane Aura in the street instantly dispersed. I regained control of my body, dropping to a half-crouch, gasping for breath. I didn’t take it back—the Wraithlord just gave up. Suddenly, I sensed a familiar presence, so I sat down cross-legged and closed my eyes.
"John Chou, how did you know...?"
"Of course I knew. You’ve done it before—taken control of Ethan Zhang’s body. Now that I’ve seen it, I know how to deal with it."
The moment I regained consciousness in the Instinctive Space, I saw John Chou already there. The Wraithlord looked furious, glaring viciously at John Chou.
"Brother, how could you be so careless? You let that guy take over your body so easily."
I stared quietly at the Wraithlord, and he glared coldly back at me.
"You must be getting desperate, old man. If that Deathbane Ghost really becomes Ethan Zhang’s Ghost Soul, you’ll never get another chance to take over his body, right?"
The Wraithlord snorted.
"I’m just trying to help Ethan Zhang. Do you think his current strength is enough to handle the upcoming Dark Banquet?"
"No."
John Chou answered right away. I stared at him in surprise. He floated over to me, looking pale.
"Brother, you need to hurry. Haven’t you already figured out the trick? Just follow it—do what you want, don’t listen to anyone else."
I nodded, and the Wraithlord burst out laughing.
"You know Ethan Zhang’s talent, John Chou. To get stronger, he has two options: either create something new with his current power, or improve the quality of his strength by any means necessary. He can’t do the first, so he’ll have to take the second path."
John Chou chuckled, his body slowly dissolving into blood-red particles.
"There’s a third way, isn’t there, brother? I’ve run into some trouble here. This time, it’s up to you to save me."
John Chou’s voice faded away. I stared in shock. The third way he mentioned—I suddenly understood, and looked at the Wraithlord.
"I’m not you, and you’re not me, Wraithlord. Stay out of my life."