The sound of clinking echoed as Sylvia Blue deflected wave after wave of silvery light within the starry river. Tan Tian's figure gradually faded, disappearing bit by bit into the galaxy, while more and more silvery beams surged at Sylvia. She dodged them continuously.
"That power is dangerous, but surprisingly, the girl can handle it with ease. Old Tan Tian probably can't figure out a way to hurt her for now, so he's stalling."
Basil Bertram watched seriously as he spoke.
"Old man, if you don't come out, don't blame me for being rude."
Sylvia shouted, and instantly her sword darted and stabbed rapidly, knocking away clusters of silvery light. In a flash, she broke out of the encirclement and slashed toward an empty spot.
"Feels good, but unfortunately, you guessed wrong."
Tan Tian's voice drifted over like it came from the wilderness. A silvery humanoid figure was cleaved in two by Sylvia's sword, and waves of silvery light floated forward behind it.
Sylvia glanced back briefly.
"I'm really not holding back anymore, so don't blame me, old man."
As she spoke, Sylvia suddenly released her grip. A streak of black light appeared behind her—a wide, strange greatsword materialized, its blade showing a human figure on the upper half and a legless skeleton on the lower half. The sword was both human and ghost.
With a loud bang, Sylvia's swing shattered the clusters of silvery light like broken glass. She snorted coldly and gripped her sword with both hands.
"Old man, let me show you what the true limit of human-ghost power looks like."
With a creak, the human-ghost greatsword split open from its tip, spreading out like wings. Instantly, streaks of black light shot out from the cracks in the blade.
"This power is bad news."
Yvonne May immediately raised a hand. With a buzzing sound and the crackle of breaking, I looked up at the sky. Cracks appeared in the black sky, letting through a strange aura—the Unreal.
"Nine Luminaries Starfall..."
Tan Tian roared in fury. Streaks of black light instantly split the starry river, twisting everything around at incredible speed. Sylvia swung her human-ghost greatsword, and the black beams bent and struck a single point. A flash of light appeared above our heads and on the ground below.
In an instant, a faint layer of silvery white appeared on the sky and ground. With a boom, Lord Shenyan immediately stepped in front of all of us.
A wild, violent force swept through the entire space, dissolving everything within—even the power of darkness was reduced to dust.
With a crisp snap, Sylvia waved her hand and drew all the black beams back into the human-ghost greatsword, closing the blade once more. She seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
A rustling sound echoed as Tan Tian's body began to disintegrate. In his hand, he held a brown Golden Soulstone, which had already started to crack and dissipate.
"Girl, you can't control this power. Stop using it—it's too dangerous. If you mess up, you might cause this dark zone, which separates the Unreal and the worlds of Yin and Yang, to collapse entirely ahead of time."
"Alright, alright, I get it. My dad told me not to use this sword unless I had to. But it's you—using that trick to try and trap me."
Sylvia grumbled as she put away the human-ghost greatsword and gripped Wish Prayer once again.
"Defense seems pointless."
As Tan Tian spoke, the Golden Soulstone in his hand shattered with a crack, and the powder began to fuse and gather, slowly condensing into a shriveled corpse that resembled Tan Tian.
"Titan Form..."
With a whoosh, the shriveled corpse instantly appeared before Sylvia. Its black fingernails stabbed at her, and she blocked several times with her sword before retreating. A black-green mist floated on the corpse's surface, and Sylvia pinched her nose.
"It stinks."
A rumbling sound echoed as Tan Tian hunched over, immense power roaring inside him. The shriveled corpse kept chasing Sylvia, but she wasn't afraid—she just didn't want to touch it. She raised Wish Prayer and sniffed it.
"It's disgusting! Old man, how can you be so gross?"
Tan Tian ignored Sylvia's words. His body crouched lower and lower, two bulges rising on his back. With a crack, two purple things protruded out. His eyes widened, turning purple-black, and sharp black fangs appeared in his mouth. His body sank down, moving on all fours like a beast.
With two swift slashes, Sylvia chopped the revenant into pieces as it reached her. She quickly retreated, pulled out Dawn Moon with her left hand, and fired. The black bullet struck the shattered corpse, forming a black sphere that absorbed all the fragments before gradually vanishing.
With a whoosh, the beast-like Tan Tian lunged at Sylvia, his sharp black claws extended. Sylvia blocked with her sword, but the immense force pushed her backward.
Suddenly, Sylvia stopped, a creak sounded, and her gaze turned icy. Tan Tian kept trying to push her back, but both of them froze completely, motionless as if paralyzed.
"So they've reached the level of Mindstrike combat."
John Chou muttered. I glanced at him in surprise, but I'd seen Lord Shenyan and the Wraith Ghost fight at Luoyin Temple before. They suddenly froze, and though I couldn't see clearly, it seemed they were battling fiercely in another space.
At this moment, I noticed Yvonne May looked uncomfortable.
"Miss Yvonne, are you alright?"
Basil Bertram asked, and Yvonne May nodded, her face pale.
"Why make the two of them fight here, John Chou?"
Yvonne May's voice was cold. John Chou shook his head.
"I didn't do anything. It's their hostile intent that led to this. Ever since the girl arrived in this world and Tan Tian returned, he realized something. This is beyond my control."
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Suddenly, Sylvia and Tan Tian moved at the same time, both retreating. With a crack, the purple material on Tan Tian's back broke off, and his fangs crumbled. Sylvia glanced at her shoulder—there was a bloody gash, bone exposed, but it healed quickly, leaving only a torn piece of clothing.
"Annoying."
"I saw it, girl—your Manifest Aspect."
With a whoosh, Tan Tian's body instantly disintegrated, turning into a white, semi-transparent stream that swept past Sylvia. She looked surprised, but quickly swung her sword, the sound of slashes echoing.
With a boom, Sylvia raised her sword with both hands as if struck by some force, falling straight to the ground. The white, semi-transparent stream turned into a ferocious human face, chasing after her and opening its mouth wide, trying to devour her.
"You stinky old man, I won't let you get away with this so easily."
With a boom, Sylvia stopped just before hitting the ground. She flipped nimbly, dodged Tan Tian's attack, and as she landed, her sword already slashed out.
With a swish and a flash of brown light, Tan Tian emerged from the white vapor, one hand already severed. When he landed, the ground caved in with a crash. He slowly stood up, gazing at Sylvia with emotion.
"You shouldn't be able to feel anything. How did you manage that?"
Sylvia straightened up, took a deep breath, and grinned mischievously, hands behind her back.
"Not telling you."
Tan Tian's face darkened, but his severed arm quickly regenerated.
"Wraithform..."
With a whimper, black vapor spewed from Tan Tian's body like steam. He vanished completely. Sylvia looked around warily as the black mist rushed toward her. She immediately aimed Wish Prayer at the approaching fog.
The sword in Sylvia's hand moved slowly, then she began tracing a circle. I watched in surprise—the gesture seemed familiar.
"So that's it."