Mr. Brown waited anxiously on the sidelines, wanting to intervene. But at that moment, he noticed the same look of excitement on John Chou's face as on the woman opposite him—Yuna Ji. Both seemed intoxicated by the brutality of their duel.
"Young master, you've always been like this since you were a child—always eager to compete with others."
With a clang, the crimson sword slipped from John Chou's hand and soared into the air. Instantly, he floated upward, his whole body emitting a white mist that sizzled. On the ground, however, Yuna Ji remained earthbound. At that moment, John Chou seemed to realize something.
"What exactly are you? If you were a ghost, you could float, you know—just like I am now."
As he spoke, John Chou drifted through the air a few times, while Yuna Ji crouched low, gripping her long spear, poised to strike at any moment.
"Damn it."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Yuna Ji leapt high into the air, her long spear thrusting straight toward John Chou's chest.
A screeching, piercing sound rang out as her long spear scraped against the pale dawn sword gripped in John Chou's hands, sending sparks flying. The powerful impact drove John Chou straight down to the ground, where he crashed with a thunderous boom, dust billowing everywhere.
After a somersault in midair, Yuna Ji landed lightly on the ground. Though she appeared weightless, the instant she touched down, the earth around her split and shattered, stones flying in every direction.
Through the swirling dust, Yuna Ji charged into the spot where John Chou had just landed, her long spear flashing. As the smoke cleared, John Chou's pale dawn sword was already pressed against Yuna Ji's neck.
"Did you win, young master?"
Zane Zhuang watched with excitement, but his expression quickly soured. The pale dawn sword stopped just millimeters from Yuna Ji's neck, while her jade spear had already pierced John Chou's chest. John Chou gripped the spear tightly with his left hand, refusing to let Yuna Ji move it any further.
"You could die, you know—this duel is deadly."
John Chou smiled, blood continually streaming from the corner of his mouth.
"Maybe so. But you just keep getting stronger, don't you?"
Yuna Ji's movements grew ever faster, her attacks more ferocious. John Chou's eyes could barely keep up. He had never encountered anyone like her before. In the Underworld Court, John Chou had met countless powerful ghosts, but none as formidable as Yuna Ji.
Even if those in the Underworld Court might be stronger than Yuna Ji, John Chou could at least manage against them. But now, he was completely outmatched; if this went on, he would truly die.
A sizzling sound filled the air as the bleeding from John Chou's wound stopped. He was using Ghost Aura to repair his Ghost Soul, minimizing the damage as much as possible.
A creaking noise echoed as Yuna Ji yanked her long spear with great force. John Chou smiled, gritting his teeth through the pain.
"Can we take a break?"
That single remark made Yuna Ji burst out laughing.
"What do you think? Didn't you just hit me on the head with a stone?"
"Still holding a grudge, huh? Women really are mysterious creatures."
With a swish, John Chou twisted his body, gritted his teeth to endure the pain, and slashed his pale dawn sword toward Yuna Ji.
Blood spattered as John Chou quickly leapt back. Yuna Ji yanked out her long spear and immediately launched after him, thrusting the weapon at his head, clearly intent on finishing him off right then and there.
The strike was fierce beyond compare. The instant John Chou landed, a blast of wind rushed at him. He slowly lowered his right hand, then suddenly swung his pale dawn sword upward. With a clang, Yuna Ji's long spear was deflected, but not before it grazed John Chou's cheek, drawing a line of blood. He rolled to his left and immediately floated up, putting distance between them.
With a thunderous crash, a fissure split the ground. Mr. Brown watched in shock, drawing a sharp breath.
"See, Mr. Brown? I told you not to get involved. Even if both of us teamed up, we wouldn't stand a chance against this Monster Yuna."
A flicker of hesitation crossed Yuna Ji's eyes, but she still charged toward John Chou. Suddenly, John Chou plummeted from the air and appeared right in front of her.
With a swish, Yuna Ji's long spear stabbed into John Chou. But in an instant, the John Chou before her dissolved into a cloud of gray mist. As Yuna Ji hesitated, John Chou was already at her side, swinging his sword at her head.
But in the next instant, John Chou floated backward at incredible speed for a counterattack. Yuna Ji swept her long spear horizontally in a flash.
"You can read my moves."
Yuna Ji shot John Chou a cold, piercing look, but he just smiled and waved his hand.
"How could I? If I really could, I wouldn't be struggling so much right now."
"You liar."
With a thunderous crash, Yuna Ji surged toward John Chou at even greater speed. This time, John Chou couldn't see a thing—just a flash of black-green as her long spear drove for his head.
With a clang, another seemingly weak strike altered Yuna Ji's attack trajectory. The force of her thrust sent John Chou flying sideways; he rolled across the ground several times before finally coming to a stop, battered and bruised as he struggled to his feet.
"Eating dirt like a dog—what a lousy feeling. Ptooey, ptooey..."
John Chou spat out the sand that had gotten into his mouth and brushed the dust off his clothes. Yuna Ji didn't move, just stared at him.
John Chou could only shrug helplessly.
"It's not that I can read your moves. It's because I know how terrifying you are. My only option is to avoid getting hit—if you land a blow, I'm dead."
"Then how do you manage it?"
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Yuna Ji seemed deeply interested in John Chou. She asked him more questions, sneering as she stayed in a half-crouch, gripping her long spear, ready to charge again.
Suddenly, Yuna Ji dashed forward again, kicking up a cloud of dust. She moved even faster—John Chou couldn't keep up, and before he could react, her long spear was already stabbing toward him.
With a whoosh, John Chou split into three, dodging Yuna Ji's attack. All three copies raised pale dawn swords, thrusting at Yuna Ji's neck.
"Stop with these cheap tricks."
Yuna Ji roared, slashing at the leftmost John Chou. With a bang, the two other copies vanished in wisps of black smoke. With a clang, John Chou, gripping his pale dawn sword with both hands, was sent flying and crashed to the ground once again.
"That was close... If it weren't for this weapon, I'd be dead by now."
A series of sharp, slicing sounds filled the air as Yuna Ji launched another fierce assault. John Chou kept deflecting her rapid, relentless thrusts with his pale dawn sword, but wounds kept opening up all over his body. His Ghost Aura was nearly depleted, and he was at his limit. Meanwhile, Yuna Ji showed no sign of fatigue—her attacks only grew stronger.