After landing, John Chou stood up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. In the distance, Quentin Kue glared angrily at John Chou.
"Your intentions are far too obvious, John Chou. How did you learn about my plans?"
John Chou said nothing, simply smiled and continued to approach with his sword raised. The other Ghost Sovereigns watched, understanding John Chou’s intent: to keep probing and testing, while they observed, hoping to find Quentin Kue’s weakness.
Once the Ghost Sovereigns found Quentin Kue’s weakness, they would finally have a chance to defeat him—and escape Abyssal Hell.
Quentin Kue was extremely cautious. He relied mainly on ghostly energy to fight and used few other techniques. He was wary of the Ghost Sovereigns because of their rapid growth—a fact he tried not to reveal.
"Quentin Kue, you’ve been slaying ghosts for so many years, and after leaving for the living world, you spent decades there. As a powerful ghost, you’re restricted by the forces of the living world—ordinary food and most things that could replenish your ghost energy are useless to you. So, I suspect the only way you’ve survived in the living world all these years is by consuming other ghosts to maintain your strength. The longer you stay in the living world, the weaker your ghost energy becomes."
Quentin Kue stared at John Chou in shock. As he spoke, John Chou charged forward again. In an instant, Quentin Kue’s wooden sword drew a line of red flame, forcing John Chou to retreat.
With a boom, the flames exploded in midair. Clusters of fire scattered across the ground, instantly burning through it as if devouring everything, consuming the scorched surface made of ghostly energy.
"John Chou, let me. You’ve learned all you can from direct combat—now I’ll show you something different."
Lord Shenyan stepped forward as he spoke. Quentin Kue watched him with suspicion, clearly puzzled by Lord Shenyan’s power.
"Lord Shenyan, where did you obtain the power of Hellfire?"
Quentin Kue asked. Lord Shenyan said nothing, but walked forward. John Chou sat on a stone beside Yuna Ji, sheathed his sword, and smiled as he watched the upcoming fight. Yuna Ji’s smile had vanished; she stared intently at Quentin Kue.
"Next is your turn, Yuna Ji. As for the others, they’re not suited for this kind of direct battle."
John Chou spoke; Yuna Ji nodded. I looked at Redhair, Basil Bertram, Yun Mei, and Ouyang Meng. These four Ghost Sovereigns really aren’t suited for direct combat—they need a fight decided by a sudden burst of power and tactical awareness. But as long as John Chou and the others figure out Quentin Kue’s abilities, things will be much easier.
To me, this battle seems extremely one-sided. Though more than a hundred years have passed and the Ghost Sovereigns have grown much stronger, Quentin Kue is still far more powerful. I know this well—even though he later merged completely with Lord Shenyan after their peak battle, sharing a single ghost body, there’s no denying that in this era, none of the Ghost Sovereigns could defeat Quentin Kue alone.
With a whoosh, Lord Shenyan made his move. Quentin Kue swept his wooden sword, unleashing a line of red fire just as before. Instantly, Lord Shenyan dodged the flames and lunged with his sword at Quentin Kue. As Quentin Kue moved to block, Lord Shenyan’s blade grazed his wooden sword and stabbed straight for his throat—a last-second shift that Lord Shenyan excelled at. I’ve seen it countless times.
It worked—Quentin Kue had to retreat. With a whoosh, he moved to the exit, staring intently at Lord Shenyan.
In an instant, the two resumed their duel, but only exchanged blows without using real power. Quentin Kue seemed to enjoy it, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. He had dodged Lord Shenyan’s sword several times, unable to parry it.
John Chou watched with intense focus. For him, it seemed he could see more than anyone else. Quentin Kue began to float, battling Lord Shenyan in midair.
Suddenly, Lord Shenyan’s sword missed. Quentin Kue seized the moment, thrusting his wooden sword at Lord Shenyan’s heart. Lord Shenyan deftly shifted, the blade grazing his chest. At that moment, Lord Shenyan switched hands, stabbing upward.
Quentin Kue dodged, but a faint blood mark appeared on his cheek, along with a small, dying flame.
"Not bad, Lord Shenyan."
Suddenly, Lord Shenyan lunged forward, a ball of flame appearing in his hand, slowly morphing into a blooming red lotus. This time, Quentin Kue didn’t fight head-on; instead, he crouched in midair, mouth open. As Lord Shenyan closed in, he pushed the red lotus flame forward.
Unhurriedly, Quentin Kue extended a finger, caught the red lotus flame, and tossed it aside. Instantly, where the flame landed, the ground was burned to ash and vanished. The two paused their fight.
Yuna Ji grew anxious.
"That guy’s too strong. How do we break through? John Chou, have you thought of a plan? If not, let me use my army to wear him down bit by bit, and we’ll try to open the door and escape."
John Chou nodded. Lord Shenyan lunged at Quentin Kue again, but this time, Quentin Kue didn’t block head-on. Instead, he landed and stabbed his sword into the ground.
A sizzling sound filled the air. Countless black tendrils erupted from the ground as if provoked. Basil Bertram stared at Quentin Kue in shock.
"You’ve already taken control of everything here. You can’t fool me, John Chou. You’ll never leave Abyssal Hell."
Lord Shenyan hovered with sword raised. Quentin Kue straightened up. Lord Shenyan sensed something was wrong—a streak of blue energy leaked from his body. Quentin Kue was puzzled. With a deafening boom, a massive flame shaped like a demon erupted skyward, engulfing Lord Shenyan.
Everyone watched anxiously, but John Chou seemed to notice something. As Quentin Kue turned to look at John Chou and the others, he sensed danger, raised his sword, and darted left to escape.
"Now!"
John Chou shouted. Instantly, the Ghost Sovereigns flew over. Lord Shenyan was engulfed in a huge red lotus flame. Quentin Kue seemed to realize something; all the Ghost Sovereigns rushed forward. John Chou reached the door first, trying to open it. Quentin Kue saw things turning for the worse.
"Black Rope Flame."
With a clatter, burning chains shot from Quentin Kue’s mouth, instantly crisscrossing and sealing the door. Lord Shenyan charged at Quentin Kue, a thunderous explosion, flames erupting. John Chou stopped at the chained door, which held a strange power. The door was sealed—there was only one way out: kill Quentin Kue.
With a thud, Quentin Kue fell to the ground, badly burned. Lord Shenyan, breathing hard, crouched, leaning on his sword.
"You really do have troublesome powers. What was that blue light just now? It balanced my strength for a moment and let you use it."
Lord Shenyan said nothing, stood up, and for the first time forcefully used his innate power, damaging his body. Yuna Ji walked over to him.
"Quentin Kue, do you want to know where all the skeletons and lost souls here have gone?"
Basil Bertram kept inspecting the chained door. After a long while, he shook his head.
"We rushed things—Quentin Kue isn’t stupid. He knows we want to escape and will always watch the door. Now the only way is to kill him."
John Chou nodded. Suddenly, green rings appeared on the ground and in the sky. Skeletons wielding weapons emerged from them. Within minutes, Quentin Kue was surrounded by layers of black skeletons. Yuna Ji laughed, glaring at Quentin Kue.
Quentin Kue was even more surprised, unable to understand how Yuna Ji had done it.
"You’ve taken control of all these lost souls and skeletons, Yuna Ji. What exactly do you plan to do?"
Yuna Ji sat atop a throne made of bones, quietly watching Quentin Kue.
"Quentin Kue, I have nothing more to say. If you block our way, you’ll have to die. Taste the fury of these lost souls in Abyssal Hell."
Instantly, skeletons charged at Quentin Kue. He easily scattered them with his wooden sword, but within seconds, they regrouped. Surprised, Quentin Kue unleashed a massive flame, broke out of the encirclement, but more skeletons appeared, surging toward him like a flood.
Quentin Kue stared quietly at the skeleton army, then glanced at Yuna Ji.
"No matter who you are, I can’t let you leave. If you escape, both worlds will face another catastrophe."