I could no longer stand. Lying atop a floating floorboard, I felt the Seven Ghost Souls had already returned to my body—it had been several days now.
Earlier, I’d only attempted once to restore myself to full strength. My already damaged Seven Ghost Souls suffered a severe impact.
“Get some rest.”
I shook my head and stood up.
"Young lady, everything about you is quite extraordinary."
Jules said nothing, just looked at me quietly.
“If your Seven Ghost Souls weren’t in this condition, you could use that method. But your Seven Ghost Souls are already fragile. If you add more strain, I’m afraid you won’t be able to withstand it.”
I didn’t argue. I just waited quietly, planning to rest for a while.
Just then, Darren suddenly appeared. He raised one hand; I was a little surprised, not knowing what he was up to. But as a swirl of black mist gathered, a streak of red light gradually emerged.
A blooming Red Spider Lily—a mystical crimson flower tied to Isabelle Frost’s powers—slowly appeared. Isabelle Frost stood before me, her face full of anger.
I gave an awkward smile, almost having forgotten about her. Isabelle Frost drifted up to me and slapped a hand on my head.
“Ethan Zhang, at least let me know first.”
I looked at her intently. Sparring with a top-tier Blue Wraith like her was far more valuable than any meaningless solo training I could do.
Isabelle Frost floated upward, glancing around. At that moment, Darren radiated hostility, glaring at Isabelle. Jules held him back.
“Young lady, everything about you is quite extraordinary.”
She’s incredibly strong—far beyond what I can reach right now. In the Forest of Desire, no matter how I tried, I couldn’t land a single blow on Isabelle.
My eyes shifted from gold to crimson as I looked at Isabelle. She didn’t move at all, and I couldn’t discern what kind of supernatural power or technique she was using.
I sighed. It seemed she already knew everything that had happened here, so there was no need for me to go over all the details with her.
“Once I’ve recovered, let’s do a one-on-one.”
Isabelle suddenly said it. I let out a startled sound, looking at her—her cold, sharp expression showed she wasn’t joking.
“Don’t think just because I’m a woman, you can…”
“I wouldn’t, Miss Isabelle. Thank you.”
I looked at her seriously. Sparring with such a powerful Blue Wraith is far more meaningful than my pointless solo practice.
Isabelle asked Jules to get her something to eat. She started eating, clearly in a good mood. Every so often, she glanced toward the distant gray zone.
After resting for a whole day, my ghost energy finally recovered completely. I floated up—Isabelle already looked fully prepared.
She’s incredibly strong—right now, I can’t match her at all. In the Forest of Desire, no matter what I did, I couldn’t land a single hit on Isabelle.
My eyes started turning gold and red as I stared at Isabelle. She remained motionless. I had no idea what kind of power or ability she was using.
Especially those giant red spider lilies blooming all around her—I’d seen them before. Even the Ghost Monk and those Blue Wraiths were deeply wary of them, especially when defeating Ghost Rakshasa.
Especially the giant Red Spider Lilies blooming all around her—supernatural crimson flowers tied to Isabelle Frost’s powers. I’d seen them before; even the Ghost Monk and the other Blue Wraiths were deeply wary of their presence, especially during the battle against Ghost Rakshasa.
I nodded and slowly drew Belle.
Suddenly, I swung Belle at Isabelle Frost. Instantly, elegant, finely sculpted male illusions appeared all around her, each moving toward her. But Isabelle seemed unfazed, and I gave a faint smile.
“A decent opening move. But this seductive power is useless against me. Even if you attract my Ghost Souls, you still can’t land a hit.”
As Isabelle spoke, she reached out a hand. I had already swapped places with one of the illusionary men, raising Belle to strike, but Isabelle caught Belle with one hand.
Her other hand pressed against my chest. I felt a surge of ghost energy—weak, but strange. With a snap, I turned into black mist, but suddenly I felt a shock. Instantly, I reformed and flew out from the mist.
With a bang, I crashed into a floating house. By the time I got up, Isabelle was gone. I extended my Specter Web as far as I could in every direction.
I couldn’t sense her at all—which was deadly. How did Isabelle evade my Specter Web? Helpless, I immediately conjured two fully automatic mini-rifles.
I scanned my surroundings, watching quietly. The ghost energy Isabelle released earlier was small in quantity but highly effective. Even my Ghost Souls were shaken by it.
I had to catch sight of her as soon as possible. I calmed myself; my eyes bulged out, letting me see a full 360 degrees. With a whoosh, Zhu Tang and Yin Ghost emerged from my body—one going up, one going down.
Suddenly, I sensed something—right at my chest. It was Isabelle, crouched low, her hands transformed into palms, thrusting toward my chest.
I dodged back immediately, but Isabelle pressed forward, not giving me a moment to breathe.
“Too slow, Ethan Zhang.”
Two loud bangs—I was sent flying again. With a crash, I landed in a heap of piled-up cargo. Looking up, I saw Isabelle above me, with Yin Ghost and Zhu Tang charging at her.
With a roar, black flames surged at Isabelle, swirling with gusts of yin wind. The fire suddenly blazed higher, sealing off everything around her.
“Mirror reflection…”
I roared, instantly appearing above Isabelle, my two automatic pistols firing into the flames.
A barrage of dense, black baleful energy bullets slammed into the black flames.
This chapter isn’t over yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading!
The sound of bullets whistling filled the air. To my surprise, Isabelle dodged every shot—she didn’t take them head-on, just kept evading.
I raised Belle, tossed aside the pistols, and in my right hand appeared a Desert Eagle. With a slash at Isabelle, waves of baleful energy spilled out. I used my Specter Web to control it—though she dodged, the energy I commanded surged after her, trying to entangle her.
With a whoosh, Tong Ghost appeared from within me, mouth wide, trying to swallow Isabelle whole. Her movements were completely blocked. With the cry of a Vermilion Bird, Zhu Tang transformed—flaming wings shot out from him, different from before; now they could be controlled.
“Watch closely, Ethan Zhang. When force meets force, the stronger side doesn’t always win.”
My heart lurched, eyes wide. Isabelle held two pale green balls of ghost energy in her hands. Suddenly, one hand blocked Belle, while the other traced an arc—I stared in astonishment, it was so strange.
With a snap, everything around us faded, the green energy dispersing like mist, then collapsing. In an instant, my power vanished.
I felt a huge force—myself and my Ghost Souls were flung away. Once I steadied myself, I saw that Yin Ghost’s, Zhu Tang’s, and my own power had instantly dissolved in front of Isabelle.
It was like unstable power collapsing entirely. But my own power is perfectly under control—unless Isabelle did something, there’s no way it should break down.
“No matter how strong the power, there’s always loss during release. But from release to effect, what’s needed? Think carefully, Ethan Zhang.”
I gave a noncommittal grunt. Isabelle looked like she was about to call it quits.
“Not fighting anymore?”
I muttered, and with a whoosh, Isabelle appeared right in front of me, her blood-red eyes staring.
“If we keep going, you won’t be able to take it.”
As soon as Isabelle finished speaking, my head buzzed and the ghost energy inside me went wild—utterly violent. I spat out a mouthful of black blood. When Isabelle broke down my power just now, my insides were affected too.
After I calmed down, surprised, I raised my hand and released a stream of black baleful energy. I began to examine it closely—with a wave, a long strand of baleful energy shot toward a pavilion nearby. Just before hitting it, I stopped the energy.
But the baleful energy was clearly different. The part near my hand was denser, but along the ten or so meters to the pavilion, its quality varied—some spots strong, some weak.
I seemed to understand what Isabelle wanted to teach me. She must have used her ghost energy to destroy the weak links in my power—once those connections broke, my energy naturally dissipated.
“Effective, isn’t it, Ethan Zhang? After some hands-on practice.”
I nodded, looking up at Isabelle sitting in a chair above.
“Indeed, Miss Isabelle, I understood quickly. But to do what you did—that’s basically impossible for me right now.”
Isabelle rested her cheek on one hand and chuckled.
“No one said you had to do it right away. In fact, it’s impossible for you. After all, I’m the only one in this world who can find the weak points in power.”
I swallowed and quietly watched Isabelle. She wasn’t bragging—her ability was similar to Quentin Yin’s Bloodbane Power, both could destroy an enemy’s strength. As expected, they’re siblings.