Black blood splattered through the air. A smile curled at the corner of my mouth. Inside, I felt a surge of excitement, a leap of joy—I’d done it. My twin swords slashed toward John He’s chest, forcing him to stumble backward. With a thud, he crashed to the ground.
Gradually, I began to understand what Hugh Thompson had told me, and I was grateful. Without his help those few nights, I wouldn’t have grasped the meaning behind this life-and-death battle.
I used to cast the Specter Web outward, covering a wide area. But as I kept contracting it, the Specter Web thickened, no longer as fine as before. Now, within a short distance of one or two meters, I could dodge attacks. Just now, I’d managed it—twice, in fact—evading John He’s strikes both times.
I looked at my Specter Web. At this moment, it floated around me like ropes, drifting in the air. John He climbed up, spat out a mouthful of black blood with a sickening sound, and stared at me with wild eyes.
Step by step, I walked toward him, gripping my twin swords tightly.
“I saw it, Ethan Zhang. The killing intent you unleashed in that instant—ha, good, very good.”
John He sprang to his feet and, in a flash, rushed toward me. His movements were still hard to follow, though slower than before. The moment my Specter Web sensed him entering my attack range, it darted aside, shifting two meters to the side. Dodging, I raised my twin swords and swung at John He.
John He ducked low to dodge, then braced one hand against the ground and kicked at me with both feet. I immediately raised my twin swords to defend, but with a bang, he kicked me clear into the air.
He laughed maniacally, stomping hard on the ground as he charged at me.
“Ethan Zhang, do you hate me? Do you hate that I can ruthlessly kill an old woman and a little girl I’ve never met?”
In an instant, rage erupted from my chest. I roared, beating my wings furiously to steady myself. John He threw a punch at me—I swung my twin swords at him, but his fist slammed into my cheek, sending me reeling backward.
“Why can you wear that mocking smile and so easily strip others of their lives?”
I roared, regaining my balance, then dodged John He’s fist in a blur. He laughed wildly, swinging at me again and again. I kept evading, but his rapid punches still landed several times on my body.
“If you hate me so much, then kill me, Ethan Zhang.”
John He taunted me, and my hatred made my eyes burn red. I couldn’t suppress the killing intent inside—I kept hacking wildly at him with my twin blades.
All the while, John He dodged with a mocking grin, his expression like a needle, constantly stabbing at my heart.
“I’ll kill you.”
I shouted, reckless now, swinging the Deathbane Aura Blade in a frenzy. My body, battered by John He’s relentless blows, was almost at its limit. My Ghost Soul was in bad shape—the Deathbane Aura surging through me was in utter chaos.
During a clash, my Deathbane Aura Blade sliced across John He’s body, leaving a gash. But his eyes only grew wilder. He raised his fist and unleashed Double Extreme at me again.
I roared, anger overriding all caution, swinging the Deathbane Aura Blade at John He. With a loud bang, my blade instantly shattered against his fist.
John He’s fist struck squarely against my chest. I gasped, my mouth wide open, as Deathbane Aura poured out of me and my Ghost Soul took severe damage. My form dissolved into a mist, and as I hit the ground, I reverted to my true shape.
I kept coughing and gasping, Deathbane Aura leaking from my body and dissipating into the air. I clutched my chest in agony—it felt like everything inside was tearing apart. John He started to pant too, but a smile still lingered on his face.
“Ethan Zhang, if you don’t kill me, the next to die could be Rachel Lan, or those two girls you just brought out, or maybe other members of the Ghost Burial Squad. What do you think?”
I screamed in rage, feeling hot surges inside me. Black liquid streamed from my eyes, mouth, and nose—I was barely able to stand, unable even to hold my shape.
But my bloodshot eyes burned with murderous anger, churning inside me. One tragic scene after another caused by the Immortality Society kept flashing through my mind.
“Do you know why, Shadow, pressed the remote that time?”
I struggled to my feet, glaring at John He as he walked toward me. Head raised, I roared—I had to kill him, I had to end this.
John He came right up to me, bent down, and leaned his head close.
“Because, deep inside, he has an abyss of darkness—just like you, Ethan Zhang. I saw it, the darkness in your heart. Ha, you hate me, don’t you? You want to kill me, crush me completely...”
With a sickening sound, I spat out more black liquid. My form was on the verge of collapse, unable to control the flow of Deathbane Aura. One hand had become limp as mud, and I could only weakly support myself with the other.
“Shadow’s two relatives were actually already dead from the start.”
I coughed, glaring at John He, trying to get up but unable to move. Suddenly, John He stomped on my head, pressing my face into the ground. He bent over me, that mocking, evil smile twisting his features.
(Irrelevant system message skipped.)
“I strangled them myself—the little girl and the old woman.”
John He said in a low voice. Instantly, I roared, desperately trying to gather the leaking Deathbane Aura, but it was useless—it kept slipping away. A single tear rolled down my cheek.
“Enough, Ethan Zhang. It’s about time—come with me to the Immortality Society. If you don’t see true darkness for yourself, you’ll never understand it.”
John He spoke, grabbing my throat with his left hand and lifting me off the ground. I’d completely lost the ability to resist.
“Ethan Zhang, calm yourself. Don’t let his words shake your will. Stay awake.”
Just then, a voice echoed inside me—it was the Vermilion Bird. I started shouting again.
“I’ll kill you—kill you!”
I completely ignored the Vermilion Bird’s words. All I could think about was crushing this Immortality Society bastard—murderous intent flooded every corner of my being.
Suddenly, I felt a surge of power well up inside me. I lost my form, turning to sludge—black liquid dripped from my hand, but in an instant, my shape returned. With a thunderous roar, flames erupted in my right hand.
At that moment, I saw John He flash a bizarre smile. I roared—red flames in my hand coalesced into a broken sword, but it slowly turned black. I raised the broken blade and swung it at John He, who was gripping my left hand.
With a swift motion, I chopped off John He’s left hand. As I broke free from his grip, black flames surged all over my body.
“Die.”
I screamed in fury, the broken sword in my right hand stabbing straight into John He’s body. He spat a mouthful of black blood onto my cheek, and a surge of bloodlust flooded my heart.
I laughed madly, yanking the broken sword out. Then, clenching my left fist, I punched John He in the face—black flames exploded as he was sent flying backward.
“Hahahahaha... Die...”
I laughed wildly, black flames burning all over me. In an instant, I was above John He, gripping two black broken swords in both hands, hacking at his body again and again until he crashed to the ground. I released the black longsword from my hands and clenched my right fist.
Black flames blazed on my right fist. I aimed at John He’s heart and smashed my fist down.
Suddenly, the Vermilion Bird let out a piercing cry. In the blink of an eye, a version of myself burning with red flames appeared before me—a hand pressed down on my right fist. With a boom, the surging black flames shot skyward.
“Wake up, Ethan Zhang, damn it.”
Then all I saw was a flash of red fire—a flaming fist struck my cheek, sending me flying backward. A hand grabbed me—it was the Vermilion Bird.
“Let go of me...”
I kept roaring in fury.
“You bastard, Ethan Zhang.”
Suddenly, the Vermilion Bird rushed into my body. My consciousness vanished in an instant.
When I came to, I found myself inside my instinctual space.
“You two, hold him down.”
It was the Vermilion Bird. My inner rage and killing intent made me want to return to reality and finish John He. Suddenly, the Resentful Ghost and Tong Ghost pinned me down, holding me tightly to the ground as I was about to vanish from this space.
“Boss Vermilion Bird, what now? This kid seems to have gone mad.”
I couldn’t hear anything anymore. I had to kill that bastard—no matter what, I had to kill him.
“Let me go!”