The two fighting cultivators were not very strong. After Evan Chu used Earthshift to sneak over, neither noticed him. With his current power, he could easily kill them both in an instant, but he didn’t want to do that—he needed to get some useful information from them.
It wasn’t easy to encounter Ghost Clan members in the Land of the Undead, so Evan wasn’t about to waste this opportunity. Their strength was about the same, and their fight looked extremely dangerous.
“Why should we fight each other to the death? We’d be better off joining forces and attacking other people. That way, our chances of winning go way up. If we battle here until one of us dies, and someone else suddenly shows up, aren’t we just handing them the prize?” one Ghost Clan youth said.
The other Ghost Clan youth stopped too, watching his opponent warily in case of a sneak attack. “You’re not wrong. It’s tough in the Land of the Undead—no flying, plus all kinds of monsters. If we stick together, even if we can’t finish the trial, at least our odds of surviving go way up.”
“I think so too. Here’s what I suggest: let’s slowly gather a few people and target lone stragglers. When it’s over, we split the wooden tokens evenly. Sound good?” said the first youth.
“That’s not a bad plan. Let’s get out of here. If we keep fighting, nothing will come of it—and if we attract others, things will get messy,” the second youth said.
Hearing that they were about to leave, Evan Chu popped out of the earth and said, “Leaving already? You haven’t handed over your wooden tokens yet. How can I let you go?”
Evan’s sudden appearance startled both Ghost Clan youths, who eyed him like he was a deadly enemy. One demanded, “Who are you, friend? How did you come out of the earth? Did you hear what we just said?”
“Of course I heard you. Why else would I show up? I was hoping to let you two fight until you were both half-dead and then swoop in for the spoils, but it looks like that plan’s shot,” Evan said with a grin.
“Nice scheme, but too bad for you. Now that you know our plan, you’ve got two choices: join us and make our team stronger, or hand over your wooden token and maybe we’ll let you live,” one youth said.
“I’d love to join your team, honestly—but you guys are way too weak. I’ve got my pride, and besides, I’m used to working solo. So your first offer? No way I’m accepting it.
As for the second option, I’d love to help you out, but there’s only one wooden token. Who should I give it to? If I hand it over, you’ll just fight each other again. That’s no good. So I’ve got a better solution,” Evan said with a laugh.
“What solution? Let’s hear it,” one of them asked, not taking Evan’s answer seriously at all.
“It’s actually really simple: you two hand your wooden tokens over to me, and then there won’t be any more fighting. I’m doing this for your own good,” Evan said, putting on a serious face—even though inside he was laughing so hard it hurt.
“Brat, you’re just asking for death if you think you can mess with us!” One Ghost Clan youth finally lost his patience; this guy was treating them like clowns.
He slashed at Evan with his longsword, but Evan didn’t care in the slightest about the Ghost Clan’s strength. His own defense was so monstrous that even a full-power strike wouldn’t break through.
Bang! The longsword struck Evan directly. The Ghost Clan youth thought this blow would be enough to kill him, and was still thinking to himself, ‘How could someone so weak even deserve our wooden token?’
But before that thought even finished, the reality in front of him turned his shock into terror. He knew exactly how powerful his sword was—enough to smash a boulder to dust. Yet the guy in front of him wasn’t hurt at all.
What stunned him even more was the massive rebound force from that strike. His wrist snapped, his whole body was sent flying, his sword hit the ground, and he spat out a mouthful of blood—he couldn’t get up for ages.
It all happened in a flash. The other Ghost Clan youth didn’t even have time to react before he saw his former equal now gravely injured. What did that mean? The young man before him was so strong, the only thing left to do was run for his life.
Thinking this, the youth turned and ran. Not being able to fly was the most frustrating thing for him—he sprinted at full speed, but Evan didn’t care. Even if he let the guy run for half an hour, it wouldn’t matter.
Evan walked over to the Ghost Clan attacker and smiled, “How does it feel? Isn’t it about time to hand over your wooden token?”
The Ghost Clan youth scrambled backward, terror all over his face. “Who are you, anyway? There’s no one like you in the Ghost Clan!” he demanded.
“Who I am doesn’t matter. What matters is you’re dead for sure. I gave you a chance, but you didn’t appreciate it—now you’ll have to pay with your life,” Evan said. The Frostbane Sword appeared in his hand, and he unleashed Earthsplitter.
A wave of powerful sword qi slammed into the youth, leaving him half-dead. Evan didn’t finish him off right away—instead, he used the Star-Siphon Method to drain the man’s ghost-qi. This guy’s ghost-qi was pretty good, much better than most of the Ghost Clan he’d absorbed before.
Agonized screams echoed from the Ghost Clan youth’s mouth. Before long, Evan had drained all his ghost-qi, leaving him a grotesque monster—half his body missing muscle, looking like a skeleton but still alive.
Evan was quite satisfied with his handiwork. “Time to end this!” he said, swinging the Frostbane Sword again. In an instant, the skeleton was smashed to pieces, bones scattered everywhere.
Evan found the youth’s storage ring, took out the wooden token and some Netherstones, and ignored the pills and other junk—his current strength made those things useless.
After finishing up, Evan used Shifting Position to vanish from the spot. There was still one ‘fish that escaped the net’—he had to deal with that. That meant another wooden token.
From afar, Evan soon spotted the fleeing Ghost Clan youth. Oddly, the guy wasn’t running anymore—he was just strolling along, clearly thinking Evan wouldn’t come after him.
Evan landed about a kilometer ahead, quietly waiting for him. A huge boulder blocked Evan from view, making it impossible to spot him.
Soon, the Ghost Clan youth reached the boulder. Evan flashed out, blocked his path, and said with a grin, “Why so slow? I’ve been waiting ages for you.”
Evan’s sudden appearance nearly made the Ghost Clan youth fall over in fright. Staring at Evan in horror, he stammered, “Y-you… how are you here?” (To be continued)