A thunderous rumble echoed as two colossal serpents swelled to nearly the height of Serpent City itself. Around Serpent City, black pillar-like objects appeared, each end glowing with a faint green light.
Black, red, and green patterns appeared on the ground. I lay there powerless, unable to stop the two serpents from fighting. All the ghost energy in my body had been given to the Spirit Snake, and I couldn't even sense my Ghost Soul anymore.
Black threads crisscrossed and spiraled outward in all directions. The once gray sky turned black. I noticed the serpent heads atop Serpent City glowing with two intense green lights, like a pair of eyes.
The two coiled serpents suddenly reared up, towering above Serpent City. The sky grew darker, and violent currents swept across everything nearby.
Around me, ghosts screamed and fled, desperate to escape the battle zone. Black threads, like spider silk, shot up from the ground, stretching toward the black pillars at the perimeter, drifting aimlessly.
With a deafening crash, a powerful airflow was visible near the heads of the two serpents as their massive skulls collided.
Bang! My chest tightened. Eyes wide, I felt an overwhelming force slam into me. The red, black, and green patterns on the ground multiplied, weaving in complex patterns. The earth caved in under the impact, then instantly returned to normal.
Bang! The serpents' heads crashed together again. I scrambled to my feet, feeling as if my insides would burst. A cracking sound erupted as red Hex Chains shot from my body, wrapping around me. The chains quickly sank into my flesh, imprinting themselves like tattoos.
The rumbling continued as the two serpents wrestled and gradually entwined, each straining to crush the other. The pressure on my body grew unbearable, and I was nearly suffocating.
I gasped for breath. Nearby, the pillar-like crystals rising from the ground shone ever brighter. The Spirit Snake was being suppressed, its head forced upward while the Serpent King pinned it below. Both serpents bit each other's vital spot, still struggling. The air crackled, strong currents sweeping past. Nothing remained on the ground.
Only the ground covered in red, black, and green lines remained. Sweat drenched my forehead as a crushing pressure radiated from within, threatening to burst my body. The serpents’ ghost energy still clashed violently.
The Hex Chains binding my body began to crack. My body swelled at a visible rate, my mouth wide open, struggling for breath.
“Pathetic. You can’t handle even this little bit of ghost energy? Ethan Zhang, I heard about you years ago. I thought you’d be strong, but turns out you’re just a fat cat. Your looks match your power! You wonder about your form, don’t you? Why can John Chou turn into a wolf, but you’re stuck as a fat cat?”
I turned to look at Tabby Cat King. He stroked his whiskers, already standing behind me, quietly watching the battle unfold.
“Let me help you.”
With that, Tabby Cat King plucked his whiskers again, sticking them one by one onto my head.
“What are you—”
Before I could finish, my balloon-like body shrank back to normal. The internal pressure vanished, but I could still feel something like a straw piercing my Ghost Soul, draining away the force it had been bearing.
“Thanks.”
Tabby Cat King squatted politely, scratching his chin. He looked odd, his whiskers completely gone, leaving his face bare and almost comical. His huge black-green eyes stared at me, and I couldn’t help but laugh with my mouth wide open.
“If you keep laughing, fat cat, I won’t help you. Figure it out yourself.”
Tabby Cat King said, and I quickly lowered my head in embarrassment and apologized.
The two entwined serpents were locked together, neither willing to let go, each trying to crush and devour the other.
“I haven’t seen a sight like this in ages. Not bad—the abilities of these two, with so many Specter Webs tangled together.”
I looked at Tabby Cat King in confusion. He plucked up the red, black, and green threads from the ground. Only now did I realize these were indeed Specter Webs.
“Don’t you know Blue Wraiths have three types of Specter Webs? The red ones are rarer. Each type has different properties and determines how a Blue Wraith fights. The usual Specter Web is green. They aren’t just tools for probing opponents—they’re the touchstone of combat. Looks like you’re pretty ignorant about Blue Wraiths. How have you survived this long? Incredible.”
I lowered my head, unsure how to respond to Tabby Cat King. What he said was true, but no one ever taught me. Back at The Dark Banquet, Isabelle Frost had promised to teach me Blue Wraith combat, but she gave up halfway. I don’t know why, but I’m sure it’s related to John Chou.
“Do you see any difference between the red and black Specter Webs?”
Tabby Cat King grabbed a black Specter Web in one hand and a red one in the other.
“Red is thin, black is thick?”
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I asked in confusion, and Tabby Cat King looked exasperated, rolling his eyes upward as if deeply annoyed.
“Sorry, I really...”
“Half right. Sigh, what a fool. Aren’t you a Snake? How can you be so dense?”
I looked at Tabby Cat King awkwardly.
Remember: The red Specter Web compresses ghost energy for ghost arrays and deadly attacks. The black Specter Web expands ghost energy for confusing powers, like dividing Ghost Souls. The green Specter Web balances both, but can’t focus power into a solid form like red, nor release it to the maximum like black. If you compress or release too much, the green Specter Web snaps and ghost energy spills out, which is a waste. Many Blue Wraiths use green Specter Webs to seek balance in battle. Got it?
Got it. Thank you.
With a thunderous crash, we looked over. The two serpents finally released each other, their tangled bodies flung to either side by the violent collision. Their massive forms seemed about to hit the ground, but instantly began to shrink rapidly.
With a whoosh, the Serpent King steadied himself in midair, while the Spirit Snake crashed to the ground in the form of a weak, skinny panda.
“It seems the influence you expected from this Ethan Zhang was mistaken. Your power is beneath mine.”
The Spirit Snake crawled up from the ground and looked at me.
“Qiyuan, give me a little more power.”
I grunted in response, but Tabby Cat King immediately leapt forward.
“Do you want to destroy him? His Ghost Soul and ghost energy recover quickly because of something special inside him, but if you keep this up...”
I smiled slightly, walked up, and patted Tabby Cat King on the shoulder.
“Have you ever seen my limit?”
Tabby Cat King turned to me. The Spirit Snake smiled at me, and I pressed my hand to my chest.
“Take as much as you want. Go ahead!”
I said, then plopped down on the ground. As I exhaled, my other seven Ghost Souls flew out and landed beside me.
“I want to manifest my instincts. You guys, help me stabilize the evil spirit inside.”
As I spoke, the Tabby Cat King watched me with great interest.
"Instinct... coexistence... evil spirit..."
With a buzz, I pressed one palm to the ground. In that instant, I sensed something. The Spirit Snake before me had completely taken on my form; the panda's appearance vanished. Smiling, he held up a green, snake-patterned dagger entwined with a tiny red serpent.
"Thanks, Ethan Zhang. And all of you."
"Win this."
As I spoke, patches of green light appeared on my back. Gradually, this green substance began to flow like water, growing thicker and more viscous.
With a roar, the green liquid on my back began to twist, then instantly morphed into a solid green evil spirit—no longer translucent as before, but fully corporeal.
In that moment, my heart grew cold, my thoughts began to succumb to the evil spirit's influence, and blue fangs sprouted at my lips. The evil spirit's power grew stronger.
Seven Ghost Souls immediately gathered around me, each pressing a hand to the evil spirit on my back. None of us reverted to our original forms—only the Spirit Snake transformed back into Ethan Zhang's likeness.
"Impressive. Such a powerful manifestation of instinct—I’ve never seen anything like it in the Animal Realm. And your strength can even defy the realm’s laws. Not bad, Ethan Zhang, you bastard."
I tilted my head, raised my palm slightly, and gave a thumbs-up, grinning.
"I've long since surpassed my limits—again and again, every time I crossed the line between life and death."