Slash, Slash, Slash

Gurgle, gurgle.

The Ghost-faced King's head hit the ground.

Zhao Kongcheng's body swayed, then he toppled straight backward.

Lin Qiye reacted quickly, catching Zhao Kongcheng's body steadily. Only then did he realize just how terrible Zhao Kongcheng's condition was.

Scratches, impact wounds, injuries from falls... Within Lin Qiye's spiritual perception, Zhao Kongcheng's body was covered in countless wounds, blood streaming from them and dyeing more than half the rainwater and mud beneath him red. At least five or six of his bones were broken. Lin Qiye could not imagine how Zhao Kongcheng had managed to stand back up with injuries this severe.

Worst of all, Lin Qiye could clearly sense Zhao Kongcheng's body rapidly deteriorating. His life force was like the last ember in ashes, growing weaker and weaker...

Lin Qiye sat beside Zhao Kongcheng in helpless confusion. "Your body..."

"Cough, cough, cough... It's nothing. Just the aftereffects of forcibly unleashing my potential."

"At this rate, you'll die."

"I know."

"And you're fine with dying?"

"Hehehehe..." Zhao Kongcheng wanted to laugh, but halfway through, he coughed up blood again. "Not a loss. At least I got to experience a Forbidden Ruin before I died, and..."

"And what?"

"And I did it. Blade raised toward the abyss, Blood Stains the Sky." Zhao Kongcheng tremblingly reached out, scooped up some mud beneath him, and came away with a hand full of blood. "With this much blood loss, even if I can't stain the sky, staining a patch of earth shouldn't be a problem."

Lin Qiye froze. "But there aren't tens of thousands behind you. Other than me, no one saw your efforts. Was it still worth it?"

Zhao Kongcheng merely smiled without answering.

"Do me a favor."

"Tell me."

"There's a pack of cigarettes in my pocket. Light one for me."

Lin Qiye rummaged through the pocket over Zhao Kongcheng's chest for a while and pulled out a cigarette soaked by the rain. Then he found a lighter in his pants pocket.

He placed the cigarette between Zhao Kongcheng's lips, then shielded the lighter with his hand to keep the rain off and flicked it several times.

Click, click... click!

A tiny flame sprang up, lighting the cigarette in Zhao Kongcheng's mouth.

He took a deep drag and let out a long breath, as though his entire body had relaxed.

With the cigarette between his lips, Zhao Kongcheng looked up at the gray sky. Rain poured over his face and slid down his cheeks...

"Lin Qiye."

"Mm."

"I killed the Ghost-faced King with one slash. Did you see that?"

"I saw it."

The corners of Zhao Kongcheng's mouth rose uncontrollably. He was very happy.

Lin Qiye nodded. Just as he was about to say something, his entire body suddenly trembled.

He stiffly turned his head. In the mud some distance away, a burly headless corpse was slowly climbing to its feet...

On its body, a pale, eerie ghost face crawled rapidly like a parasite, moving from its legs to its back, then from its back to its chest...

In the end, it grew upon the Ghost-faced King's chest.

Meanwhile, the pale ghost face on the head that had just been severed had vanished without a trace.

Lin Qiye's pupils suddenly contracted!

The Ghost-faced King... wasn't dead yet.

The rain continued to fall.

Zhao Kongcheng stared at the sky, still savoring what had just happened, unaware of the change in Lin Qiye's expression.

"Damn it, even the captain couldn't kill that thing, but I killed it... Lin Qiye, tell me, am I awesome or what?"

Lin Qiye fell silent for a moment. Looking down at Zhao Kongcheng in his arms, he nodded heavily.

"Yeah. You're awesome!"

"With such a huge achievement, if I can survive, I'll definitely make general, right?"

"You definitely can." Lin Qiye's eyes were filled with certainty. "You have to survive!"

"Hehe."

Zhao Kongcheng seemed to have imagined something, and his face filled with contentment.

But the light in his eyes was gradually fading.

Lin Qiye's hands trembled slightly. He shook Zhao Kongcheng's body and shouted in a low voice:

"Zhao Kongcheng! You haven't become a general yet. You can't die!"

Zhao Kongcheng seemed no longer able to hear Lin Qiye's voice. His eyes gradually grew unfocused... He opened his mouth, and a voice as faint as a mosquito's sounded:

"Did I... look cool just now?"

"Cool!" Lin Qiye's lips trembled as he nodded firmly.

"Extremely cool! Cooler than anyone I've ever seen!"

A faint curve lifted Zhao Kongcheng's lips. His eyes slowly closed, and his body relaxed.

Zhao Kongcheng was dead.

Pitter-patter-patter...

Lin Qiye sat there blankly. The rain blurred his eyes, yet his gaze never left Zhao Kongcheng's body.

Until... those heavy footsteps sounded once more.

Lin Qiye pressed his lips together, took a deep breath, and slowly rose from the ground...

He turned around, his gaze falling on the headless corpse of the Ghost-faced King in the distance. It was as though a blazing sun burned fiercely within his eyes!

He took two steps forward, Then pulled a straight blade from where it lay embedded at an angle in the ground!

It was Zhao Kongcheng's blade.

Lin Qiye gripped the blade and walked toward the Ghost-faced King step by step. The rain had soaked him through, but it could not extinguish the fury in his heart!

Nor could it extinguish those golden eyes burning fiercely!

The ghostly faces on the Ghost-faced King's corpse twisted, seeming to howl soundlessly. Its steps grew faster and faster, until it charged at Lin Qiye like a staggering beast!

The headless Ghost-faced King, whose right arm had been severed by Zhao Kongcheng, could only rely on the claws of its left hand to launch a storm of attacks!

Holding his blade, Lin Qiye always seemed able to foresee its attack trajectories. Then, like lightning, he shifted aside and dodged.

He was like a midnight butterfly, swaying amid the bitter gale, yet never touched by a single leaf.

His terrifying dynamic vision, combined with the Starry Night Dancer's speed boost, made Lin Qiye seem like a phantom at that moment.

After dodging more than ten consecutive attacks from the Ghost-faced King, Lin Qiye expressionlessly raised his hand and swung his blade!

This time, he did not target any vital part of its body, but rather the pale ghostly face residing in the Ghost-faced King's chest!

If he had guessed correctly, that ghostly face was the Ghost-faced King's true body.

Although Zhao Kongcheng had severed the Ghost-faced King's head earlier, he had not harmed that ghostly face. That was why the Ghost-faced King had been able to return from the dead!

Lin Qiye's body danced through the gaps between the Ghost-faced King's attacks, the straight blade in his hand swinging again and again, slashing into that ghostly face over and over.

Though he had a fivefold strength boost, he still could not inflict any substantial damage on the Ghost-faced King. He could only leave shallow, bloody marks.

But that did not matter.

If one slash could not kill it, then he would slash it ten times, a hundred times!

This time... he would hack the Ghost-faced King until its soul scattered!

One slash, two slashes, three slashes...

The Ghost-faced King could not touch Lin Qiye, but Lin Qiye could strike the Ghost-faced King. Gradually, the ghostly face on its chest accumulated more and more wounds, becoming bloodier and bloodier, its expression increasingly agonized!

Before long, the Ghost-faced King's offensive slowed.

Killing intent flashed in Lin Qiye's eyes. Seizing the opportunity, he reversed his grip on the straight blade!

Then, with all his strength, he plunged it into the ghostly face!

A shrill, ear-piercing howl tore through the skies!