Evil Spirit

Emperor's Tomb Mountain Range, northern region.

A bottomless ravine split the land in two like a natural moat. The nearby ground crawled with sticky, threadlike matter, while a pitch-black tower rose from the ravine and pierced the clouds.

A massive dark-red eye hovered above the tower's peak, occasionally flashing with an eerie light as it monitored every movement nearby.

On the platform at the top of the tower, a humanoid figure stood with its arms crossed. It was over two meters tall, its dark-red skin seeming to have been repeatedly scorched by flames. Its eyes were sunken deep into their sockets like two burning lumps of charcoal, filled with savagery and an aura of destruction.

"The aura of a Tidal Rebellion Legion warrior."

At that moment, a slit opened across the Eye of Insight suspended above its head, and a hoarse voice came from within.

"What is the background of the Tidal Rebellion Legion?" the humanoid Evil Spirit life-form asked indifferently.

"According to the intelligence shared with me by the other nodes, it is a powerful legion made up of warriors who betrayed their faith. Their leader is known as Counter-Tide. He is one of the greatest obstacles to my race's occupation of this world."

"Betrayed their faith?"

Faced with the question, the dark-red eye immediately explained:

"You have just arrived from the dungeon world, so you do not yet understand this world's background. According to the intelligence shared with me by the other nodes, this world once had a powerful deity named Di Zhao. He was the true god worshiped by every living being in this world... For some unknown reason, he fell. The Tidal Rebellion Legion was born and established several thousand years after Di Zhao's fall. Its purpose from the very beginning was to oppose us. The warriors of the Tidal Rebellion Legion believed that Di Zhao had abandoned them, so they betrayed their faith and revered Counter-Tide instead."

"What a boring faith." A trace of disdain appeared in the Evil Spirit Warrior's eyes.

"Do not underestimate the warriors of the Tidal Rebellion Legion. The warriors of my race stationed at the other nodes have clashed with them many times and gained little advantage. The strength of this world's life-forms is also far beyond that of the dungeon world you previously helped conquer. Put away your contempt." The dark-red eye issued a solemn warning.

The Evil Spirit Warrior ignored the Evil Eye's warning. Its gaze swept toward the Crimson Plains in the Emperor's Tomb Mountain Range. Black slime surged from its body, wrapping around it and solidifying into a savage suit of armor, with a sharp black spike jutting from every joint.

"I'll go test him."

As soon as it finished speaking, the Evil Spirit Warrior transformed into a streak of pitch-black light that tore through the sky and sped directly toward the Crimson Plains.

Northern Crimson Plains.

Duan Xing stared expressionlessly at the players lurking in the distance, poking their heads out as they waited for him to kill the Evil Spirits. He could not even summon the urge to charge over and slaughter them.

To this day, he had no idea how many he had killed. There was simply no end to them.

Sitting blankly on the ground, he had begun considering a question.

Should he give up on the trial and leave?

Pride and frustration collided in his mind, and Duan Xing could not help letting out a dejected sigh.

He wanted to persevere, but he did not know how to continue.

This group of mysterious creatures even dug three feet into the ground wherever he had been. There was simply no way to preserve enough Evil Crystals to complete the trial.

Although the Runes Armor on his body had an information-recording function that could prove he had killed a large number of Evil Spirit life-forms—enough to complete the trial mission—

the examiner never used the battle records as a reference. It judged the completion of the assessment solely by the number of Evil Crystals obtained. If he suffered the setback of losing Evil Crystals during the process, that was also considered part of the assessment.

Just as Duan Xing was lost in thought, he suddenly sensed an intense ability fluctuation. He abruptly raised his head and looked toward the northwestern sky.

A mass of black light, carrying a dense aura of death, was speeding toward him.

"An Evil Spirit?!"

Realizing that the attacker was an intelligent Evil Spirit life-form, Duan Xing's expression became extremely solemn.

He sprang to his feet and reached for his left chest.

Click-clack~ Click-clack~ Click-clack.

The sound of gears meshing rang out. The Runes Armor on his body suddenly lit up, and surging energy sent ripples outward from him.

His tousled blue hair danced in the wind amid the surging energy, while two sharp blades rapidly condensed and extended from the backs of his hands.

Boom!

The Evil Spirit Warrior landed in front of Duan Xing, sending shattered stones and dust scattering in all directions.

As the dust settled, the Evil Spirit Warrior revealed its savage form. Its slightly crazed eyes stared straight at Duan Xing.

Shing!

Duan Xing's two energy blades finished condensing at the same time.

The two figures exchanged no words. They moved simultaneously, disappearing from their original positions before colliding at the center.

Their figures crossed and separated.

The Evil Spirit Warrior lowered its head and looked at the cuts across its chest, a trace of surprise appearing in its eyes. Its body suddenly shifted sideways, narrowly dodging another slash. It twisted around and sent the approaching Duan Xing flying with a side kick, then immediately followed after him.

Boom!

Duan Xing's blade collided with the Evil Spirit Warrior's bracer, sending sparks flying in all directions.

A dense aura of death swept over, and Duan Xing suddenly found it difficult to breathe.

"Kill!"

Facing the Evil Spirit Warrior's savage assault, the Battle Intent in Duan Xing's eyes blazed even more fiercely.

This was not his first battle against an Evil Spirit, but the Evil Spirit before him was different from those he had fought previously. Its combat techniques and physical regeneration were both several times stronger.

The wounds his blades left on the Evil Spirit's body rapidly healed, while the wounds on his own body grew more numerous.

The light radiating from the armor dimmed amid the successive collisions. After more than ten minutes of high-frequency clashes, Duan Xing gradually began to tire.

Boom!

At that moment, the Evil Spirit Warrior's heavy fist pierced through a gap in the defense formed by his twin blades and slammed into his chest. Duan Xing's body was sent flying backward, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. After landing, he continued tumbling under his momentum, raising a trail of dust before finally stopping.

Just as Duan Xing gritted his teeth and prepared to fight again, a pitch-black figure pierced through the airborne dust and charged in with a kneeling knee strike, smashing heavily into his chest.

Two black spikes pierced through the armor's defenses and stabbed into his chest.

Boom!

Duan Xing's body sank into the mud, and the red glow in his eyes briefly returned to pure white.

As Duan Xing's consciousness wavered, the Runes Armor seemed to be activated by some kind of force. The energy spring on his left chest began turning automatically.

In an instant, surging energy burst from the armor, blasting the grinning Evil Spirit Warrior away. The energy that continued to spill out surrounded Duan Xing's body and rapidly healed his injuries.

Duan Xing rose to his feet again, his aura continuously climbing.

Feeling the brand-new power, a trace of astonishment appeared in Duan Xing's eyes.

"Father."

The Evil Spirit Warrior attacked again. Duan Xing decisively met it head-on, summoning his blades once more to collide with the Evil Spirit Warrior's fists.

Bang!

Amid the successive collisions, energy ripples spread outward in layers from the point where they clashed.

Duan Xing's strength had clearly increased by a large margin after recovering from his injuries, but he was still at a disadvantage against the Evil Spirit Warrior. There was a significant gap between them in both combat technique and strength.

After an hour of fierce fighting, Duan Xing had become a bloody mess. Wounds covered his body, his stance swayed, and he seemed as though he might collapse at any moment.

But his gaze toward the Evil Spirit Warrior still brimmed with boundless Battle Intent.

The Evil Spirit Warrior's condition was no better.

Its pitch-black armor, which could rapidly repair itself, was already covered in cracks. Its left arm hung broken from its shoulder, no longer capable of healing.

Boom!

Duan Xing, no longer able to support himself and continue fighting, collapsed at that moment.

Seeing this, a savage smile appeared at the corner of the Evil Spirit Warrior's mouth. It waved a hand and condensed a black spike, then slowly walked over and stopped before Duan Xing.

Just as the black spike in its hand was about to stab into Duan Xing's face, a voice suddenly rang out:

"Taunt!"

Following the shout, the Evil Spirit's memories automatically combined and wove themselves together.

Intense hatred surged from the depths of its heart. The black spike aimed at Duan Xing uncontrollably turned and stabbed toward the direction of the voice.

But the inexplicably emerging hatred lasted less than a second before the Evil Spirit Warrior's will broke free. Under its astonished gaze, a plump figure was cut apart by the black spike in its hand and dispersed into black mist.

"Rule power?"

Just as the Evil Spirit was preparing to turn around and finish off Duan Xing first, another voice came from behind:

"Hey, look at me!"

Hatred surged again. The Evil Spirit turned around uncontrollably and hurled the black spike behind it, carrying boundless hatred.

The target was killed with a single strike, but new hatred surged from the depths of its heart, causing it to instinctively turn its head toward a figure not far away.

At the same time, the regional voice channel and player forums had already erupted:

"Brothers, request support! God of Wealth is about to bite the dust! Hurry over and save him—we can't hold out much longer!"

"Calling brothers from every region to rush over and provide emergency support (coordinates attached). If God of Wealth dies, who will send you red packets in the future?"

"Holy crap, God of Wealth is really going to die? I absolutely refuse to accept that! I still want to rely on God of Wealth to open my third Astral Veins. He absolutely can't die! I'm bringing the brothers over right now. Nearby brothers, hold the line for me! Come on!"

"Don't! I've never even received a red packet from God of Wealth. He absolutely can't die! Protect him! Protect him!"

The news that God of Wealth was about to die instantly spread like wildfire among the players.

Over the past week, the wealth God of Wealth had brought them had allowed quite a few players to open their second Star Vein Slot.

In their eyes, God of Wealth was a walking red-packet machine. Whenever they encountered him, they could make a small fortune.

Although many players had not received God of Wealth's gift red packets, that did not mean they would have no chance in the future. If God of Wealth died, their chances of receiving red packets would be cut off forever.

After learning the news, the players all sprinted toward the coordinates.

(End of chapter)