Smoke and dust billowed as shock waves of Soul Power spread in every direction, tearing up the grass and hurling it into the air.
Tang San gripped the Clear Sky Hammer, his face twisted into a terrifying grimace. The Soul Power of a fortieth-level Soul Ancestor burned without restraint, black light surging across the hammer. Each swing brought a deafening boom as he tried to carve a path through the encirclement closing in from three sides.
But Ghost Fiend was far stronger than he had imagined.
The foundation of a fifty-eighth-level Soul Emperor, combined with the Shadow Wolf Martial Soul's uncanny speed and shadowy claws, made every collision numb Tang San's arms and churn his blood. Two Soul King guards circled at his flanks, one attacking while the other blocked. The Shadow Hunting Falcon's feather blades sealed off any room to dodge, while the Earth-Splitting Scorpion's venomous pincers repeatedly struck at his vital points. Tang San could only defend in a wretched scramble, with no chance of breaking through.
"Impossible... How could you know I was here?!" Tang San roared, his voice full of indignation and fear. He had thought his movements were well concealed. He had even deliberately chosen an empty, barren slope for his breakthrough. Apart from himself, no one else could possibly have known.
Ghost Fiend sneered. His wolf claws tore through the air, lunging straight for Tang San's throat. "You think your little tricks could escape that lord's deductions? Remnant of the Clear Sky Sect, surrender quietly, and you might spare yourself some pain."
The "lord" he spoke of was naturally the mysterious messenger.
In Ghost Fiend's mind, the image of this mysterious figure had grown ever clearer. They had to be a reclusive god, looking down upon the mortal world, turning clouds with one hand and rain with the other—an existence beyond the comprehension of Soul Masters like them. Otherwise, they could never have predicted the exact time, place, and motive for Tang San's breakthrough, much less left a secret message at a confidential Spirit Hall relay point without a trace.
Such an existence had deliberately hidden behind the scenes, using Spirit Hall to purge the Clear Sky Sect's remnants rather than appear in person. That alone was a tremendous favor to Spirit Hall.
"A god..." Tang San's pupils shrank, and a chill flooded his heart. Arrogant as he was, he knew the legends of gods—supreme beings who stood above Titled Douluos and whose words could shape reality.
He had never imagined that a god had been watching and manipulating his every move all along.
Despair seized his heart with a force he had never felt before.
Among the crowd, Lin Chen stood quietly, taking it all in.
He could clearly hear Ghost Fiend's reverence and speculation about the "mysterious god." He could sense Tang San's mind collapsing from arrogance into terror, and feel the shock and bewilderment of Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai, and the others.
The system's notification rang once more in his mind, calm and unruffled:
[Beep! Detected: Spirit Hall guard captain Ghost Fiend (Level 58 Soul Emperor) assesses host identity as: ordinary student, no threat; assesses mysterious messenger as: reclusive god.] [Beep! Enemy target Tang San's mental defenses are on the verge of collapse. Fighting spirit decreased by 60%. Chance of a successful escape is below 10%.] [Beep! Host's concealment remains flawless. Divine sense below the god level cannot penetrate it. Current disguise credibility: 100%.]
Lin Chen's smile remained gentle, though a hint of indifference flickered in his eyes.
A god?
He wasn't.
He was just a Soul Emperor with a system, the power of an Immortal Herb within him, and the Star Hidden Grass's supreme concealment ability.
But so what?
In this world, no one but a true god could see through his disguise. And no one but himself knew who truly held the pieces in this game.
Ghost Fiend thought of him as an insignificant pawn. Tang San thought of him as an ant he could crush at will. The people of Shrek thought of him as a gentle, harmless companion.
He had fooled every last one of them.
The gods deceived even Heaven and Earth—what could be more fitting?
"Lin Chen..." Xiao Wu clutched his sleeve tightly, her voice trembling. "They... they really are from Spirit Hall? Tang San, he..."
"Don't be afraid." Lin Chen turned his head, his voice soft and reassuring. "Spirit Hall is here for Tang San, not us. We just need to watch."
His tone was as calm as if he were talking about the most ordinary thing in the world.
Xiao Wu looked at his composed profile, and the panic in her heart somehow eased. She always felt that no matter what happened, as long as Lin Chen was by her side, there was no problem they couldn't solve.
She had never imagined that the gentle young man before her was the one who had set all of this in motion.
The battle was nearly over.
Tang San was drenched in cold sweat, his clothes in tatters and blood at the corner of his mouth. The light of the Clear Sky Hammer had dimmed. More than half his Soul Power was spent, his breathing ragged, his eyes full of despair and venom.
He knew that he might truly be finished here today.
But he refused to accept it!
He hated Spirit Hall, the three guards before him, and even more the mysterious figure hiding behind the scenes, pulling every string!
If he ever got the chance, he would pay them all back—twice over!
"Die!"
A flicker of madness flashed in Tang San's eyes. He suddenly burned his own lifeblood, driving the Clear Sky Hammer with the last of its power. Black Soul Power surged around him, taking the vague shape of a gigantic shadow as he hurled himself at Ghost Fiend with the resolve to die together.
This was the Clear Sky Sect's desperate technique: using lifeblood as a catalyst to unleash power far beyond one's limits for a brief time, at the cost of a drastic loss in cultivation and damage to one's foundation.
Ghost Fiend's gaze sharpened. He showed no hint of contempt. His Soul Emperor-level Soul Power burst forth at full force, and the Shadow Wolf Martial Soul's phantom solidified. Crossing his wolf claws, he braced himself.
Clang—!!
A deafening crash rang out, as if Heaven and Earth themselves had trembled.
A violent shock wave of Soul Power blasted out from the point where the two met. Fine cracks spread through the earth like a spiderweb, and the surrounding plants were instantly ground to dust.
Tang San took the blow as if struck by a hammer. His body flew backward like a kite with its string cut and crashed heavily to the ground. The Clear Sky Hammer flew from his hand, its light gone. His whole body convulsed violently as he spewed blood, his eyes losing all their light and leaving behind nothing but endless gloom and despair.
The backlash from burning his lifeblood, combined with Ghost Fiend's full-force strike, had left him utterly unable to fight back.
Ghost Fiend stood firm, breathing slightly hard. Clearly, blocking that attack had not been easy. He looked down at Tang San, lying motionless, his eyes cold and devoid of pity.
"Take him."
At Ghost Fiend's command, the two Soul King guards immediately stepped forward. They took out specially made Soul Power-sealing chains, bound Tang San's limbs securely, and dragged him upright.
Tang San's head drooped helplessly, his hair in disarray and covering his eyes. No one saw the near-mad venom and resentment buried deep within them.
He had lost.
He had lost completely.
Not only had he failed to kill Lin Chen, but he had also fallen into Spirit Hall's hands, his whereabouts precisely predicted by a mysterious figure.
Until his death, he would never understand who that mysterious figure was.
Among the crowd, Lin Chen quietly watched Tang San being bound, not a ripple in his eyes.
Once a piece was played, there was no taking it back.
He had never meant to kill Tang San with his own hands. He meant to borrow another's blade and walk away without a scratch.
Spirit Hall believed the mysterious messenger was a reclusive god and held them in awe. They would never suspect the "ordinary student" standing among them. With Tang San captured, Spirit Hall would have a chance to dig deeper into the Clear Sky Sect's trail and no time to look elsewhere. The people of Shrek were safe and still trusted and cared for him as before.
Three birds with one stone—a perfect finish.
Sunlight pierced the smoke and dust, spilling across every corner of the training ground.
As Ghost Fiend escorted Tang San away, his gaze swept past Lin Chen once more, almost absentmindedly. He noticed nothing amiss, and his reverence for that "mysterious god" only deepened. It never crossed his mind that he might have overlooked something.
"Farewell."
Ghost Fiend inclined his head slightly toward the empty depths of the forest, as if paying his respects to the unseen mysterious figure. Then, with his two lieutenants and their captive, he turned and darted into the woods, soon vanishing among the gloomy shadows.
A deathly silence fell over the training ground.
Everyone was still reeling from the sudden turn of events, unable to come back to their senses for a long while.
Flender and Zhao Wuji exchanged a glance. They both saw the gravity and confusion in each other's eyes.
Spirit Hall, the mysterious messenger, a god, remnants of the Clear Sky Sect...
Everything that had happened today was too bizarre, too strange.
And they knew nothing at all about the truth behind it.
Lin Chen gently raised a hand and patted Xiao Wu on the shoulder, the same warm smile still on his lips.
"It's all right now."
His voice was quiet, yet it carried a strange power that instantly dispelled the oppressive stillness around them.
The sunlight was bright, warm and dazzling as it fell across his clear-cut profile.
No one knew that beneath that sunlight, the seemingly ordinary and gentle young man was the true mastermind—the one who had deceived Heaven and Earth and moved every piece on the board.
Though the clouds of doubt had dispersed, undercurrents still stirred.
And Lin Chen's game had only just begun.
Before you continue