Finally Obtaining Fragments

"Do you still remember what I told you back then?"

In the dim passageway, Li Hai paced over to Guo Huaijin, looked down at him, and sneered. "You back away thirty zhang, I back away thirty zhang, then we each go our separate ways."

Faced with Li Hai's mocking words, Guo Huaijin could only tremble and wheeze heavily, unable to utter a single word.

"I won't torment you too much."

Li Hai slowly crouched down, staring into Guo Huaijin's eyes as he savored the regret and despair revealed within them. In a cold voice, he said, "Because you're already suffering terribly right now, aren't you?"

After exhausting the last of her evil power to get onto Guo Huaijin's back, Asu had forcibly merged her twisted essence into his soul, consciousness, organs, and bones.

Thus, every second of every minute, from soul to flesh, Guo Huaijin was experiencing the terrifying agony Asu had endured decades ago when she was burned alive while heavily pregnant.

And to carry out this revenge, Asu had paid an enormous price as well.

Though she had originally retained a sliver of hope for recovery, her mind was now shattered, and she was on the verge of vanishing.

Moreover, unless an expert intervened to separate her form and spirit from Guo Huaijin's, the two would remain in this fused state forever.

No, Guo Huaijin probably would not last that long.

Faced with the agony of being burned alive, a man who in his youth could not even endure the hardship of harvesting grain in the fields would never be able to hold on for long.

So after muttering a couple of words, Li Hai quickly hoisted Guo Huaijin onto his shoulder and hurried back out of the underground passage along the original route, returning to the courtyard.

"Just as I thought, it's still here."

Li Hai picked up a hollow copper tube from a corner of the courtyard, walked over to Guo Huaijin, who was tied to the blood-red tree stump, and held it up before him with a smile.

"Look at this. Your grandson's big copper tube. Old Guo, I've always been fair in how I handle things. However you planned to kill me back then, that's how I'll kill you now."

Unable to say even a word, Guo Huaijin could only stare at him with sorrow and unwillingness in his eyes, his entire body trembling without end.

Li Hai was rather surprised by his reaction.

"You've already been tortured to this extent by Asu, and you still don't want to die? You're still that afraid of death?"

"Honestly, if an ordinary person had suffered as much as you have, they'd probably be jumping for joy at the chance to die quickly."

"You, you really are afraid of death to the extreme. But the more you're like this, the less I'll let you have your way."

With that, he pulled open Guo Huaijin's upper garments, aimed the copper tube at his wrinkled chest, and drove it in with brutal force, piercing straight into his rapidly beating heart.

Then, propelled by the violent pumping of Guo Huaijin's heart, great torrents of blood sprayed wildly from the other end of the copper tube, dyeing everything within several zhang a vivid scarlet.

Guo Huaijin's features twisted as he screamed soundlessly. His entire body remained taut for five full moments before suddenly going limp, all life gone from him.

Asu, the vicious ghost who had already fused with him as one, also scattered into nothingness and vanished completely.

At the exact moment that man and ghost entered the underworld together, Li Hai's system suddenly began to hum.

"Hm? What's going on?"

Puzzled, Li Hai immediately swept his gaze over his personal interface.

He found that the sections for level, skills, traits, and the like had not changed much, but the Stronger Fragment section had abruptly gained a "2."

"So that means I have two Stronger Fragments now?"

Li Hai subconsciously looked at the dead Guo Huaijin and muttered softly, "Could it be... because I killed this Old Dog Guo? Then why wasn't it one fragment, but two...

"Oh, right. There's also Asu. Asu counts as someone I killed too. So I killed one man and one ghost, and obtained two Stronger Fragments."

Having said that, he became puzzled again. "Strange. I killed quite a few people before this, so why did only these two drop loot?"

After thinking for a while, Li Hai mused, "Could it be because Asu and Guo Huaijin were strong enough?

"Tsk, Asu is understandable, but how the hell does this Old Dog Guo count as a strong person? This despicable bastard completely insults the words 'strong person,' doesn't he? I can't figure it out."

He was quite straightforward about it. Since he could not figure it out, he simply stopped thinking about it. It was a pure waste of time. Instead, he began studying the function and effects of the Stronger Fragments.

At first, Li Hai naturally assumed these fragments might increase his Attributes.

But after searching back and forth, he found nothing related to Attributes anywhere on his personal interface.

Then Li Hai began to think that the fragments were probably for upgrading traits.

But after using his thoughts like a hand to click through all of his trait characteristics several times, he found that the Stronger Fragments did not react at all.

It was only after moving his gaze to the skill section and clicking on the martial arts techniques, Bloodline Divine Abilities, and Ghost Path evil arts, receiving all kinds of corresponding system feedback, that Li Hai finally understood the true use of the Stronger Fragments.

"So the Stronger Fragments' real purpose... is to upgrade skills. Oh, and fuse skills too."

Li Hai examined the various techniques, divine abilities, and evil arts in his skill section, pondering. "Then which skill should I upgrade?"

As for skill fusion, he had no intention of trying it for now.

According to the system's feedback, skill fusion came with enormous uncertainty.

It might fuse into a powerful skill, or it might produce an even worse one. It depended far too much on luck.

And judging from his many years of buying lottery tickets and trading stocks, Li Hai did not have much faith in his own luck.

Besides, he only had two fragments at the moment. He did not have the capital to gamble like a fool.

Recklessly betting everything on one play would most likely leave him weeping without tears.

"So upgrading is still the better choice. That's the safest option."

His gaze settled on Tiger Claw Blade Fist and Blood Devouring Burning Heart, and Li Hai said decisively, "I'll upgrade these two skills. They're the foundation of my strength."

As for the pile of Ghost Path evil arts below them, Li Hai did not intend to upgrade them for the time being.

Ghost arts relied too heavily on the external environment. As long as he was not within the territory of evil entities, their power and effectiveness would be greatly reduced. They really were not a good choice.

In contrast, martial arts techniques and Bloodline Divine Abilities had none of those irritating restrictions. He could use them freely anywhere, however he pleased.

With his mind made up, Li Hai immediately selected Tiger Claw Blade Fist and Blood Devouring Burning Heart, beginning the skill upgrades.

Bzz—

As his thoughts shifted, the two Stronger Fragments he had only just obtained vanished into thin air. The two skill entries immediately began to tremble, their names blurring into an indistinct haze.

This state lasted only a single moment.

One moment later, the two skills had completed their advancement.

Their names had also completely changed into... Beast Intent Demon Claw and Blood Soaked Sinking Heart.