A trace of confusion flashed through the blood-red eyes.
The twisted, monstrous shadow bowed again, its raspy voice carrying a malice that scraped bone and stabbed lungs.
"Sir~ do you think I look like a god or a human?"
"Then let me ask you, are you male or female, a god or a goddess? Huh? And why is the top of your head pointed? Which tastes better, regular cola or sugar-free cola? I think chilled is more refreshing."
Chen Ying looked at the monster before him.
"Are you after a few scraps of silver or the numbers that limit you? Why don't you first consider whether every even number greater than two is the sum of two primes, or whether a barber who only shaves people who don't shave themselves can shave himself?"
The twisted monster trembled. The excessive, contradictory information had already exceeded its processing limits. In fact, it had fallen into bewilderment at the words "chilled is more refreshing."
"Sir."
"Why do you care so much about what others think? If you are whatever I say you are, then what exactly are you? Is it your own essence that determines who you are, or other people's judgments? Don't let the gaze of others alienate you from yourself."
As he spoke, Chen Ying assumed a fighting stance.
Evil entities were probably a very complex category. This thing before him, seeking recognition of its divinity, was unlike almost every kind he had encountered before.
The first category consisted of monsters like The Flower Princess and the hairy monster. They bore a pure malice toward living beings; the purpose of their existence was slaughter.
It was difficult to simply classify them as ghosts formed after people died.
The second category included the old ghost selling roast pork rice in the little building and the noodle seller in the Ghost Market. Behind their transactions, they retained their intelligence and possessed their own distinct logic of conduct. To some extent, they still retained a "human" quality.
The third category included the Plague Hag and the pawnshop's Ghost Appraiser. Chen Ying even felt Granny Chen could be included. They had all once been cultivators, transforming themselves after death, or in a half-dead state, into some different kind of existence, neither human nor ghost.
Those subordinates of Su Xiong were striving to follow this path as well.
The fourth category was probably the thing before him. It had a distinctly inhuman nature, but its logic of conduct approached that of humans. It had its own goals and acted to achieve them.
Perhaps this category could simply be called demons.
Chen Ying had heard Wen Ruzhi say that demons were the reason Zhongzhou had been plagued by unending war for so many years.
In many places, demons like these even stood behind warlords who ruled entire regions.
"You... insist... on ruining this for me..."
The monstrous shadow's form contorted.
It could feel that the clarity of its thoughts had already been polluted by those few remarks. This was the critical moment of its transformation, and it would never allow this to continue.
Only by destroying this "human" and erasing his "judgment" could its transformation continue.
Its shriveled claws reached forward. It was about to advance, but Chen Ying moved even faster.
His palms moved like a gale. Faced with such a foul creature, Chen Ying held nothing back, bringing every move at his disposal into play.
The night was still long. Who knew how many similar things were out there? He could only fight speed with speed and intimidate the other fiends lurking in the dark.
Kill.
The monster before him was clearly inhuman. Nor did it possess the weaknesses other humans were supposed to have, so there was no need to concern himself with those.
Chen Ying simply treated the weasel as a punching bag, unleashing all the profundities of Eight Trigram Palm as Coiling Python Force coursed through both arms.
One strike, two strikes, three strikes...
His steps traced lotus flowers; his fists and palms thundered. Eight Trigram Palm had always emphasized avoiding strength and striking weakness, and now Chen Ying pushed that principle to its limit.
No matter how the monster moved, its claws could not get near Chen Ying, while Chen Ying struck from its side with his strongest blow.
"Ah..."
The monster shrieked.
It still had not shed its most primitive form, and Chen Ying's fierce attacks could still reach its core.
This cannot go on. If I let this human keep striking me, I will collapse first.
Its eyes, like glass marbles steeped in blood, fixed on Chen Ying with boundless resentment.
"I... will... remember... you..."
Pop.
Its eyeballs burst, turning into filthy blood.
Pure hatred drifted like a breeze, like a shadow, and gently fastened itself to Chen Ying.
A chill pierced the defenses of his blood and qi, advancing toward his deepest reaches.
Deep in the mountains, it had constantly devoured the cold, rotting flesh of the dead. In villages, it had repeatedly stolen human blood essence, dug open coffins, and refined the purest yin energy within them.
Day after day, year after year, it had brewed this delectable venomous resentment.
This resentment was the foundation of what it had become today, and its unfailingly effective weapon.
Chen Ying felt a weight settle over him.
It was as though someone had clamped shackles around his internal organs, seeking to imprison his heart, flatten his lungs, and grind his liver and kidneys into paste.
His body was slipping out of his control.
"Not enough."
Chen Ying looked at the monster before him, which was now laughing wildly.
"This is nowhere near enough."
The burden on his body ignited the fury in Chen Ying's heart.
I can accept rejection, accept setbacks, accept failure...
But I will never give up.
Chen Ying stood up and continued forward.
The monstrous shadow's venomous resentment was like a nightmare. His heart had almost stopped, he could not breathe, and even controlling his muscles was as difficult as ascending to heaven.
But Chen Ying still moved forward.
I will never give up. I will not hand this body over to your control.
This fist, this step, this body-within these three feet, I am the god of this place.
A surge of force coursed from the Twelve-Storey Tower through his entire body, and his disordered blood and qi recovered in an instant.
Chen Ying circulated his energy through a full cycle and lashed out with a kick.
With this kick, I am heaven's armory. I am Kui Star.
Chen Ying roared in fury, like a tiger.
Kui Star Kicks the Dipper.
His kick unleashed a streak of savage baleful qi, sending the monstrous shadow to meet the deathly impermanence spirits.
Baleful qi entered its body, destroying and negating the foundation of its existence. Chunks of tender flesh fell from it.
"Do... I look... like..."
Even now, it was still muttering...
"You look like a beast to me."
Chen Ying watched the monstrous shadow fall to the ground and dissolve into a puddle of meat soup.
"Brother Ying, you... wow... Brother Ying... you're incredible!"
Hua Shanrong shouted excitedly.
"What kind of kick was that? You kicked a ghost to death!"
Chen Ying panted heavily. He did not know what that kick had set in motion, but now he felt ravenous.
The hunger he had felt just after his rebirth seemed to have returned.
It churned his guts and seared away his lifespan.
Chen Ying looked at Hua Shanrong. The lad looked rather tasty.
"Brother Ying, there's something wrong with the way you're looking at me."
Chen Ying ignored him completely and reached for Hua Shanrong's right hand.
A cold current flowed along his arm into his body. The mass of baleful qi within him seemed to come alive, greedily devouring this morsel of delicacy, but this little bit was still not enough to satisfy it.
It roared in displeasure, like a starving tiger, unsatisfied with this scrap of food.
"Whoa, Brother Ying, my arm..."
Hua Shanrong looked at his arm. The copper-coin-shaped sores on it were fading.
Not enough. Still nowhere near enough.
Chen Ying looked beyond the ruined temple. The baleful qi needed more food.
The well cover that had been rattling incessantly suddenly went still.
The red embroidered shoes dancing around the courtyard walls seemed to grow tired and darted off into the night.
Rongyi Street was silent. All at once, the night grew tranquil.
Yet within the temple behind Chen Ying, an evil aura suddenly arose.
Before you continue