Let's rewind time to the moment Ghostshade leapt from the tree to challenge Chu Lian.
Due to the traditional customs of the Yasha race, even when they surrounded Chu Lian, they still sent out challengers one by one. While it still resembled a wheel battle, at least it appeared more honorable.
So Chu Lian showed no restraint. With the Void Greatsword angled down at her side, she activated high-speed movement and, before Ghostshade could react, she was already in front of him, slicing across with one swift stroke.
He raised his left hand, the sword still sheathed, and blocked her strike using the ancient scabbard. Though his body wavered slightly, he managed to withstand the blow.
Chu Lian furrowed her brows. With her strength at 38 and the Void Greatsword's enhancement pushing it to 57, such brute force should have allowed her to stop a speeding car head-on. To block her blow without injury would normally require at least 70 strength. Clearly, this Yasha named Ghostshade couldn't have such stats.
She wasn't just going off the system's stated Advanced difficulty; she also knew that the true threats in this mission were the three Otherside elites operating at only one-tenth of their power. Everyone else were lackeys. As lackeys, there was no way their stats would come close to those elites—even if they had similar attributes. Otherwise, this quest would be downright unfair, designed for failure.
Ayase had also explained that transmitting a strong being through a sealed dimensional rift required tremendous resources and cost. The most powerful of this bunch—the one wielding the cold, eerie longsword—had attributes ranging from 20 to 30. So there was no way someone weaker than that, like Ghostshade, could block her attack head-on.
That left only one explanation: Ghostshade had deflected her strike using superior battle technique.
It made sense. The Yasha were a warrior race, hardened by the brutal survival environment of the Otherside. From birth, they were raised among corpses and bones. Even if their innate growth was stunted, leading to large disparities in strength among them, their combat instincts and experience were unmatched. After all, the Yasha clan's creed was: "If you wish to escape death, you must shatter it with your own power."
Chu Lian didn't know the Yasha creed or the specifics of their lifestyle, but from the details she could glean, she deduced why Ghostshade had survived her attack.
So she gave a cold smile, looked up at Ghostshade, and her expression turned serious. "Looks like your instincts and combat experience are impressive. But I wonder—can you withstand what comes next?"
With that, she began circling Ghostshade, her sword slashing from unpredictable angles again and again. But Ghostshade skillfully deflected each blow with ease. All her effort seemed wasted.
"Two strikes... three..."
Ghostshade muttered as he counted each attack. After the third strike, he said, "Now, it's my turn. I hope you last a little while."
Cold light flashed as his blade finally left its sheath. A faint killing aura spread through the forest. This sword was clearly no ordinary weapon—stained by countless lives, it had absorbed an intangible aura of death. The weak would tremble before such pressure, likely defeated without even fighting. Even strong opponents, if mentally unprepared, could suffer significant stat drops.
But Chu Lian, in her blackened state, treated this aura as if it didn't exist. With Void Greatsword in hand, she resumed her assault on Ghostshade, stabbing with precise, measured rhythm.
Ghostshade's agility, while not enhanced like Chu Lian's with the Void Greatsword, was still a solid 25. Keeping up with her high-speed movements while stationary wasn't too difficult for him.
As Chu Lian launched her flurry of high-speed attacks, Ghostshade stood his ground with just one hand on his sword, effortlessly blocking each strike. He channeled the force transmitted through her blade down into the ground using a special energy-dispersing technique, allowing him to remain steady amid the onslaught.
His eyes remained closed, relying solely on his ability to read the wind and sense movement to deflect Chu Lian's ferocious strikes. Though his grotesque face carried a serious expression, when he noticed the decreasing force behind her blows, a faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. This girl was formidable, but she lacked combat experience. Her stamina control was worse than a rookie's.
Even with overwhelming power, launching such stamina-draining attacks without pause after a burst of intense movement inevitably wore her down. Ghostshade could tell this wasn't a feint—Chu Lian's energy was genuinely depleting.
"Now's the time..."
His eyes snapped open, a dark glint flashing in them. With a slash of his sword, he aimed at Chu Lian's shoulder just as she moved into range.
Surprise flashed in her eyes. She hadn't expected the Yasha to analyze her attack pattern and anticipate her exact trajectory in such a critical moment.
To have withheld his strike for so long and then deliver a deadly counter—it was clear this Yasha was no pushover. Compared to Chu Lian, who had only recently acquired her advanced combat skills, Ghostshade was in another league entirely.
But just as his icy blade was about to slash her slender shoulder, Chu Lian—who had appeared to be flustered moments ago—suddenly dropped the act. A sly smile curled across her lips.
At the same time, Ghostblade, watching from afar, shouted with a sudden shift in expression: "No! Retreat!"
Only four words, but the urgency in his voice was unmistakable. He leapt back instantly, distancing himself from the battlefield.
Unfortunately, even the swiftest command required time to register. Neither Ghostshade in the thick of battle nor the other Yasha warriors nearby reacted fast enough—they missed their window to escape.
"You think you can run?"
As the enemy blade slashed down, Chu Lian's figure vanished—and reappeared directly in front of Ghostblade, brandishing the Void Greatsword to block his escape.
BOOM!~
The moment she disappeared, all the spiritual power she had subtly channeled into the earth with each step—leveraging her high-speed movements—erupted.
Her spiritual power had reached B-rank, though most of it had been depleted by this point in the battle. But let's not forget: her magic power, mana, and inner power were all at C-rank. She had held back from using them—not due to inability, but because she had planned to convert them into spiritual power at the perfect moment for a finishing strike.
Clearly, this was that moment. She had guided the vast majority of her energy underground. Those energy lines, arranged through a complex sequence dictated by her unique movement, had been laid out like an arcane formation. Her use of spatial abilities signaled the detonation.
Behind her, a terrifying spiritual explosion erupted. A ten-meter-wide maelstrom of raw spiritual power burst forth from the ground just behind Ghostshade, obliterating the remaining monsters and the nearby Yasha warriors. Waves of force crashed outward, and even Ghostblade, despite his strength, couldn't suppress a few muffled grunts. The aftershock alone had left him badly wounded. How terrifying was the actual blast?
Although her face had turned pale and sweat dripped from her brow, Chu Lian still wore a joyful smile. Her spiritual power had dropped to C+, and by converting all three of her C-rank energies, she had produced a combined attack power that just barely reached B+.
A gamble—but a successful one.
What did B+-level damage mean? It was equivalent to an all-out strike from someone with 120 points in all attributes—enough to demolish an entire office building. And this time, the devastating spiritual maelstrom was condensed by Chu Lian to explode within a mere ten-meter radius.
The smaller the area, the more concentrated the power in every inch of space. Moreover, beings from the Otherside had extremely low resistance to spiritual power, resulting in a complete annihilation.
Had this not been her first time using it—and if she had known how to better control the power—she wouldn't have needed to expend so much. A B- grade spiritual explosion would've been enough to wipe them all out. What a waste of energy.
"Heh, now... where do you think you're going?" Chu Lian's voice was cool and detached as her cold eyes locked onto Ghostblade.
Ghostblade, even though he knew Chu Lian had virtually no spiritual power left, was still heavily wounded from the maelstrom's aftershock. He didn't believe for a second that he could overpower her, whose physique was vastly superior. So he said nothing—only stared at her warily, ready to bolt the moment a chance appeared.
The Yasha may have been born warriors, but that didn't mean they were fearless. Especially not one like him, who carried the hopes of three clans on his back. He couldn't afford to die here, not before unsealing the rift.
Now he couldn't help but regret it. If only he had broken tradition and ganged up on her earlier—they might've avoided this outcome. But there was no medicine for regret. The consequences of his own mistake, he had to bear.
As for Chu Lian, this was something she had to do—so whether or not Ghostblade had burdens or responsibilities, it didn't matter. To her, he was someone who had to die.
Without her blackened state, Chu Lian's combat prowess wouldn't have even reached half of what it was now. Nor would she have the heart of steel she displayed. Normally, she found it hard to kill anything herself. At first, when she fought Otherside monsters, she could hypnotize herself into thinking, "They're just monsters, they deserve to die."
But against the human-like Yasha, she wouldn't have had the resolve. That was the biggest difference between normal Chu Lian and blackened Chu Lian. The former was a dark-bellied little girl with a hint of kindness. The latter? A ruthless queen of slaughter with an iron will. Whether Chu Lian would be able to face herself after this blackened state wore off—who knew?
Just as she was about to finish off the now-broken Ghostblade, a ghostly figure appeared silently behind her. A scythe in its hand swung toward her neck without a sound.
Ghostblade's face lit up in undisguised delight.
Seeing his expression, Chu Lian instantly sensed danger. A chill of murderous intent engulfed her, freezing her in place.
And then, the scythe of the specter fell...