Seeing Ye Chuan completely unharmed, Niya's gaze lingered on him for a long moment before she struggled to her feet.
"You're actually fine... I clearly hit you earlier."
"What could possibly happen to me? It's just a ghost." Ye Chuan had already dealt with plenty of them back in the Fierce Ghost Dormitory. Noticing Niya swaying unsteadily, he casually cast a healing spell, and her wounds instantly vanished.
"Thank you..." Feeling no pain at all, Niya looked up at Ye Chuan.
"One hundred silver coins."
"You charge for this?!"
"Obviously?"
After their exchange, Ye Chuan suddenly noticed an eerie wind sweeping through the arena, followed by the appearance of more and more crimson wraiths, one after another, giving him the surreal feeling of returning to the nightmare world.
"There really are a lot of them." Ye Chuan pulled out a Soul Banner and waved it. Thick smoke billowed out as dozens of chains shot forth.
"Tell it to my Holy Light Magic—Soul Purification!"
The chains pierced through the crimson wraiths one by one, dragging them into the banner. The wails were incessant as the wraiths screamed mindlessly, unable to break free. Once inside the banner, their bodies seemed to melt away.
"Is this Holy Light Magic?" Niya gulped involuntarily.
"Obviously?"
"Then why does it look so... sinister?"
"Oh, it’s just a bit discolored from overuse." Ye Chuan pointed at the Soul Banner. "This is a holy relic of the light attribute. See?"
As if responding to Niya, the skull on the banner opened its mouth, emitting a violet glow.
"Whose light-attribute artifact has a skull on it?!"
"It’s for warding off evil, of course. You need a demon’s skull for intimidation."
Niya felt there was some logic to his words but couldn’t decide where to start criticizing.
"Tch, such a measly power boost. These wraiths are too weak." Ye Chuan shook his head.
"..." Niya remained silent.
This was even less convincing. He looked like a full-blown dark priest.
"These wraiths... they must be the adventurers who died here before. Their grudges festered without purification." Niya said.
"I don’t think so."
"What do you mean?"
"I sense something interesting in this arena."
"Interesting...?" Niya glanced around at the dilapidated surroundings. What could possibly be interesting here?
Ye Chuan tapped the floor with his foot. "Underneath."
"Underneath?"
"Yeah, there’s something underground. I can feel it." His spiritual sense wasn’t mistaken—there was indeed a strange presence beneath them.
Niya crossed her arms. "How do you plan to locate it?"
"I have my ways." Ye Chuan rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a pair of glasses, putting them on.
[Item: Mana Goggles
Function: X-ray vision, capable of seeing through illusions.]
With the glasses on, Ye Chuan scanned the area, then his gaze landed on Niya. "You’re not wearing anything?"
"What do you mean not wearing—" Niya froze, then immediately covered herself and stumbled back.
"Won’t help. Your hands are transparent too."
"You bastard! What are you trying to do?!"
"Just demonstrating its function." Truthfully, Ye Chuan had zero interest in Niya’s underwhelming figure. He lowered his head and peered into the ground.
Soon, he locked onto a violet orb deep underground.
"Huh, there really is something. And it’s buried deep." He tried to get a clearer look and realized it was a sword...
A sword?
Ye Chuan was certain—the hazy silhouette inside the orb was a massive black blade. The sword was pitch-black, but not a dull matte. Instead, it looked like solidified ink wrapped in a layer of shifting dark light. Twisted crimson veins coiled along the spine, pulsing faintly like tiny blood vessels.
It looked downright evil.
"A sword... Oh?"
As Ye Chuan muttered in surprise, Niya seemed to recall something. "That adventurer who went berserk and killed people... it was because of a sword, wasn’t it?"
"After that, the sword vanished. Some said it was taken away, others said it was destroyed." Niya’s eyes widened. "Could it have been here all along?"
"A sword that drives people mad?" Ye Chuan was intrigued. He also wondered why it was buried here.
"Let’s dig it out."
"Wait! We should report this to the guild first." Niya grabbed his arm. "That weapon is too dangerous."
Ye Chuan knew she doubted his ability to control it, but he just shrugged.
"Actually, I’m a swordsman."
"Aren’t you a mage?" Niya frowned.
"Exactly. So you get how strong I am now?" He spread his hands. "It’s just a puny sword."
Niya: "..."
She had no idea how powerful Ye Chuan really was, but her tone turned somber. "Be careful."
Ye Chuan noticed her shift in mood but didn’t comment.
Now, how to retrieve it?
"Phasing through?"
"Hmm... probably won’t work with all that earth pressing down."
"Digging?" That seemed like a solid plan. "Let’s just dig."
"Dig?" Niya pointed at him, then herself, her neck stiffening.
"Us?"
"Why not?"
"No way." She refused outright. "Tch, we’d die before we dug it out."
Ye Chuan laughed—he was only joking.
The next second, black mist swirled at his feet, and one monstrous figure after another emerged under Niya’s stunned gaze.
"M-monsters?!" Her jaw dropped.
"I’m a summoner. Problem?"
"Summoners can only call one or two contracted beasts..." Niya felt her worldview crumbling yet again. Before she could process it, dozens of monsters around Ye Chuan were already clawing at the floor.
Clank, clank, clank. The sound of metal scraping echoed as Della, wreathed in violet flames, joined in with her tiny hammer, smashing the ground apart.
As the Rider of the End, a few strikes from Della shattered the earth completely.
"Faster, faster."
Ye Chuan urged his summons on, and soon, a massive pit was dug out.
He could’ve just blasted the ground apart with magic, but he worried it might affect the sword.
Finally, the blade came into view.
Violet light flickered ominously, radiating an aura of pure malevolence.
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
y came from. The chests contained supplies, currency, class-change scrolls, skills, talents… and even godhood! The laws of the world were completely rewritten. This became a world where everyone gambled with their fate! Some people, despite having nothing, opened a divine artifact and rose to the top, eventually ruling the world. Others went bankrupt, opened nothing but worthless junk, and leaped from skyscrapers in despair. Lin Ye arrived in this world from another reality, utterly bewildered. “What is going on? Why is everyone a gambling addict?!” “Opening chests? No way. I refuse to gamble. I’ll start with myself!” Until— On his first chest, he obtained a Mythic Talent: Void Incarnation! He could become completely intangible, pass through all things, and reduce everything to nothingness! … On his fiftieth chest, he obtained a Mythic Weapon: Blade of Karma! With a single slash, karma shattered, twisting the universe and overturning the myriad phenomena of creation! … On his ninety-ninth chest, he obtained a Mythic Divine Treasure: Primordial Purple Energy! It could split open the heavens and earth, create all things, and evolve countless worlds with a single thought! Lin Ye: “Now that I think about it… shouldn’t someone have told me that every chest is guaranteed to contain something Mythic?!”
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
