Volume One, Chapter Thirteen: My Student

Wang Teng tightly shut his eyes, but the imagined pain never came.

Instead, he heard Jiang Huan’s loud shout beside him: “Still closing your eyes? Didn’t you hear Old Zhang? Hurry up and help!”

Wang Teng opened his eyes and saw Jiang Huan struggling with the Dog Spirit, locked in a fierce battle with his long blade.

He swallowed hard, then summoned his spiritual power, and a meteor hammer appeared in his hand.

Just as he was about to strike, the Dog Spirit howled again, shattering the courage he had just mustered.

Fear welled up from within. He suddenly realized that the Dog Spirit’s speed was too fast; to survive, one had to be ruthless.

An audacious thought arose in his mind. He recalled how Jiang Huan had just beaten him.

Perhaps, if the Dog Spirit was busy biting that annoying guy, he could not only survive but never have to see him again.

In the next moment, Wang Teng swung the meteor hammer and struck Jiang Huan’s back with full force.

Boom!

Jiang Huan and the Dog Spirit were both slammed heavily and sent flying.

The sudden blow caused a violent surge inside Jiang Huan’s body, and he spat out a mouthful of blood uncontrollably.

If not for his strong physique, this hit might have cost him half his life.

Yet he had no time to resent Wang Teng.

The Dog Spirit pinned beneath him opened its mouth, aiming straight for his neck.

Without hesitation, Jiang Huan raised his fist and smashed into the beast’s bloodthirsty maw.

The ring on his fist carried a paralyzing effect, preventing the Dog Spirit from closing its jaws.

Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Huan tightened his grip on the long blade and aimed for the creature’s heart.

But the blade was firmly held in the palm of the Dog Spirit.

Now Jiang Huan was on top, the beast below — another fierce contest between man and beast began.

Veins bulged on Jiang Huan’s neck, and his eyes burned with killing intent.

The Dog Spirit, which had been holding the blade with one hand, now needed both to resist the advancing long blade.

Bang!

The long blade seemed to shatter something. The Dog Spirit looked confused, glancing down at its chest.

The blade, which had been a fist’s distance from its heart, had somehow suddenly pierced deep within.

It seemed the blade had grown longer and thinner than before...

[Spirit Weapon “Thousand Blades” has slain the Shikigami Dog Spirit, Tier 2 Puppet. Experience +105.]

[Mutual Progress Activated! Host Experience +105]

In an instant, the shadow of the Dog Spirit vanished. Under Jiang Huan’s blade remained only a yellow paper pierced through by the Thousand Blades.

Jiang Huan slowly stood, his chest heaving uncontrollably.

Only he knew the danger of that moment.

If not for the new effect of Thousand Blades — “Infinite Transformations,” which thinned and extended the blade — he might have been the one fallen.

He looked back and saw no trace of Wang Teng or the others behind him.

He spat on the ground: “What a bastard!”

At that moment, Jiang Huan finally understood why his mother always told him that sometimes humans are more terrifying than beasts.

He silently vowed never to make the same foolish mistake again.

[Strong hatred detected in host. A true man avenges his grievances! Congratulations on triggering the mission—Kill Wang Teng!]

Jiang Huan was stunned for a moment, then a sinister smile crept across his face.

“Just wait, Wang Teng. We’ll settle this score.”

He picked up the yellow paper stuck on the blade. It was folded into the shape of a Dog Spirit, with cinnabar inscriptions he could not understand.

Just as he prepared to discard the paper, the system’s voice rang out again.

[Shikigami Dog Spirit detected. Host, please find and eliminate the puppeteer behind it.]

Jiang Huan muttered, staring at the yellow paper: “Shikigami? What the hell is that?”

He didn’t dwell on the question but pondered how to find the mastermind behind it.

Instinctively, he thought of Zhang Yu.

“Old Zhang knew this creature’s weakness; that means he must know what this thing is.”

“He turned and walked east after telling us the weak point, so the puppeteer must be that way!”

With that thought, Jiang Huan dashed in the direction Zhang Yu had vanished.

After all, Old Zhang’s strength was evident. If he arrived too late, the mission might fail.

Not far from the square, atop a six-story building, Zhang Yu kicked open the iron door on the rooftop.

He looked around but saw no sign of anyone.

Muttering to himself, “They were just here, how did they disappear?”

Suddenly, he seemed to realize something and quickly looked down.

He spotted a man in a suit sliding down a drainpipe, landing swiftly on the ground before turning and running out of the alley.

Without hesitation, Zhang Yu vaulted off the roof, using his extraordinary balance and strength to leap across several air conditioning units, landing swiftly and steadily to pursue the suited man.

The man was fast, but Zhang Yu was faster.

They chased each other through alley after alley.

The suited man seemed desperate to shake Zhang Yu off. He formed various hand seals and repeatedly threw yellow papers at him.

In an instant, the papers transformed into bats that lunged at Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu’s ring ruler spun like a high-frequency fan, blocking the attacks.

Each time a bat collided with the ruler, a powerful shockwave burst out beside Zhang Yu, and the bats turned back into burnt yellow papers, falling on either side of him.

Yet Zhang Yu, at the center of the impact, appeared unfazed and continued the relentless pursuit, causing the suited man’s face to grow paler.

As the distance between them closed, the suited man gave up running and turned to confront Zhang Yu.

With a thought, a samurai sword appeared in his hand.

“I do not know you! Why are you so aggressive?” he demanded.

His broken Chinese made one want to slap him.

Zhang Yu’s face was as cold as ice. “So polite, yet utterly shameless are the spirit masters of the Land of Wa.”

The suited man looked puzzled. “What do you mean? I don’t understand.”

Zhang Yu’s cold gaze fixed on him. “Shikigami. Ten years ago in Wa, using spiritual power as the base and spirit weapon essence or beast blood as mediums, they developed auxiliary combat puppets. Even ordinary people without spirit weapons can activate them by taking special potions, realizing the dream of an entire nation of soldiers!”

The suited man’s impassive face finally showed a flicker of emotion.

“Are you from the Demon Suppression Corps?”

“I used to be,” Zhang Yu replied.

Hearing this, the man breathed a sigh of relief. “Spare me, and I’ll give you five million.”

Zhang Yu slowly raised his ring ruler, pointing it at him, and said calmly, “No.”

“Why? Are you going to risk your life over a monthly pension?” the man asked.

Zhang Yu shook his head. “No reason. Because now, I’m a teacher.”

The confusion deepened on the man’s face; he couldn’t understand the connection.

Zhang Yu looked at him coldly. “And you just nearly hurt one of my students.”

With that, Zhang Yu’s figure moved like lightning. Grasping the ring ruler, he lunged at the suited man!