Chapter 565: I Am the Coolest! No, I Am Even Cooler!

The demonic blade, Apophysis, was a massive, dark purple greatsword, its entire length burning with sinister, tentacle-like flames. The blade and hilt combined rose taller than most men, and embedded in its center was a singular, vertically slit, monstrous eye; even a cursory glance at this extravagantly jagged greatsword left an impression of sheer, paralyzing terror.

It was exceptionally perilous, possessing a human-like consciousness capable of manipulating the minds of both men and monsters, and it would actively feed upon the soul of its wielder; should one's strength prove insufficient, command would be impossible, and the blade would instead devour its master.

The moment this sword was drawn, a few outsiders instantly felt a piercing, deathly gale sweep across their faces.

"This kid was hiding his true strength?!" They felt a rapidly swelling, formidable aura emanating from the sword, as though some ancient seal were being slowly unraveled by an unseen power.

"Hahaha!" The outsiders burst into laughter, their own presence surging to new heights in response. "He thinks he's the only one who was holding back?!"

"This native probably still has no idea what's happening, does he?" Karl sneered; though everyone here was playing the wolf in sheep's clothing, there was a difference.

The three outsiders scoffed inwardly: this man had absolutely no clue that they were primordial beasts masquerading as sheep!

And the young man before them...

Was likely nothing more than a wolf in disguise!

It was utterly laughable!

Jessica could hardly wait to see the look of sheer, helpless terror on this foolish boy's face in the moments to come.

Between her fingers, Jessica pinched that silver, cursed blade; upon its metallic edge, a faint, decaying gray hue manifested, as if all things in the world would wither and perish because of this steel.

The moment this dagger-like short blade cleared its sheath, a massive wave of rot erupted, causing the surrounding grass and trees to instantly shrivel and die as an aura of death rippled outward.

Her figure shifted like a phantom, appearing silently behind Fang Qi in the blink of an eye, her blade already resting against his neck: "Little brother, don't move a muscle, or else my hand might slip, and you'll end up just like the grass and flowers around us."

She did not speak aloud; her voice surfaced directly within Fang Qi's mind, and though it was not the language of the Spirit State, he could inexplicably understand her with perfect clarity.

"Now, let me look after such a dangerous weapon for you, hehehehe..." Fang Qi heard only a burst of wicked, unrestrained laughter before a sickly pale, slender finger reached toward the hilt of the demonic sword.

In that exact instant, she suddenly felt a colossal, horrifying torrent of negative emotion surge from the blade, crashing over her like a raging tidal wave!

"What is this?!" She snapped her hand back as if struck by lightning, and in that same moment, the eyes of the outsiders widened in stark disbelief as the ordinary-looking youth vanished, replaced by a dark-clothed young man holding the demonic sword, encircled by eerie, terrifying ghosts and deities—a Soul Reaper!

With a flick of Fang Qi's left hand, endless dark shadows swirled about him like a vortex, enveloping his form—Kazan of the Destructive Shadow.

"Realign your soul, and fight for me!"

Immediately after, a skeletal ghost hidden within a dense black mist slowly unfurled behind him, resembling a massive pair of black bony wings—Kalla of the Nether Flame!

The black mist, seemingly born from the underworld, nearly shrouded Fang Qi entirely, and upon that colossal, dark purple demonic sword, a pitch-black nether flame began to burn slowly!

With a wave of his single hand, a dark red spectral illusion of a deity floated into the air; its terrifying magical power threatened to drive everyone nearby mad, yet that dark red energy continuously swelled the magical power within Fang Qi's body—Kazan of the Blade Soul.

The ghosts and deities manifested in reality were far more complex than the mere attribute buffs they provided to players in the original game.

In the Arad Continent, there existed beings who had "transcended human intellect to become gods," and such entities were known as "Ghosts and Deities."

Legend held that Kalla was originally the messenger of the most mysterious entity in Arad, the "Grim Reaper," capable of wielding the fires of hell; these black flames could reduce all matter in the universe to nothingness, and he was later summoned by Zieg in the name of the Reaper.

As for Kazan, it went without saying; the blood-red ghost hands possessed by all Ghost Knights were a consequence of his curse.

As one indistinct spectral figure after another was summoned into existence, their terrifying auras intertwined; the surrounding wind wailed with ghostly shadows, and the entire mountaintop seemed to transform into the underworld itself!

The outsiders stared blankly at the scene, gazing upon one horrifying deity after another, but a far more terrifying realization crept into their minds—if one possessed the ability to control two ghosts, they could unseal the power to summon the legendary Seventh Ghost: Blache, the Evil God!

That was the truly terrifying existence!

It would have been better if these outsiders had never watched the esports tournaments, remaining ignorant of the terror of awakened powerhouses, but they had spent two full days watching them!

At this moment, their scalps tingled with sheer terror.

Right then, the young man who had summoned the ghosts spoke: "Oh? So you guys were hiding your strength too? Since I'm not the only one who was holding back, that's a relief."

"!!??"

Their minds nearly short-circuited; you were obviously the one who didn't know our identities! What kind of identity do you have now?!

Originally, the dynamic was simple: you were an ordinary Martial King realm cultivator, and we were cultivators from the distant Western Polar Region; everyone was acting like gentle sheep, and it was perfectly harmonious.

Who could have guessed that while they were only halfway through revealing their true forms as wolves in sheep's clothing, intending to thoroughly intimidate this "ordinary person," it turned out he had been hiding his strength the entire time too?!

And furthermore...

When you shed your sheepskin, you turn out to be a prehistoric monster?!

How is anyone supposed to survive this?!

"You're... a Soul Reaper?!" Karl shrieked, finally recognizing him.

This "ordinary person" before them was actually the Soul Reaper they had seen on the competitive stage, capable of summoning the most horrific evil god!

"How is this possible?!" Jessica felt herself going mad!

They had thought they were the ultimate apex predators, only to find someone else was even more monstrous?!

There was a direct way to determine whether a Soul Bender had achieved Awakening; an awakened Soul Bender was enveloped by an aura of pure terror (the Aura of Fear), so based solely on the pervasive dread in the air, they could tell this man was a truly awakened Soul Reaper, not an ordinary Soul Bender.

"Ah—!" They wanted to scream at the top of their lungs internally.

"How can this be?! How could you possibly be a Soul Reaper?!" Their entire worldview was being shattered.

Previously, the more they thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed, leading them to conclude that those "experts" in the competitive matches were only that powerful because they were within a completely virtual, yet lifelike world.

It was highly likely an ancient, remnant pocket world; after all, given the standards of this world's natives, it was impossible to create such a thing.

But now, she discovered that the very thing they had deemed a total illusion was standing right in front of them, alive and breathing!

And it was so overwhelmingly powerful.

A thought even crossed their minds: would those things they had just branded as "fake" suddenly appear before them just like this?!

Before this, they had actually talked about revealing their identities to scare him senseless?!

Damn it, they were the ones about to be scared to death now—!

.

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PS: Given the rarity of the demonic sword, even Boss Fang's Blademaster account didn't possess one, let alone his Soul Bender account; what enabled Fang Qi to synchronize with this character was a golden ring with exquisite patterns resting on his fingertip: the Ancient Elven Ring.

This was likewise one of the rewards from opening the chest.

。