Abundant Martial Arts Virtue

— I still have one hundred million Merit. It should be enough to enhance this Death Skill by one more level!

"Alright, I really need to strengthen my power at the moment. I'll do my best to choose."

Little Black responded and went about his business.

The Book of the Dead, however, still displayed several lines of small text that never disappeared.

Wu Xiaode looked curiously, only to see it written:

"You used the 'Tai Chu' boxing in battle, which has greatly improved your understanding of this technique."

"Please continue to refine your boxing skills."

"You can obtain more power from this technique."

Indeed.

If it wasn't to enhance his boxing, why would he bother giving up swords and always fight with fists?

Then he hurried!

Wu Xiaode passed through the metallic mechanical gates and made his way near the Hell Rift, finding the stone platform.

He took out a Gold Coin and gently tossed it into the Void.

A card suddenly flew out from the Book of the Dead, directly appearing on the platform.

"Do you wish to load this save?"

"Load!"

The card disappeared.

A woman dressed in tight leather armor, a black cloak, holding the Double Snake Apocalypse Bow, burst out a terrifying screech and quietly landed on the stone platform.

Qiong!

She stood there gasping heavily, suddenly became aware, and looked down at her body.

Her body was unharmed!

"How could this be... I was clearly dead..."

A look of bewilderment appeared on her face until she saw Wu Xiaode.

"Arian!"

The lady exclaimed and threw herself into his arms.

"Didn't I tell you? We have saves," Wu Xiaode gently stroked her hair and said.

"The fear of death permeated my soul, making me forget about this for a moment," Qiong murmured, burying her head in his chest.

"It's alright now. We need to hurry up and continue slaying ghosts," said Wu Xiaode.

"Right! What about that man? His sword was incredibly powerful!" Qiong asked.

Wu Xiaode recounted the events.

"Such a person has become your defeated subordinate," Qiong said with a look of admiration.

"Still not enough, a stronger guy is coming soon. We must now go deeper into the Rift to hunt for ghosts," declared Wu Xiaode.

"Are we not continuing to kill Netherworld ghost soldiers?" Qiong asked.

"Killing ghost soldiers doesn't help me enhance the skin anymore," Wu Xiaode shrugged.

"Alright then, I'll follow you wherever you go."

"Let's go!"

As they were talking, the Void quietly opened up.

Twelve powerful humans came up one by one, lining up on both sides.

The Book of the Dead automatically opened.

Little Black burst out a long message, directly transmitted to Wu Xiaode's mind:

"Mutter 'Jade and Stone Burned Together,' and your Heavenly Realm Skin will be directly destroyed."

"Do this when you die."

"— This is to prevent the Sequence and the bizarre from obtaining the authority of Heaven, making everything irreversible!"

Wu Xiaode nodded in understanding, but with a surprised face, he asked, "Who are you?"

The lead person said, "We are the Twelve Guards of the Lord of Radiance. We heard about your feat and specially gathered all our contributions to offer to the 'Glory' sequence in exchange for this item."

The man now held a glowing crystal cup in his hand.

"At the end of this hour, you will engage in a life-and-death battle with our lord," he continued to explain.

"Admittedly, we humble beings cannot defy the will of the Sequence, nor can we directly gang up and kill you, as this would make it seem like our lord is afraid of you."

Wu Xiaode gave a cold laugh:

"Of course your Sequence dares not kill me. After all, who knows if anyone besides me can obtain the Heavenly Realm Skin in the future? What if no one can?"

The man nodded and spoke, "So please accept this."

He threw the crystal cup on the ground in front of Wu Xiaode.

With a crisp sound, countless beams of light flew from the shattered cup, swirling around Wu Xiaode.

A line of ice crystal text appeared in front of Wu Xiaode's eyes:

"You have lost the ability to battle ghosts, lasting until the 'Lord of Radiance' triggers the life-and-death battle of the Sequence."

Wu Xiaode's expression darkened as he spoke in a low voice,

"I was supposed to watch the life and death battle based on the sequence, yet you schemed against me beforehand?"

The man smiled and said, "Mortal, do you know that there has never been such a thing as fairness in this world? It's a concept fabricated by humans."

"Your strength will cease to advance for one hour, while our lord will draw all the power of his subjects to swiftly climb to the apex."

"Everything is destined."

Having said that, he retreated a few steps and, along with those eleven people, disappeared into the Void.

Only Wu Xiaode and Qiong remained at the scene.

Qiong immediately asked, "What should we do? Arian, can I kill monsters and give the Merit to you?"

"No," Wu Xiaode shook his head, "I won't gain any Merit unless I act."

Qiong became anxious.

"Don't be afraid," Wu Xiaode gently stroked her long hair, "I originally wanted to thoroughly practice my boxing, but since they want to play dirty, I'll play along."

"Arian, do you have a plan?" Qiong's eyes brightened.

"Mm, you rest first; I will play their dirty game and show them what is called human-fabricated fairness," said Wu Xiaode.

"Be very careful."

Qiong urged him, transformed into a card, and flew into the Book of the Dead.

This time, Wu Xiaode was left alone.

He stood still, looking into the Void.

A row of ice crystal characters remained motionless there:

"Starting now, you cannot fight against ghost soldiers; if you strike at one, you will immediately be transported to the Lord of Radiance's prison."

Such a dirty trick!

But very effective.

All right then.

In order to ensure the fairness of the life and death battle, there was only one choice—

Wu Xiaode took out a Frost Snow Fruit with his left hand, and with his right, he drew the Desert Sword and plunged it into his chest.

Splurt.

Blood splattered.

"Ah… the feeling I've missed."

Wu Xiaode whispered softly as he slowly sat down on the stone platform.

He waited a moment.

The sensation of being on the brink of death arrived.

He suddenly activated the title "Heavenly Ghost" and then jumped into the Hell Rift—

In an instant.

A series of ice crystal characters appeared in succession:

"You have transformed into a being of the Death system: Bright Ghost."

"The current world includes an amalgam of various Death Realms, hence you will be randomly transported to a certain Hell Rift."

"You have granted yourself 3 points of luck."

The whole world quietly vanished.

Wind.

The wind of Hell blew against him, emitting the eerily familiar and nostalgic scent of death.

Multiples of the Death World kept appearing before Wu Xiaode's eyes.

Eventually.

A world started to materialize.

—It was a Hell Rift filled with molten lava, next to which stood an ancient castle beside a gigantic skeleton.

Thud.

Wu Xiaode landed and stood on the open ground in front of the castle.

As soon as he steadied himself, an old man wearing a white wig appeared in front of him.

"Bright Ghost, in the midst of a great battle, what brings you here?" the old man asked gently.

Wu Xiaode yawned, stretching his neck and legs, and said,

"I'm being hunted."

"Oh? That's none of our concern," the old man replied.

"But the one hunting me is a living person. Do you want his soul?"

"A living person?" The old man's eyes flickered.

"Yes, a powerful living person with a delicious soul, and extremely rare skin; let me see—about 57 minutes until he arrives. Are you willing to help?"

Wu Xiaode asked.