One-Eyed Monster

Kuyi Tulan was still bleeding. That Ice Seal hadn’t pierced very deep, because it had only been a probing strike, not executed with full strength.

But what Bigas hadn’t expected was Kuyi Tulan’s attitude—he was actually smiling as he accepted the attack, letting blood run freely down from his shoulder. Everything here suddenly became eerie; Bigas couldn’t figure out what this Kuyi Tulan was really plotting.

”I truly came here to help you protect this place, Bigas.” Kuyi Tulan wore a gentle smile, like a reliable older brother who took things seriously, without the slightest air of arrogance.

Bigas hesitated. He couldn’t understand why this Kuyi Tulan, usually so overbearing and full of himself, now showed no reaction at all and seemed so calm—completely unlike the Chief of the Alchemy Workshop!

”Don’t fall for it, Bigas. This guy doesn’t even acknowledge his own mentor—there’s no way he’s got good intentions!” Biggs suddenly spoke up at Bigas’s side. She had absolutely no goodwill toward Kuyi Tulan, and this abnormal behavior only made her more wary.

Because of Biggs’s reminder, Bigas snapped out of it. ”What’s your real goal, Kuyi Tulan!”

But even if they asked like that, Kuyi Tulan wasn’t going to answer. Right now Kuyi Tulan didn’t have any Energy at all; the only thing he could do was sow confusion.

”Ignore him, Bigas. With this kind of ungrateful bastard, you just have to hit him hard!” Biggs finished speaking and swept up a gust of wind that roared forward. She had poured a lot of Spirit Power into this gale; it could be considered a well-prepared, full-powered strike.

Kuyi Tulan cursed inwardly. In his current condition, there was no way he could withstand that wind’s offensive. Judging by how he was now, he might very well be blasted flat by that gust. There wasn’t even time to call on the Spirit for help, so all he could do was strain his mind trying to figure out how he was going to handle the coming predicament.

Just as Kuyi Tulan was racking his brains, his whole body suddenly floated up off the ground. He’d never experienced this kind of Wind Element Spell control before; it felt novel and strange.

That sense of novelty also let Kuyi Tulan evade Biggs’s attack. It was obvious this was Energy the Spirit had summoned for him.

”Didn’t expect you’d be so reluctant to lose me!” Kuyi Tulan chuckled. He was finding this Spirit more and more entertaining.

”I simply don’t want to waste time here.” the Spirit said coldly.

Kuyi Tulan’s sudden change snapped Bigas and the others back to their senses. You could say that Biggs’s attack had forced Kuyi Tulan to reveal his fox tail.

”See? His true nature just slipped out. Everything he did before was an act, performed for us to watch!” Biggs said. She knew that once she unleashed a full-force attack, Kuyi Tulan would definitely counter. If he had really come to help them protect the secret, he would not have fought back.

Kuyi Tulan himself hadn’t felt any intention to attack. He only sensed his hand sweep out for a moment as his body floated up.

That single sweep became a wind formation—a powerful gale surged in and encircled the Soul Guardians’ ranks. If Biggs and Bigas hadn’t used defensive Spirit Power to resist, that wind would have been enough to blow away a portion of the Soul Guardians!

”You’re right, Senior Sister. With someone like him, we shouldn’t waste so many words!” Having finally come to his senses, Bigas felt that everything he’d done before had been utterly foolish. His mind had been fogged then; he hadn’t thought things through.

”Hmph, so you actually know the signature tricks of a Wind Wizard!” Within the shared consciousness, Kuyi Tulan was still excited. He knew the Spirit’s power was formidable, but he hadn’t expected the Spirit’s spell repertoire to be this rich.

He’d originally thought these Soul Devourers only knew how to Devour, Devour, and keep Devouring. He hadn’t imagined that these Spirits would command such precise spells, and complete them with just a wave of the hand.

”We’ve Devoured countless Spirits—by the tens of thousands. If I didn’t master at least these little techniques, how would I ever become the king of the Spirit World?” The Spirit wasn’t the least surprised by Kuyi Tulan’s astonishment. To him, all of this was simply natural.

”Never would’ve thought it, really never would’ve thought it!” Kuyi Tulan was still riding that wave of delight.

”There’s plenty you haven’t thought of yet.” The Spirit said dismissively.

In reality, the Soul Guardians had already spread into formation, releasing Spirit Power as they engaged the airborne Kuyi Tulan in battle.

”Numbers aren’t an advantage. I’m going to claim every one of these people for myself!” the Spirit growled. He was already manipulating Kuyi Tulan to summon Energy.

In no time at all, the entire undead troop began regrouping. Those living corpses who had fainted from shock previously were once again standing up, quickly forming a small-scale army.

”This—!” Bigas was deeply shocked. ”So the power you came here for is this force!”

In that instant, Bigas finally understood Kuyi Tulan’s purpose in coming here. She hadn’t considered this at all before—a truly huge mistake.

Kuyi Tulan didn’t speak at this moment; he only smiled again. The smile on his face already said everything.

”This guy will never change his nature. His pursuit of power is truly obsessive. To obtain power, he really will use any means necessary!” Biggs offered her assessment of Kuyi Tulan.

They were struggling to fend off these undead once more; it felt as if things had reverted to how they’d been at the beginning.

The only difference from the start was that this time, they could see the commander pulling the strings behind the scenes!

This time, the one commanding from behind the scenes was Kuyi Tulan!

”Why do you insist on doing this?” Within the shared consciousness, Kuyi Tulan asked curiously. To him, he was more interested in seeing the Spirit’s other abilities than in simply directing a Soul Devourer army to grind these people down in a war of attrition!

”What’s wrong with doing it this way? We have all the time in the world.” the Spirit said. He wasn’t surprised by Kuyi Tulan’s reaction.

He wanted Kuyi Tulan to understand that in here, it was his word that mattered; it wasn’t Kuyi Tulan’s turn to point fingers and give orders.

”You’re going to claim all of these people as your own?” Kuyi Tulan was still astonished by the Spirit’s plan. The Soul Guardian ranks were full of powerful fighters; without this kind of unlimited attrition, the Spirit shouldn’t have any chance of winning.

”And what’s wrong with that? All of their Spirit Cores are quite excellent. Those Spirits ought to come to me and wait to be reassigned.”

”Hope you pull it off…” Kuyi Tulan still felt it was unreliable; this approach was unlikely to succeed.

”Just watch. The Devouring Power can accomplish anything for me. Did you really think you became this replacement only because that guy’s consciousness collapsed?”

On that point, Kuyi Tulan truly didn’t understand. He was still rather muddled about this whole Integration business.

”Forgot to tell you: from now on, you’re a Shadow Ghost, and the Shadow Ghost is you. You’re no longer that Kuyi Tulan.”