Chapter 100 - 95: Shadow Powerhouse

Chapter 100: Chapter 95: Shadow Powerhouse

Although the newcomer was dressed bizarrely—in night-stalking clothes, a black robe, and a smiley-face mask, looking exactly like a piece of performance art—Black Tiger still felt this was an ally.

After all, if they weren’t an ally, there was no need to show up at this moment. Ghosts did not distinguish between friend and foe.

He thought, "Someone who can appear fearlessly in front of Ghosts must at least be an expert, right?" Black Tiger prayed this was a powerhouse who could share their pressure and hold out until reinforcements arrived.

But Old Liu was not so optimistic. "This might just be a reckless hothead. Boss, have you forgotten? When we dealt with the Ghost disaster the week before last, we ran into a hothead who was clearly just a Fusion Stage Dream Descender but charged straight in to fight a Ghost head-on."

That Dream Descender had met a swift end. His death was gruesome, and they couldn’t even rescue him in time. Thinking of this, Black Tiger’s expression turned grim.

The newcomer’s outfit indeed didn’t look like an expert; he looked more like a freak. Furthermore, most true Refining Realm powerhouses were well-known, with names and distinct features—he wouldn’t fail to recognize one.

Still, Black Tiger shouted, "Brother, these Withered Wood Ghosts are very fast! Be careful not to get hurt!"

Before his voice could fade, a Withered Wood Ghost crept silently behind the masked man under the veil of night. Black Tiger hadn’t even noticed it until the Ghost leaped out of the shadows, causing his eyes to widen.

"Watch—!"

At this moment, the night wind howled. In Shi An’s perception, the seven humans in the distance and the five Ghosts around him were incredibly clear. The silent swoop of the Withered Wood Ghost behind him, using the shadows for cover, looked like a red-marked enemy in his eyes—exceedingly conspicuous!

The Shadow was warning him! Shi An didn’t even need to use the Universal Curse Art, Capturing Wind and Shadow, to clearly catch the flow of the wind, the Spreading smell of blood, and the Withered Wood Ghost’s turtle-like slowness. If he actually tried to rely on his eyes, he wouldn’t be able to keep up with the Ghost’s speed at all!

Therefore, Shi An did not look. In his eyes, the Ghost did not exist. Yet in the shadows, the phantom-like figure played back in slow motion frame by frame, freezing in his perception.

SLICE! A sharp Shadow Spike jutted out from the ground, piercing through the Withered Wood Ghost with precise accuracy. It was as if this Ghost had delivered itself right onto the tip of the Shadow Spike.

Shi An’s footsteps did not stop; he continued moving forward. He strolled under the night sky, relaxed and at ease, completely disregarding the surrounding Ghosts.

"ROAR!" The second Withered Wood Ghost lunged over. It leaped down from a nearby roof like a gust of cyan-gray wind. In the very next moment, it froze. Pierced by a second black Shadow Spike, it was nailed dead in mid-air.

Shi An didn’t spare it a single glance. Ordinary Ghosts were merely ants.

He halted his steps and looked toward the darkness in the distance. In the dark, a pair of cyan-green eyes—larger and brighter than those of the surrounding Withered Wood Ghosts, like lanterns—faintly appeared. Immediately after, a figure slowly emerged. Its skin was also cyan-gray, resembling withered wood, but it had a muscular physique over three meters tall. Its entire body exuded a much colder and more ferocious aura than the surrounding Withered Wood Ghosts!

This was...

"A mutated Withered Wood Ghost!" Black Tiger exclaimed. "This is a Tier One Elite Ghost!"

Black Tiger hadn’t expected an even stronger Ghost to be hidden among them. If there were only four Ghosts, he had the confidence to maneuver and stall them. But this Withered Wood Ghost before him... might actually be stronger than himself!

The mutated Withered Wood Ghost let out a piercing roar. The remaining two Ghosts immediately abandoned Black Tiger’s group. They turned and sprinted, leaping across the rooftops in M-shaped trajectories and sweeping through the fields in S-shaped arcs. Their speed was incredibly fast; apart from Black Tiger, the other two Elites couldn’t catch the Ghosts’ figures at all. They could only see the weeds in the fields being bent and sheared away, with the flying grass clippings crushed into powder as the gray shadows swept past.

The two Ghosts nailed by the Shadow Spikes also struggled frantically, causing CRACK CRACK sounds as fractures appeared on the spikes.

Even more terrifying was that mutated Withered Wood Ghost, which looked like an iron tower. Its speed was just as swift. As it sprinted, it was like a behemoth stomping the earth, making the entire country road CRACK CRUNCH as spiderweb-like fissures fractured the ground. It was like a heavy truck charging forward!

Black Tiger also charged forward. However, he was merely made of human flesh; his peak speed couldn’t compare to Ghosts like the Withered Wood Ghosts, which excelled at speed. In his eyes, the masked man in black robes still stood in place, not even glancing at his surroundings.

Suddenly, Black Tiger’s eyes widened, and his mouth fell agape. The masked man in black robes finally moved. He did not choose to dodge, nor did he set up any grand stance.

He simply, gently, extended his hand. His palm, covered by black Gloves, faced upward, bathing in the moonlight. Under the moon, inch after inch of darkness constructed itself upon this open palm, eventually forming a pitch-black blade tinged with a hint of deep blue. The blade was six inches long, displaying a slight curved arc. There was no hilt. It didn’t even touch the surface of his palm; it just hovered idly in mid-air.

"Shadow Blade."

The blade quivered, and black streaks seemed to draw five circles around it, faintly outlining a pentagram pattern.

In the distance, the Withered Wood Ghost was still sprinting, yet its lower body had separated from its upper half. On the Ghost situated on the roof, a black line Spreading from top to bottom split its entire body into two.

The two Ghosts that had just shattered the Shadow Spikes collapsed completely this time. Thick Shadows covered their severed sections, and their tyrannical Life Force showed not a single sign of healing.

Farther away, the tall Ghost permeating with a terrifying chill gradually slowed its heavy-truck-like charge until it came to a halt. Plunged into its body was the blue-black blade. Dense, intricate lines blanketed its towering, horrifying figure.

SLICE! Its tough, withered-wood skin was effortlessly severed and shredded. In the blink of an eye, only chunks of mangled flesh remained, rolling onto the ground with soft THUDS.

Shi An blew away non-existent dust from his palm. With his hands behind his back, he tilted his head up to gaze at the moon, as if he had merely done something insignificant.

Black Tiger, who had been charging forward, hit the brakes hard. He mumbled for a good while, as if transforming from a fierce black tiger into a docile black cat, and asked carefully, "Thank you, Senior, for intervening. May I ask what your title is, Senior?"

"Title?" Shi An had never thought of a codename for himself. It would be embarrassing if a hastily chosen codename sounded terrible. He waved his hand dismissively. "I’m just a passing Masked Rider."

After saying that, sensing the scarce Curse Power left in this Energy Incarnation, Shi An snapped his fingers. The Shadow spread, covering his entire body. In the next moment, the man under the moon vanished without a trace.

Black Tiger froze for a moment before sighing in admiration. "Truly a peerless senior!" He turned to look at the teenage boys and girls who had fainted from fright, his face growing cold again, resembling a fierce tiger. "Take all these people back and interrogate them thoroughly. Hmph!"

He then added, "By the way, it seems the senior didn’t collect the Curse Objects dropped by the Ghosts. This expert really treats Treasures like dirt."

"Did I forget to pick up the drops?" Shi An, who had already run twenty kilometers away, only just realized it in hindsight.

His loot! Especially from that mutated Ghost—it might have dropped something incredible. However, it was highly unlikely for a Ghost to directly drop a Rare Level Curse Object. Thinking of this, Shi An forcefully suppressed his heartache. Mere Curse Objects couldn’t compare to acting cool.

He mused, "Today’s outing was Perfection.

"I went for a joyride, toured the Border Line of Baijiang City, and flawlessly tested my combat strength.

"As it stands, my incarnation’s combat power is vastly superior to a Second Refining Realm expert like Long Niu. However, compared to a Captain Level powerhouse at the Peak of Third Refinements Realm—the top tier Below the Extraordinary—it’s probably still a bit lacking.

"Well, this isn’t an issue with the Night Shadow Mask; it’s my problem. I couldn’t infuse enough Curse Power into the Shadow Incarnation. Otherwise, its Curse Power wouldn’t have nearly run out in that battle just now."

The incarnation’s biggest flaw lay in its inability to replenish Curse Power on its own, and merely maintaining its existence consumed Curse Power. Earlier, summoning the Shadow Soldiers to scout the Fog Area had also depleted some of its strength. As a result, right now... the incarnation was like a smartphone with only two percent battery left. It was about to shut down.

Ultimately, the Shadow Incarnation failed to make it back to his rented apartment. Its Curse Power was exhausted, and unable to sustain itself, the entire body dissipated. It left behind only a set of clothes scattered in an empty alleyway, giving birth to yet another urban legend.

Shi An told himself, "So, not picking up the Curse Objects was the right call. I am truly a man of great foresight."

At the Headquarter.

Black Tiger was undergoing treatment at the medical clinic when Captain Level and Deputy Captain officers like Long Niu and Li Yunfeng came to visit.

"This time, thanks to that mysterious expert coming to our rescue, Old Liu, Wu, and the rest definitely wouldn’t have made it back otherwise," Black Tiger said. He still had lingering fears and couldn’t help but angrily curse those death-seeking teenagers.

Li Yunfeng asked, "But who exactly is this expert who manipulates Shadows? When did such a powerhouse appear in our Baijiang City? Based on your description, this person is at least at the Peak of Third Refinements Realm."

Black Tiger replied, "I think it’s more than that. It might even be a Transcendent! From start to finish, the other party handled everything with effortless grace, and they only truly attacked once!"

When fighting Ghosts, they usually had to maintain a highly tense Spirit, hyper-aware of their surroundings in all directions, struggling to track the Ghosts’ movements to find any possible openings. But what about that Shadow expert? He never once looked around; it seemed that from beginning to end, he completely dismissed the Ghosts. That display of power and relaxed posture was far beyond what a Captain Level expert could match!

Li Yunfeng pondered, "Hey, if they’re a Transcendent, could this Shadow expert be that mysterious Manager? After all, it’s highly unlikely for two unfamiliar powerhouses to pop up in our Baijiang City at the same time."

This deduction seemed well-founded. Baijiang was an isolated island, and there were only so many true experts. Extraordinary Beings numbered merely a dozen or so.

But Long Niu immediately retorted, "Impossible, absolutely impossible! The Shadow expert might be strong, but they fall far short of that Manager. The Manager’s Divine might is far beyond what ’Extraordinary’ can simply sum up!" He added, "In my opinion, since that expert appeared in Xikou Village, not far from the Border Line, maybe they came from the Outer City."

"The Outer City? That makes sense," the group murmured.

Their bureau chief, along with the entire First Detachment, had been stationed outside for a long time, aiming to scout out whether there was any other path of survival for Baijiang City.