White Death madly spewed a thick column of water mixed with green blood clots. Wei Linglan and Wei Yueyan hastily leaped backward, retreating from the toxic stream.
The powerful impact of the water column scoured the ground, SIZZLING incessantly as it dissolved a massive depression into the concrete pavement.
The water column's momentum was unabated. It scattered into a sky-wide curtain of rain, drenching those red and white retainers who couldn't dodge in time.
Piercing screams rose and fell as the red and white retainers, their faces contorted, scratched frantically at the parts of their bodies splashed by the rain, tearing their own skin and flesh.
However, this did nothing to stop the toxic water's relentless corrosion, hollowing out the retainers completely.
Eventually, they were reduced to piles of Ash, scattered across the ground in various human-like shapes.
White Death and Hong Sha were among the top-tier entities in the outermost layer of the fog. They had clashed many times, their strength closely matched.
In fact, White Death was slightly inferior—after all, his only move was to spew forth toxic water.
Once approached, Hong Sha would tear away his Soul Fragments within minutes, forcing him to flee in pain.
Now, even Hong Sha is under the control of that man wearing the leopard Mask, he thought. Could I possibly stand against three and achieve an extreme comeback? I know my own limits. If not now, when would be a better time to run?
SPLURT—
White Death vomited a violent stream of Virulent Poison. He used the propulsive force to fly into mid-air, retreating rapidly while continually shaking his head to maximize the toxic column's coverage.
Though this attack method seemed clumsy, like an automatic sprinkler nodding on a lawn, it was quite effective.
He had died by drowning. His corpse had been bloated and greenish, his swollen belly full of foul gases and putrid water.
After becoming a wraith, the accumulated toxic water in his belly became incredibly potent,
repelling even Monsters that fed on Yin energy, let alone living humans, who couldn't afford even a single touch.
Seeing White Death transform into a human sprinkler, spewing a stream of frigid, poisonous water toward the roadside crowd,
Li Ang flicked his Triangular Bone Tipped Spear, tossing the severely injured Hong Sha to Miss Chai.
He then rushed forward, using his spear to lift an eight-bearer palanquin and fling the entire frame into the air.
The palanquin spun skyward. Its top component, the "Dragon Heat Mechanism: Rigid Wings," slid off, and Wei Linglan caught it perfectly.
The palanquin itself, meanwhile, was hurled toward White Death in mid-air, perfectly blocking the poisonous spray aimed at the crowd.
HISS—
The eight-bearer palanquin quickly corroded into a mass of carbonized black slag, but residual droplets still rained down toward the crowd.
Seeing the danger, Miss Chai grabbed Hong Sha's neck with one hand and, with the other, lifted a concrete slab, throwing it to block the falling droplets of Virulent Poison.
Wei Linglan also dashed forward. He positioned his Great Sword horizontally and activated his Sword Shield Defensive Ability Special Effect, intercepting the corrosive droplets that flew like Flying Props.
He ensured that not a single bystander was harmed by the poisonous water.
In that Flint Stone moment, the three coordinated with incredible unspoken understanding, executing a textbook-perfect, sophisticated maneuver.
If instructors from the Special Affairs Bureau had been present, they would surely have given Li Ang and the others a standing ovation.
The battle wasn't over.
After tossing aside the eight-bearer palanquin, Li Ang pressed a button on his earphone,
switching the music track to the classic song, "I Believe."
His earlier banter with Miss Chai had served two purposes: to bluff Wei Linglan and to buy time for his BGM skill to cool down.
Under the influence of the BGM skill, this song—"I Believe," a track notoriously overplayed at corporate annual parties and school pep rallies—could, for 30 seconds, significantly enhance Li Ang's jumping ability and slightly improve his air-hovering capability. The effect made him look as if he were hopping around on a low-gravity planet.
"I want to fly to the sky, shoulder to shoulder with the sun; the world is waiting for me to make a change!"
The catchy melody flowed from his earphones.
Li Ang fiercely stomped the ground. His legs bent like a slingshot, catapulting him into the air.
He seized the brief moment while White Death was busy corroding the eight-bearer palanquin to leap high.
The white bone blade of the spear in his hand extended, spanning over ten meters as he stabbed down mercilessly toward White Death from his superior vantage point.
White Death caught a glimpse of the approaching spear from the corner of his eye and was scared out of his wits.
He hurriedly raised his head, aiming his sausage-like lips at Li Ang.
Unfortunately for him, Li Ang reacted even faster.
Li Ang immediately activated his Fragment Scatter skill, hitting White Death squarely on the lips.
This forced White Death to involuntarily tilt his head, and his spray of Virulent Poison eroded and melted a section of an outer wall on a nearby tall building.
The recoil from the poisonous jet sent White Death spinning away horizontally.
Before White Death could crash into a building lining the street,
the white bone blade of Li Ang's Triangular Bone Tipped Spear extended again. It twisted sinuously, like a hunting Snake, and struck White Death's swollen, ready-to-burst belly.
RRRIP!
A sound like tearing fabric echoed.
White Death's torso was sliced open.
A green, putrid torrent—mixed with aquatic plants, algae, and dead fish and shrimp—gushed out from his ruptured belly like a majestic waterfall.
It seemed endless, a truly spectacular sight.
White Death didn't even have the strength to scream as he plummeted toward the ground.
But Li Ang wasn't about to let him off so easily. Using his BGM skill to briefly hover in mid-air,
he spun the spear's shaft, using its White Bone Spine blade like a whip.
With a fierce flick, it snaked out and firmly entangled White Death—whose belly was still sliced open—in mid-air.
This prevented him from crashing to the ground and attempting to escape by hiding.
Li Ang then maneuvered the spear again, planting its butt against a building wall and pushing off, propelling himself away like a pole-vaulter.
He used his slight air-hovering ability to stay clear of the cascading deluge of Virulent Poison, ensuring he wouldn't land in it.
TAP.
Li Ang landed lightly on the ground. Leaning on his Triangular Bone Tipped Spear, he steadily exhaled a breath of murky air.
Impaled high on the spear blade, White Death, his belly gaping open, was now completely empty.
His face was even paler than before, looking as if his image had been run through an extreme beautification filter. His soul seemed on the verge of dissipating at any moment.
All told, from the moment Li Ang kicked a piece of rubble to hit the coffin until he decisively crippled White Death, the entire process had taken little more than ten seconds.
Wei Linglan prided herself on being a combat elite, her fighting prowess honed several times over by the Special Affairs Bureau's training courses.
However, even if she possessed all the skills, items, and physical strength Li Ang had demonstrated, dealing with White Death so calmly and swiftly—within those mere dozen or so seconds—would have been utterly impossible for her.
Yu Zhenghai, Shadow Disciple Den... I will remember you!
Wei Linglan etched these two names deeply into her mind, yet her facial expression remained calm and composed.
She watched as Li Ang ambled over to join Wei Yueyan.
He used his spear to threaten the quadriplegic Hong Sha and the deathly pale White Death (who looked like he could keel over at any second), forcing them to sit huddled together.
Li Ang let out a long breath, trying to soothe the headache caused by the Sanity Value drain from his BGM skill.
After a good while, he opened his eyes. He looked at the trembling Hong Sha and White Death and said in a low, deliberate voice,
"Big brother, sister-in-law, Happy New Year."
He paused, then asked, "So, do you want to die, or do you want to live?"