Qin Shuang slowly approached Han Wu, gracefully extending her slim, white hands to his face. Before she could even touch him, a growl rumbled from within Han Wu. A ferocious tiger leaped out of his body, pinned Qin Shuang down, and bit her.
Han Wu snapped out of his daze, and the illusion shattered.
âAre you shocked to find that I have a Divine Weapon thatâs related to my soul?â He sneered.
The Calamitous Ghost Tiger sent the Scarlet Ghost Matriarch flying back. Her grotesque eyes darted about, carefully assessing the threat. Meanwhile, the Locust Soul Orb returned to Han Wu before summoning the three souls within it to protect him.
In front of him crouched the tiger, Ah Mao guarded the back, Ah Da the left, and Ah Er the right. The Scarlet Ghost Matriarch couldnât harm his soul like this. Seeing that she couldnât attack Han Wu, she turned to Qin Shuang, who was protecting the Hu family as well.
She had seen Qin Shuang in Han Wuâs subconscious, which was why she had pretended to be her in the illusion. Aware that Qin Shuang was important to Han Wu, she decided to attack her soul and take her hostage.
Han Wu didnât stop her. Qin Shuang could handle herself. The Scarlet Ghost Matriarch would die soon.
As expected, a thunderous boom rang out as soon as her soul touched Qin Shuangâs. The Scarlet Ghost Matriarch appeared to have been struck by lightning. Her red wedding dress was charred black as she fell to the ground and turned to ashes.
Han Wu chuckled at the sight. The Scarlet Ghost Matriarch had chosen the wrong target. Qin Shuang could temporarily borrow the strength of her true body, which had Soul Lightning, allowing her to attack souls directly.
When the Scarlet Ghost Matriarch died, her guards all let out horrific shrieks before turning to ashes as well. Guan Nan was flabbergasted. It had ended far more easily than he had expected!
Han Wu helped him up, and they inspected the ashes of the Scarlet Ghost Matriarch together. There were seven Divine Weapons buried in her ashes, each related to the soul.
These suited his Locust Soul Orb, so he decided to absorb them to upgrade it. The Locust Soul Orb soon reached 8 Stars. It was a shame it didnât reach 9 Stars, but at least it had grown stronger.
The Calamitous Ghost Tigerâs body had gained a thin shroud of red gas made of bloodlust. Even if it missed its attacks, the red gas would still damage the enemy upon contact. Han Wu was delighted with the results of the battle. Guan Nan, on the other hand, was worried.
âThe people from the Profound Netherworld Cult are dead. What are you worried about?â Han Wu asked, confused.
âBenefactor, you might not know this, but that was the Yin Emissary, the Scarlet Ghost Matriarch. According to rumors, the Yin and Yang Emissaries work closely together. Since the Yin Emissary was here, that means the Yang Emissary must be close by. I fear that he will attack soon.â
âThat's not a problem. Let them come. Iâll just deal with them.â Han Wu chuckled.
A wave of relief washed over Guan Nan. He was well aware of Han Wuâs strength and was grateful to have his support. Han Wu had helped him so many times that he felt indebted to him, and the Guan family always repaid their debts.
After considering it briefly, he said, âBenefactor, youâve saved us numerous times now. We donât have anything to repay you with other than our secret technique. Please accept it. I insist.â
âSecret technique? Was it the one that you used just now?â asked Han Wu.
In truth, he wasnât all that impressed with Guan Nanâs Heaven-Earth Severance earlier. It couldnât even kill the Scarlet Ghost Matriarch. What use was it?
âIndeed. Itâs the secret technique of the Guan family,â Guan Nan excitedly explained. âAccording to legends, my ancestor used it to carve this land itself."
Han Wu didnât have the heart to say that if it was that strong, the Profound Netherworld Cult wouldnât be able to threaten their family.
âThis is a powerful blade technique,â Guan Nan continued obliviously, âand it depends on the weapons you use. The most suitable Divine Weapons are those similar to the reclining moon blade.â
Han Wu was too lazy to learn it, so he feigned sadness. âThatâs a shame. I donât have a weapon like that. It seems I canât learn it.â
âDonât worry, a regular blade will work too. Even if you canât unleash the techniqueâs full might, you can at least still use 80% of it. With your power, Iâm certain that you could unleash an incredible attack. The Heaven-Earth Severanceâs main use isnât in regular combat but in fighting against evil beings like those from the Profound Netherworld Cult. Iâm certain itâll be of great help to you.â
Han Wu didnât want to learn it, but he was helpless in the face of Guan Nanâs insistence. It wasnât like he could tell his friend that his familyâs secret technique was weak. After learning it, however, he realized that the technique hid profound depths.
The technique didnât exhaust his own energy but absorbed the natural ambient energy to unleash the blow. The weaponâs size and strength directly affected the amount of energy it could absorb. Naturally, more energy meant a stronger blow.
Under Guan Nanâs careful guidance, Han Wu learned the basics within half a day. He could cultivate it more in the future since it wasnât exactly a convoluted technique.
That night, the Guan brothers shared drinks with Han Wu. Unfortunately, as Guan Nan had expected, the two emissaries worked closely together, and the Yang Emissary arrived that same night in search of the Scarlet Ghost Matriarch.
The moon shone brightly as a group of people wearing black carried a huge coffin into Wushuang City.
The guards tried to stop them, but the figures in black slew them all. During the fight, the coffin never once touched the ground. They then carried the coffin to the Hu family estate.
After losing hundreds of servants in the fight that day, the Hu family estate was deathly quiet. The conspicuous figures in black entered the estate with the coffin and were immediately spotted by the guards.
Already numb from the tragedies of the day, the Hu patriarch informed Guan Nan about it before ordering everyone to return to their rooms to sleep. They were not to come out, regardless of what they heard.
Everybody was quick to obey, all wanting to stay out of it. They had witnessed Han Wuâs strength and trusted him to solve it.
Thus, only the Guan brothers and Han Wu walked out of the hall to greet the uninvited guests.
An arrogant voice came from within the coffin. âWhere is the Yin Emissary?â
âSheâs probably back home now,â replied Han Wu.
âHome?â The Yang Emissary was perplexed.
âYes, her home: hell, the underworld, or even the land beyond the west. Do you understand what Iâm trying to say?â
âYou rude bastard. How dare you trick me!â snarled the voice. âKill him!â