33: Chapter 33 Master Fan's Special Training

"Don't rush to pledge allegiance."

Pei Fei didn't pick up the topic, leaning back into the armchair.

"You won't be here much longer. Before you leave, I need you to see some blood first, lest you embarrass me later."

With that, he faintly called out into the void outside the hall: "Old Eighth, come in."

Before his voice even landed, the temperature in the study instantly dropped to freezing. The door was pushed open, and a figure squeezed in.

Black Impermanence, Fan Wujiu.

This "Eighth Master," who could stop children's night cries in folk legends, was clad in tight black martial attire stretched taut by bulging muscles. Black chains were wrapped around his exposed arms, and his gaze made everyone look like a dead person.

"Your Majesty.", Fan Wujiu knelt on one knee, his voice deafening.

"These two, they're yours.", Pei Fei gestured with his chin toward Xu Mo and Lin Sa, "Start an intensive course. As long as the training doesn't kill them, train them until they nearly die."

Fan Wujiu slowly turned his head.

His eyes, glowing with a chilling green light, assessed the pair up and down without concealment, letting out a sneer: "Your Majesty, you are making things difficult for your old subject. The martial arts of the Underworld are for the dead to practice. For these two mortal bodies, let alone practicing, if I were to leak even a bit of malevolent aura, I could turn them into idiots."

It was undisguised contempt.

It was like a special forces instructor looking at two raw recruits who hadn't even been weaned yet.

Xu Mo felt a chill seep into his very bones under that glance.

But his mind worked quickly, and he immediately realized this was an immense fortune—the Underworld Marshal was personally giving them private lessons! This was equivalent to Sun Wukong teaching you how to wield a staff; what more could you ask for?

"Eighth Master!" Xu Mo braced himself, cupped his fists, and shouted, "We are not afraid of death! As long as we can become stronger, we will accept even shedding a layer of skin!"

Lin Sa was even more straightforward, sticking her neck out: "Right! As long as we don't die, you can do whatever you want with us!"

Fan Wujiu raised an eyebrow, a playful cruelty appearing on his dark face: "Fine, tough talkers. I hope you can last half an incense stick."

He stood up and waved his large sleeve, stirring up a gust of chilling wind.

"Follow me."

...

The Asura Training Ground, on a side peak of Luofeng Mountain.

"Bang!"

As soon as the two stepped onto this land, their bodies suddenly felt heavy, almost causing them to collapse onto the ground.

"What... what's going on..." Lin Sa's face flushed crimson. She felt as if she were carrying two sacks of rice on her back, and even her breathing became labored like a bellows. "The gravity... it's wrong..."

"The gravity in the Asura Path is three times that of the mortal world, and the Yin Sha energy is ten times that of the outside world."

Fan Wujiu was standing on the general's platform a hundred meters away, hands behind his back, his voice coming back coldly. "In this place, just standing still can exhaust your stamina."

Thousands of elite Underworld Soldiers were lined up drilling around the training ground.

Seeing these two staggering living people, the Underworld Soldiers stopped their movements and cast mocking glances.

"Catch."

Fan Wujiu tossed something casually.

"Clang!"

Two black shadows shot through the air, smashing heavily onto the frozen earth near the pair's feet, kicking up a spray of gravel.

They were two pitch-black chains, only as thick as a thumb, with a curved hook at the end, inscribed all over with dark red runes.

The standard issue weapon of a Soul Reaper—the Soul-Hooking Chain.

"This thing is standard equipment for Soul Reapers,", Fan Wujiu said coldly. "Don't even think about using it like a rope; it's alive."

"Watch closely."

Fan Wujiu didn't use much force, just a slight flick of his wrist.

"Buzz—!!"

The chain wrapped around his arm instantly turned into a shadowy black python, shooting out like a phantom.

"Boom!!"

Ten meters away, a massive block of obsidian rock, the size of a truck, instantly exploded into powder.

The chain's momentum did not decrease. It carved a strange arc in the air and then floated gently back into Fan Wujiu's hand, docile as a pet snake.

"This is Soul-Hooking.", Fan Wujiu said lightly. "Now, you two try."

Xu Mo and Lin Sa exchanged glances, both seeing shock in the other's eyes.

Lin Sa took a deep breath and bent down to pick up the chain from the ground.

It sank heavily in her hand!

This inconspicuous section of iron chain weighed nearly a hundred catties in her grip and was bone-chillingly cold.

"Hng!"

Lin Sa was a trained martial artist after all. She combined her stance, channeled her energy to her Dantian, and violently swung the chain, mimicking Fan Wujiu's movement.

However—

The chain did not fly out as expected. Instead, it violently thrashed once, like a startled dead snake.

"Slap!"

A terrifying recoil force shot back through the iron chain.

Lin Sa's tiger's mouth split open, blood spraying out. The strange force caused her to stagger backward, landing on her bottom. The chain drooped limply by her feet, mocking her intensely.

"Brainless.", Fan Wujiu commented.

Seeing this, Xu Mo's heart tightened. He didn't rush to act; his brain was spinning rapidly.

This thing doesn't conform to physical laws... Since it's a magical artifact, there must be a specific technique for applying force... Leverage? Centrifugal force? Or aerodynamics?

He took a deep breath, trying to control it using knowledge of physics.

He swung it carefully, attempting to find that "point of force."

The result was even worse.

Not only did the chain fail to fly out, but it also tied itself into a knot in the air, nearly binding him up.

"Hahahaha—"

The surrounding Underworld Soldiers on the training ground erupted in a low burst of laughter.

"What kind of weaklings are these? Go back to the mortal world and drink milk!"

The harsh mockery stung their ears like needles.

Xu Mo's face turned pale, covered in cold sweat.

Lin Sa gritted her teeth, her eyes red, the blood dripping from her palm onto the frozen earth, a shocking sight.

It was too hard.

This was not a version mortals could handle.

"It seems Your Majesty misjudged.",

Fan Wujiu shook his head, his disappointment unconcealed. "Only brains and no claws—in the world of horror, you are walking buffets. Since you can't learn gently, let's try something more stimulating."

The corner of his mouth curved into a cruel arc, and he snapped his fingers toward the darkness behind him.

"Roar—!!"

A piercing ghostly shriek instantly exploded.

A red phantom rushed out of the cage.

It was a female ghost with disheveled hair. Although several talismans restricting its power were stuck to its body, the terrifying resentment only found in s-rank instances still caused the surrounding air to solidify.

A Red-Clothed Fierce Ghost! Starting at s-rank!

"This is a fierce fiend I just captured. I have sealed seventy percent of its power.", Fan Wujiu stepped back, completely yielding the space. "Use the chains in your hands to kill it."

"Oh, and unless you are close to death, I won't intervene."

Xu Mo's pupils constricted: "Eighth Master! This..."

"It begins.", Fan Wujiu coldly interrupted.

"Roar!"

The Red-Clothed Female Ghost gave the two no time to react. It smelled the blood of the living, and its scarlet eyes instantly locked onto the bleeding Lin Sa, transforming into a red streak and pouncing!

Lin Sa instinctively raised the chain to block.

"Clang!"

A massive force struck, sending Lin Sa flying horizontally, slamming heavily onto the ground, causing her to spit out a mouthful of blood.

"Lin Sa!" Xu Mo roared, wanting to help, but the female ghost was extremely fast. It turned its head and clawed toward his throat.

Xu Mo rolled desperately on the ground, narrowly dodging, but a scratch from the ghostly energy left a burning wound on his face.

Xu Mo's heart pounded wildly, and fear made his limbs icy cold. But he was a smart person; the more desperate the situation, the faster his mind worked.

Why couldn't he use the chain?

Why didn't Lin Sa's great strength work?

Underworld weapons... waist token... bamboo slip...

Xu Mo suddenly touched the cold waist token in hisIn my arms (bosom/pocket). In that instant, the first incantation from the Bamboo Slip's general principles exploded in his mind.

—A mortal body cannot command the Yin; exchange Yang for Yin to command ghosts and gods!

Use the waist token! This was the 'controller' given by the Great Emperor!

"Lin Sa! Stop using brute force!!" Xu Mo roared hoarsely while dodging desperately, "Smear the token with your blood! Treat it as a part of your body! Order that chain!!"

"Treat it as proof that you are a Soul Reaper!!"