Chapter Fifty: A Hard-Fought Victory

I was feeling restless myself, so I took out Snowblade from my ring, ready to step forward. But suddenly, someone tapped my shoulder. Alert, I turned around—it was Chen Chen and Li Zijian.

"Lin Yao, why didn’t you tell us you were coming out?" Chen Chen yawned lazily as he spoke.

"Just wandering around, finishing up a task," I replied, pointing toward the evil spirit being besieged over there and then at the phone in Chen Chen’s hand.

The situation on that side was getting worse—only four or five people remained, all wounded. I hesitated for a moment, then dashed over.

"Look, who’s that running so fast?" someone remarked.

"Pfft, isn’t that Lin Yao? What's so special about running fast?"

"But the blade in his hand really is beautiful..."

In just a few seconds, I covered more than a hundred meters and arrived at the scene.

"Monster! Prepare to die!" I shouted, not knowing the evil spirit’s true strength, but hoping to boost my own morale.

The Snowblade, summoned in my hand, burst into brilliant light, giving me confidence.

I plunged into the crowd and slashed at the evil spirit, but it reacted swiftly, dodging to the side.

Without pausing, I shifted the blade mid-strike, changing direction in the air and continuing my attack.

As I fought, I shouted, "Those still standing, stay back! Don’t get caught in the crossfire!"

The evil spirit clearly sensed my power was worlds apart from ordinary people, forcing it to exert its full strength against me.

We exchanged kicks, both knocked back several meters, creating space between us.

"Lin Yao, we’ll help you!" I caught sight of Chen Chen and Li Zijian running over.

"Don’t come any closer! Neither of you can handle him, trust me!" I called out, then growled, pushing off with both feet and leaping over two meters.

In midair, I switched hands and, in a dive, slashed at the evil spirit.

This strike was formidable, swift beyond measure—I was at its face in a blink.

Unable to dodge, it had no choice but to twist aside, hoping to lessen the impact.

But fate favored me: Snowblade aided me, amplifying its force!

With a tearing sound, the evil spirit’s entire arm was severed. Yet I paid a price—its punch landed hard on my left forearm as I failed to dodge in time.

A sharp pain shot through my arm, but it wasn’t broken; the injury was manageable.

Seizing the moment, I steadied my breath, and from afar, Li Zijian called out, "Awesome, Brother Yao! Go for it—while he’s wounded, finish him off!"

Gritting my teeth, I charged again.

This time, I could feel the evil spirit was genuinely enraged—though only one arm remained, its strength surged several levels.

Its deadly, long claws were especially tough; I was forced onto the defensive, parrying blow after blow.

Snowblade performed admirably, always lessening the force of each attack, but even so, my grip was bloodied from the impact.

I couldn’t keep this up. My spiritual energy was nearly depleted; I needed a new strategy.

I found a brief opening and punched it in the chest, then retreated a few steps, giving us both more room.

I adopted the defensive stance of the Eight Extremes Fist, this time waiting for the spirit to attack.

Its previous onslaught had kept me from entering the proper state, but now, after my punch, it glared at me and charged recklessly.

Lowering my center of gravity, I prepared to target its lower body.

After days of practicing the Eight Extremes Fist, I’d begun to grasp its essence—motion through stillness, ferocity like a tiger!

As it rushed in, I suddenly threw a punch aimed at its face, but at the same time, my left hand wielded the blade in a slashing arc.

This combination left the evil spirit defenseless; it stumbled back, forced to abandon its attack.

Seeing this was effective, I pressed the offensive.

With the Eight Extremes Fist paired seamlessly with my blade, every punch and strike flowed together.

After unleashing my full-force move, the Heaven-Smiting Fist, the evil spirit finally suffered a grievous injury and collapsed.

I wasted no time—raising my hand, I dispatched it.

No sooner had I killed the evil spirit than everyone nearby received alerts on their phones, mine included.

Too exhausted to reach for it, my legs gave way and I knelt to the ground.

Thankfully, Chen Chen and Li Zijian hurried over to support me, sparing me some embarrassment.

"Lin Yao, you know you’ve become an overnight sensation," Chen Chen said, his eyes shining with admiration as he helped me steady myself.

"Check it out, Brother Yao!" he added.

Before Chen Chen could continue, Li Zijian handed me his phone.

I glanced at it, surprised to see the Ghost King’s message:

"Congratulations to Lin Yao for slaying the most powerful evil spirit. You are awarded ten bars of chocolate and ten bottles of water!"

Damn...

I shook my head with a wry smile—I never expected to kill the strongest evil spirit.

But it deserved the title—left me drained of spiritual energy and covered in wounds, the first to do so.

As Chen Chen and Li Zijian guided me through the crowd, everyone except a few sworn enemies—who watched me with sinister eyes—regarded me as a hero.

"Lin Yao..." I turned to see Chu Yao standing behind me, eyes brimming with tears.

"Thank you..." she whispered.

I nodded weakly and said, "Find weaker spirits to hunt. Keep yourselves safe."

With that, I turned away without any lingering attachment.

Because of my injuries, our pace was slow, and Li Zijian kept us entertained with jokes, making us laugh along the way.

In my heart, Li Zijian and Chen Chen had already become central figures.

After a leisurely half-hour walk, we finally reached our quarters.

From afar, I saw a package placed at the entrance of the infirmary.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a small black bag containing chocolate and water—Chen Chen checked and found five extra bars inside.

"This Ghost King is actually pretty considerate, ha ha ha," Li Zijian laughed, hands on his hips.

I gave Chen Chen a look; he understood, supporting me with one hand and carrying the bag inside with the other.

During our return, messages continued to flood the group chat—updates about teams killing evil spirits, including Chu Yao’s.

Though we had supplements, we couldn’t afford to indulge. Each of us ate two chocolate bars and stored the rest in my ring.

Li Zijian grabbed a bottle of water, took a few sips, smacked his lips, and declared dramatically, "Wine and women, both are dear to me..."

(Family, we’ve finally broken the fifty-chapter mark! I’ve been sick these days, not feeling well, writing in short bursts, but I’m determined to keep updating. By the way, in ten or so chapters, VIP sections will be introduced. Hope you’ll support me, and everyone—take care during these unusual times!)