A deep, unnatural chill bled into the air of the courtyard, a darkness that felt older and colder than the night itself. The twisted shadows of the trees writhed on the ground, morphing into the grasping claws of some demonic beast.
Changbai Daoren was gone. Vanished.
Jiang Dao stood alone in the desolate courtyard.
"Hee…"
"Hee hee hee…"
The giggling, thin and sharp, slithered through the silence.
Jiang Dao's hand tightened on the hilt of his saber. His eyes, burning with intensity, scanned the oppressive darkness. His voice cracked through the night like a thunderclap. "Get out of here!"
"Hee…"
"Hee hee hee…"
The sound, a child's playful laugh twisted into something nightmarish, now echoed from his left.
Jiang Dao spun around. Nothing. Just empty, swaying shadows. But then, a wave of primal dread washed over him from behind. He whipped back around just in time to see a black, distorted shape lunging at him. It moved with blinding speed, a blur of motion reeking of rot and decay, its jaws snapping viciously for his throat.
With a guttural roar, Jiang Dao drew his saber. Power surged through him, his veins and muscles swelling with explosive force. The shirt on his back disintegrated with a loud pop, shredded by the sheer power radiating from his body. He seemed to grow in the moonlight, his frame expanding to a towering, muscular two meters, a terrifying silhouette of raw strength.
He brought the saber down in a brutal arc, cleaving into the shadowy form.
BANG!
The impact was deafening, a clang of metal on something impossibly hard, like two mountains colliding in mid-air. The force sent both of them flying.
Jiang Dao hit the ground and scrambled back, his palm throbbing and numb. His eyes narrowed, pupils shrinking to pinpricks as he stared down his attacker. The creature he'd struck lay sprawled on the dirt, letting out a series of inhuman screeches as it bared a mouthful of needle-like teeth.
It was a child. A grotesque, pitch-black child, exactly like the one from his nightmares. It looked maybe seven or eight, with hollow black eyes and a mouth stretched into a hideous grin that reached its ears. A palpable aura of death hung around it.
And despite the direct hit from his blade, there wasn't a single scratch on it.
"An evil spirit," Jiang Dao breathed, flexing his hand to shake off the numbness, his body coiled like a spring.
Swoosh!
The creature launched itself at him again, a barely visible streak against the darkness.
Jiang Dao stomped his foot, the stone tile beneath him shattering into dust. He met the charge head-on, his saber a silver blur. He wasn't just swinging a blade; he was channeling the fourth level of the Mad Demon technique, "Sha." A phantom layer of black, malevolent energy enveloped the steel as he swung it in a devastating sweep.
But just as the blow was about to land, the child vanished.
His saber sliced through empty air, the momentum nearly throwing him off his feet, a wave of nausea rolling through his gut. His heart hammered against his ribs. He spun around, frantically searching the shadows.
That speed… it was impossible.
"Hee…"
"Hee hee hee…"
The laughter echoed again, seemingly from everywhere at once, but the creature was nowhere to be seen. Jiang Dao stood seething, listening, trying to pinpoint the source.
Then he heard it. Coming from inside the house.
Without hesitation, he charged into the darkened room. A shrieking blur shot out of the shadows, claws extended.
"Die!" Jiang Dao roared, his killing intent flooding the small space. He swung the saber in a wild, brutal arc.
BOOM!
Mad Demon Strike!
The creature shrieked as the blow connected, sending it flying across the room. Jiang Dao was on it in an instant. Before it could recover, he brought his foot down, pinning it to the floor. He raised his saber high and brought it down on the creature's head.
CLANG! CRACK!
The blade shattered on impact, exploding into a dozen metal shards.
The creature twisted its head, its impossibly wide mouth snapping at his leg. Jiang Dao yanked his foot back and delivered a savage kick that launched the thing into the air. He surged forward, channeling energy into his palm until it glowed a venomous crimson—the Poison Sand Palm. He slammed his hand into the creature's chest.
PFFT!
A searing, toxic power flooded the spirit's body. Its skin sizzled and smoked as if touched by a white-hot poker, and it let out a soul-tearing scream. But it was slippery, like an eel. It contorted in mid-air, swiped at him with its claws, and raked them across his chest.
His Eagle Claw training saved him. His skin, hardened to the toughness of leather, only showed a faint white line where a lesser man would have been disemboweled.
A feral snarl escaped Jiang Dao's lips. He drove his fingers, now like steel talons, into the creature's forehead. With a sickening crunch, he tore a chunk of its skull away. His other hand, already glowing, struck again with another Poison Sand Palm.
BOOM!
The second blow hit its mark. The creature shrieked and flew backward, crashing through the window and landing in a heap out in the courtyard.
Jiang Dao vaulted through the shattered window frame, landing lightly on his feet. The child was already scrambling away, moving with that same unnatural, eel-like speed, trying to escape to the next courtyard.
Rage and adrenaline surged through him. It's not getting away.
He didn't bother with the gate. He simply crashed through the wall, a human battering ram of stone and fury, and cut the creature off. One final, brutal kick sent it airborne. He lunged, both hands now glowing a sinister red, the air thick with a spicy, acrid smell.
Poison Sand Palm.
Pfft! Pfft!
The creature convulsed as the twin strikes landed, its final, piercing scream echoing through the night before it dissolved into a pile of fine white powder.
Gasping, Jiang Dao stood hunched over, his lungs burning, his chest a canvas of raw pain. A creeping cold seeped into him from the claw marks on his skin. He was still in his battle state—a terrifying figure of bulging, twisted muscle and corded veins.
"So this is an evil spirit?" he muttered, walking over and letting the white powder run through his fingers. A cold, grim smile touched his lips. "Who said martial arts can't kill them?"
He let out a low, humorless chuckle.
Slowly, the oppressive darkness receded. The lanterns flickered back to life, casting a warm glow over the scene of destruction.
On the other side of the courtyard, Changbai Daoren stared, his face a mask of utter disbelief. The sheer horror in his eyes was palpable.
"How… how is that possible?" he whispered. The boy had actually killed a spirit child.
"What… what kind of monster are you?" he finally stammered.
This was not the frail, sickly young man he'd met earlier. This was a giant, a bare-chested behemoth of muscle and rage, with arms as thick as his own waist. It was beyond belief.
Jiang Dao's gaze, sharp and lethal, snapped to the Daoist priest. Ignoring the burning in his chest, he took a heavy step forward, his immense frame casting a long, intimidating shadow.
"Daoist Priest," he said, his voice a low, cold rumble as he loomed over the smaller man. The pressure rolling off him was immense, a physical weight in the air. "Where exactly did you go?"