Lei Dong remained unmoved, his expression completely unreadable. Continuing to weave the hand seals, finally, the figure of the Howling Ghost Soldier materialized on the stage. With the three Ghost Soldiers assembled, Baili Yun’s options for utilizing close-quarters tactics were nearly extinguished. His strength wasn't yet sufficient to maintain contact with Lei Dong using the Ghost Shadow Evasion while simultaneously diverting his attention to casting spells.

The flame-wreathed flying sword, though visibly dimmed by more than half after the head-on clash, paused only momentarily before making another sharp turn and hurtling back toward Lei Dong with renewed ferocity. Both were top-grade offensive magic tools, yet their manifested power naturally differed depending on the cultivator wielding them.

Lei Dong regarded the fiery flying sword as if it were nothing. While directing the three Ghost Soldiers to converge, he casually raised a hand. Above his palm, a flying sword wrapped in swirling flames hovered—though Lei Dong’s flames exhibited an eerie, ghostly green aura, undeniably the Ghost Fire Sword, one of the most revered offensive artifacts among the disciples of the Yin Sha Sect.

Matching offense with offense, the top-grade Ghost Fire Sword shot forth with a whoosh as Lei Dong nudged it with his divine sense.

In the blink of an eye, the sword body expanded several times over, the Ghost Fire blazing fiercely as it swept toward Baili Yun with murderous intent.

Boom~ Boom

In the exact same breath, Lei Dong and Baili Yun were struck by the incoming top-grade flying swords. However, a protective magic shield manifested before each of them, absorbing the opponent's assault. Lei Dong’s shield was semi-transparent, shrouded in spiritual mist, utterly exceptional—the very one gifted to him by Ding Wanyan during their time in the Minor Yin Sha Cave.

Under the shockwave of energy, ripples laced with flame and mist spread outward, strong enough to whip Lei Dong’s hair and billow his robes. The sheer force violently buffeted his divine sense, jarring his soul and causing him to momentarily lose focus.

Baili Yun was faring no better. Although his shield successfully blocked the savage strike of the Ghost Fire Sword, the scattered, rain-like embers of Ghost Fire were insidious, catching him off guard. Even with his Profound Yin Shield fully activated, the residue would rapidly corrode inward, drifting like living things drawn by the scent of soul essence.

He was forced to expend considerable true energy, erupting a wave of aura around his body to blast away the dense, scattered pinpricks of Ghost Fire. Fortunately, Ghost Fire detached from the sword would quickly extinguish itself without a soul as fuel.

But what truly overwhelmed Baili Yun were the three Level Ten Ghost Soldiers. The Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier, having been repelled by the shield blast, suffered only minor damage due to its defensive posture. It swiftly reappeared beside Baili Yun, conjuring a temporary shield while its long saber flashed up and down, attacking Baili Yun.

The Howling Ghost Soldier’s arrows were equally irritating to Baili Yun. One followed another incessantly. While Baili Yun managed to dodge most or brace against them with his hastily erected Profound Yin Shield, the need to account for those tricky projectiles siphoned away significant focus and wasted precious true energy. Most detestable was the Shadow Ghost Soldier.

When Baili Yun was merely at the tenth layer of Qi Refining, and the Shadow Ghost Soldier was only Level Seven, Baili Yun could easily detect its stealth. But now that this ghost was Level Ten, even knowing it was lurking behind, seeking an opportunity for a fatal strike, Baili Yun had to concentrate his divine sense, carefully searching just to sense its ephemeral location.

This meant Baili Yun had to dedicate a large portion of his attention to the Shadow Ghost Soldier at all times, lest he be ambushed successfully. The torment wrought by these few difficult Ghost Soldiers made Baili Yun irritable, causing the divine sense controlling his flame sword to become mixed and impure, unable to unleash its full potential.

This was the advantage of the Ghost Control Art: provided one had a few excellent Spirit Ghosts and was willing to invest time and resources, immense power could be generated. This contrasted with other techniques where power could not be easily bolstered by mere resources. Lei Dong’s greatest asset was the Soul Devouring Pagoda, which manufactured superior Spirit Ghosts for him, eliminating the struggle others faced in obtaining even a single top-grade ghost.

Consequently, while the inherent Spirit Servants of the Ghost Control Art were formidable, they were not something everyone could afford or master.

In this exchange, both sides sustained minor losses, but Lei Dong had the advantage of having all three Ghost Soldiers unleashed, barely establishing a foothold. Yet, he knew relying solely on them to eliminate Baili Yun was sheer fantasy. He reached out and snatched an object from the void—the Myriad Ghost Banner, intricately embroidered with ferocious specters, terrifying and grim. The myriad ghosts within the swirling black mist occasionally manifested claws and snarling, sharp-toothed visages.

"Go~"

With a low command, Lei Dong brandished the Myriad Ghost Banner. Instantly, black clouds erupted from the banner, and dense masses of fierce ghosts tore free, forming a spectral tide akin to a flood. With thrilling, ear-piercing screeches that echoed across the entire arena, the ghosts manifested sharp teeth and keen claws. Like a chaotic dance of demons, they surged toward Baili Yun.

The young, inexperienced disciples forced to watch from the periphery turned ashen-faced with terror, fearing the grotesque apparitions would rush down and tear them to shreds. They looked upon their future senior brother, Lei Dong, with a mixture of profound reverence and fear.

Lei Dong was now at the eighth layer of cultivation, and because he had never slackened his practice of the Divine Forging Art, his divine sense far surpassed that of most peers. The strength of this sense was comparable even to Baili Yun's at the eleventh layer. After all, cultivators who diligently tempered their divine sense day after day were exceedingly rare among low-level disciples.

Thus, Lei Dong’s Myriad Ghost Banner already contained no fewer than two hundred fierce ghosts, including twenty elites transformed from low-tier Ghost Soldiers. This far exceeded the power he wielded with the banner at the sixth layer of Qi Refining.

Two hundred-plus fierce ghosts, while not achieving the effect of a thousand-strong army, were enough to create an overwhelming, surging tide on this small stage, giving a sensation of covering the entire sky.

Seeing Lei Dong summon such a massive host of fierce ghosts at once, Baili Yun’s expression shifted.

"Heh heh, Myriad Ghost, your disciple is quite interesting. Only at the eighth layer of Qi Refining, yet he commands the Myriad Ghost Banner with such magnificent force. He must have spent considerable time tempering his divine sense." Although aware that Myriad Ghost had confidence in Lei Dong, and that this disciple likely possessed exceptional abilities, his performance still drew praise from the Enchantress: "It has been a long time since I've seen such an interesting young man, Myriad Ghost. Are you truly unwilling to hand him over to me?"

"Enchantress, do not bring that up again." Ancestor Myriad Ghost was quite satisfied with Lei Dong's performance, even allowing his tone toward the Enchantress to soften slightly. "This boy, Lei Dong, has a steady temperament and prefers a measured approach in cultivation, securing a solid foundation. Otherwise, how would he only be at the eighth layer of Qi Refining?" Of course, this was a bit of Ancestor Myriad Ghost boasting. Even if Lei Dong ignored everything else and focused solely on advancing his cultivation, at best he would reach the ninth layer of Qi Refining—but the cost would be becoming an unremarkable ninth-layer disciple, his combat power far inferior to what it was now.

"Enchantress, don't speak as if this boy is guaranteed to win," the Skeleton, upon witnessing the grandeur of Lei Dong's Myriad Ghost Banner, couldn't help but flinch. Yet, he quickly relaxed; once Baili summoned that certain item, dispatching this mere Lei Dong would be a trivial matter. Unwilling to let the Enchantress and Myriad Ghost gloat, he couldn't resist a sarcastic jab.

Just as the Skeleton finished speaking, his green eyes widened, and his face became a mixture of shock and suspicion.

On the battlefield below, just as Baili Yun recalled his flame sword and forced back the Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier, the Shadow Ghost Soldier, which had been lurking nearby, suddenly launched an attack from behind him. Of course, with Baili Yun’s attention highly focused, such a sneak attack would not have had much effect. However, Lei Dong had somehow followed the vast swarm of fierce ghosts and closed the distance.

The two were separated by a mere few dozen feet. Lei Dong brought his hands together and shot out a disk-shaped artifact. The Dharma Wheel spun violently, emitting a faint blue light and an aura of suffocating, desolate killing intent. A mournful series of sounds, a wuwuwu, seemed to be echoing tales of sorrow and lamentation.

"Annihilation Dharma Wheel? Myriad Ghost, you are too despicable!" The Skeleton’s face drastically changed upon recognizing the artifact.

"Heh heh, you old corpse, you are the one who is despicable. But, I appreciate your performance. Well done."

(Newcomers are on the recommendation list last week, and it's easy to get squeezed off—that's what happened last week. I hope everyone doesn't mind my nagging; please give me some firepower support~ Let's try to stay stable on the weekly recommendation charts~ Thanks again.) M