"This..." The silver puppet also felt quite ashamed. There were so many battle-damaged puppets in the storeroom, yet the artifact spirit controlling the Hall of Hades was only willing to offer twenty to appease them—and those twenty were for someone recognized as the heir to the Hall of Hades. However, the artifact spirit was the core nexus of everything in the Hall of Hades, and the silver puppet was bound to obey her dictates, thus unable to act independently. He could only offer an apology: "Brother Lei, these are our rules, and they cannot be changed."

"Fine, I won't blame you." Lei Dong had long been displeased with that conceited, yet utterly stingy, artifact spirit of the Hall of Hades. She loved hiding behind the scenes, controlling everything, and wouldn't even speak to him directly. Damn it, she was just an artifact spirit, yet she acted as if she were some grand figure.

Lei Dong suspected that Mei Xiang, the artifact spirit of his Chaos Pagoda, had been corrupted by that Hall of Hades artifact spirit. Otherwise, being merely an artifact spirit, how could she have been so audacious toward him for so many years, forcing him to risk falling out with her before finally submitting completely?

Instantly, Lei Dong shot to his feet, his hands clasped behind his back, and declared proudly, "Artifact Spirit of the Hall of Hades, manifest your form and pay respects to your young master. Otherwise, this young master will purge the sect on Lord Hades' behalf and utterly erase you from the control nexus of the Hall of Hades."

The silver puppet's imposing aura shifted, as if shocked by Lei Dong's presumptuous words, and he stared at Lei Dong with an indefinable dread.

Instead, a woman's displeased, sharp voice echoed through the air: "Insolent Lei Dong, you dare threaten this young lady?"

"Hmph? Young lady? You are nothing but a mere artifact spirit, devoid of even a soul, yet you dare claim to be a 'young lady'?" Lei Dong curled his lip in disdain. "Truly the donkey knows not the length of its own face."

"Lei Dong, you infuriate me, infuriate this young lady! Silver Eighteen, destroy him, kill him!" A woman so miserly with resources could hardly possess a generous spirit. Following Lei Dong's mockery, her temper erupted instantly, and she actually commanded the silver puppet to attack Lei Dong.

However, the silver puppet, inhabited by the soul of a Ghost Clan member, was not an entity that only knew blind obedience. Hearing the order, he hesitated. "Mistress, Brother Lei is the successor of our Hall of Hades. How can I possibly lay a hand on him?"

"I don't care, I don't care! I command you to kill him, or I will seal you away completely!" The artifact spirit of the Hall of Hades shrieked her orders, behaving exactly like a spoiled heiress.

The silver puppet hesitated deeply. Firstly, there was Lei Dong's status. Secondly, when Lei Dong was only at the Nascent Soul stage, he had displayed immense power, slaying those at the Spirit Transformation stage. Now, his cultivation had reached the mid-stage of Spirit Transformation; no one knew how formidable he truly was.

"Brother Yin, please remain calm for a moment. I shall converse with her," Lei Dong said with a faint smile. He turned toward the empty air and spoke coldly with disdain, "You are an artifact spirit refined personally by Qihang Feiya Lord Hades, yet you throw a tantrum like a shrew. What manner of decorum is that? Furthermore, this young master is the heir to the Hall of Hades. Is my status and standing somehow beneath that of a mere artifact spirit like yourself? Arrogance and tyranny are one thing, but you fail to read the situation. The Hall of Hades has fallen into complete decline; do you still consider yourself a person of consequence? Since you are so mighty, Brother Lei has no need to accompany you further. I shall gladly relinquish this useless title of Hall of Hades successor. Artifact Spirit, find some other fool to be the young master of the Hall of Hades."

"Brother Lei!" The silver puppet had placed the hope of restoring the Hall of Hades to its former glory upon Lei Dong. Hearing him suddenly throw down his hand was alarming. He hurried forward to console him: "We have all been waiting for Brother Lei to expand the Hall of Hades and shake the Three Realms. How could you..." "Brother Yin, it is not that I go back on my word." Lei Dong sneered, pointing toward the air. "This grand lady in your midst not only dares to ride roughshod over your young master but is also so petty! Does she truly believe herself to be all that? Does she truly think Brother Lei has come here begging? Look at what I currently command: over a hundred Spirit Transformation experts, tens of thousands of Nascent Souls, and even several Void Refinement masters. Do I truly covet the resources of your decrepit Hall of Hades? You keep them, leave them until the world ends and the cosmos is reborn."

Before Silver Eighteen could speak, the artifact spirit began shouting again: "What nonsense are you spouting? With your strength, you expect to have over a hundred Spirit Transformation experts and tens of thousands of Nascent Souls? Silver Eighteen Qihang Feiya, he is refusing to be the heir of the Hall of Hades now. He is no longer our guest. Silver Eighteen, what are you waiting for? Kill him quickly, kill him!"

As if stung by something unprecedented, the shrewish artifact spirit had descended into madness and genuinely harbored killing intent toward Lei Dong.

"Brother Lei, you have angered the Mistress. Perhaps you should depart first," the silver puppet sighed helplessly. "Once the Mistress’s temper subsides after some time, I will try to persuade her again."

"Brother Yin, if I refuse to leave, will you be forced to strike?" Lei Dong chuckled.

"This..." Silver Eighteen hesitated, then nodded. "Brother Lei, I am currently the guardian puppet of the Hall of Hades. When the Mistress is absent, I must obey the Mistress's orders. I beg your forgiveness for any discourtesy."

"If that is the case, then this humble Lei shall experience Brother Yin's strength," Lei Dong said, lightly spreading his hands. "It will be good to sober up that idiotic female artifact spirit."

Silver Eighteen looked deeply at Lei Dong and cupped his hands in salute. "Since Brother Lei wishes to display his martial might, I shall oblige you with a bout. However, I will show no mercy. Be careful." After the formalities, Silver Eighteen retreated a hundred yards, his body transforming into a massive silver puppet, dozens of feet tall, imposing and awe-inspiring.

"Brother Yin alone might not be enough," Lei Dong laughed heartily. "Call out a few of your brothers as well."

Silver Eighteen, being a mid-stage Spirit Transformation puppet who once possessed the cultivation of the Spirit Transformation stage as a Ghost Clan member, naturally felt a surge of anger at Lei Dong's words. He was also slightly annoyed. "Brother Lei, we shall see after you've beaten me down."

Immediately, Silver Eighteen's form dissolved into a silver streak of light and lunged toward Lei Dong aggressively, throwing a punch. The Great Dao is simple; Silver Eighteen's punch held no flourishes but was saturated with the powerful, dominant, and irresistible force that harmonized with the Heavenly Dao.

"Well met," Lei Dong’s eyes flashed with brilliant light, and he raised his hand, unleashing a Nether Ghost Claw to meet that incoming punch.

With a resounding crack, the Nether Ghost Claw, condensed to tangible substance, was shattered under the immense force of Silver Eighteen’s punch, the ghost energy dispersing in shockwaves. But simultaneously, Lei Dong had solidly blocked Silver Eighteen's offensive.

Although Lei Dong's body had been refined through many trials, reaching the mid-stage of Spirit Transformation in both strength and physique, he was not a master of close-quarters combat, nor did he possess physical combat techniques like Manifesting Heaven and Earth. Naturally, he could not compete with Silver Eighteen in sheer power.

Of course, Lei Dong also intended to test his fighting strength without relying on summoned entities, as Silver Eighteen seemed to bear no true killing intent. His body dissolved into ethereal mist, flickering in and out of sight, drifting around like a phantom.

The advantage of a smaller stature immediately became apparent; at the very least, his susceptibility to being targeted and his agility far surpassed those of a massive figure. Despite Silver Eighteen's might, no matter how fiercely he charged and chased, he could not inflict the slightest injury on Lei Dong. Even the stray winds and energy bursts from his punches dissipated harmlessly upon hitting Lei Dong’s protective shield.

Even though Silver Eighteen was agile, Lei Dong's evasion technique was derived from Ghost Shadow Evasion, combined with his deep comprehension of Spatial Laws. His current Ghost Shadow Evasion was truly not to be underestimated. During the exchange, any expert below the Spirit Transformation level could not discern his movements.

Silver Eighteen's fierce attacks were like using a cannon to swat a fly—ineffective. Out of options, Silver Eighteen retracted his form, shrinking to a human shape just over ten feet tall. This reduced his power but increased his agility, allowing him to barely capture the trace of Lei Dong's almost invisible form.

But Lei Dong possessed means beyond just Ghost Shadow Evasion. He immediately uttered a low command: "This one sentence: Space is restrained."

Habitually executing Spatial Imprisonment, he rigidly sealed Silver Eighteen within solidified space. Simultaneously, Lei Dong did not hesitate to follow up with a Black Dragon Roar. Even without incorporating the Law of Annihilation, the power of the Black Dragon Roar was considerable.

With a mighty boom, the solidified space was blasted apart. The intense shockwave damaged Silver Eighteen’s body, while the sharp spatial fragments scored numerous wounds across his silver puppet frame, Qihang Feiya. Yet, Silver Eighteen did not counterattack in anger but stared in utter horror. "Nether God True Word Art?"

Lei Dong stood back with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at him proudly, making no move to correct the assumption. The former Lei Dong might have considered the Nether God True Word Art and the Demonic Emperor True Word Art as entirely different things. But as he understood himself deeper, Lei Dong felt that the lineage of the Demonic Emperor and the lineage of the Nether God and Lord Hades were intertwined by countless delicate threads. Lei Dong’s Demonic Emperor True Word Art, even if not the Nether God True Word Art, was likely evolved from it. There must be a connection.

"Only those Ghost Spirits with exceptionally innate talent can comprehend the Nether God True Word Art," Silver Eighteen admitted with a bitter smile. "When I was at the Spirit Transformation level, I attempted to comprehend this art but failed. I never expected you, a human, to master our clan's supreme magic. I am utterly convinced. I won't fight anymore; I cannot defeat you." Indeed, the Nether God True Word Art, regardless of whether it was used in one-on-one combat or group fights, was an incredibly potent spell.

"Brother Yin is holding back from fighting, perhaps because you fear sustaining damage that would further deplete the Hall of Hades' protective forces?" Lei Dong smiled faintly, beginning to weave hand seals and summon his forces. One by one, imposing summoned entities began to appear before Lei Dong with unmatched dominance.

...!. (To be continued)