Chapter 41: Endgame

Song Changli was a man who had walked out of the fires of war; the scale of violence and bloodshed in the Longcheng fighting ring meant little to him.

He simply looked calmly at Yang Sheng and asked, "Young man, it has come to this. Are you still going to keep fighting?"

"Of course."

Yang Sheng replied indifferently, "The outcome outside the ring has been decided, but the battle of life and death inside the ring is far from over."

Jiguan Shinichi had taken a kick from Yang Sheng, leaving his internal organs in agonizing pain and a trace of coppery sweetness rising in his throat.

Yet the killing intent in his eyes grew even denser. With a fierce push of his toes against the ground, his entire figure leaped straight up.

His wide kimono obscured the blade, making it impossible for Yang Sheng to discern where the strike would fall.

The secret technique of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu: Tengu Copy!

At this moment, Yang Sheng closed his eyes and swept his saber horizontally.

The spot he aimed at was precisely where the killing intent and malevolent aura were thickest!

The instant the blades collided, a piercing white radiance flashed across the Imperial Guard Saber.

Accompanied by a sharp, explosive crack, the samurai sword in Jiguan Shinichi's hand—a masterpiece forged by a renowned artisan, known as "Kotetsu"—shattered completely!

Imperial Guard Saber: Blade Breaker!

The longer the fierce battle lasted, the more its sharpness overflowed, granting it the power to sever any weapon below rare quality!

Yang Sheng did not know the exact quality of Jiguan Shinichi's samurai sword, but it was evidently below rare.

Jiguan Shinichi's body twisted as he narrowly dodged past Yang Sheng's blade, tumbling onto the ground.

However, his chest was grazed by the shards of the shattered Kotetsu, and blood seeped out, flowing over a dark green jade pendant hanging around his neck.

Stained by Jiguan Shinichi's blood, the jade pendant began to vibrate, and wisps of black malevolent aura instantly wove around him.

He watched as that tangible black malevolent aura gradually coalesced into the phantom of a samurai clad in Dō-maru armor, attaching itself to Jiguan Shinichi's body.

As Jiguan Shinichi raised his hand, the samurai phantom raised its hand as well. Swirling black flames manifested, transforming into a black-flaming samurai blade within the phantom's grasp.

Yang Sheng fell silent for a moment, then spat out a single word.

"Damn it!"

They had promised a bare-knuckle martial arts combat, so what on earth was this abomination before him?

Eerily enough, the people surrounding the fighting ring seemed entirely oblivious to this entity. Only Song Changli, standing closest, sensed something amiss amidst the gusts of chilly wind, though everything appeared extremely blurry to his eyes.

[World-line fluctuation anomaly warning!]

[Power fluctuations exceeding the upper limit have appeared in this world, which may cause world-line fluctuations and distort the parallel world once more.]

[Temporarily granting the current Reincarnator investigation permissions.]

Although the content of the cold mechanical voice was urgent, its tone remained entirely devoid of fluctuation.

Simultaneously, a red light flashed across Yang Sheng's eyes, and lines of blood-red text materialized.

Name: Jiguan Shinichi

Strength Evaluation: Late Nine-Stage (Temporarily Enhanced)

Specializations: Shotokan Karate Specialization 87%, Yagyu Shinkage-ryu Specialization 90%

Status: Ghost Spirit Possession

(Yagyu Jubei had an Onmyoji forge a magical artifact sealing a samurai evil spirit. Once stained with the blood of the Yagyu family, it possesses the host to slaughter opponents. The cost is the continuous consumption of vital energy and blood, which will cause irreversible damage to the host if used for extended periods.)

***

Jiguan Shinichi, possessed by the ghost spirit, had eyes glowing with a scarlet hue.

As the ghost spirit slashed down with its blade, Yang Sheng raised his saber to parry, but was sent flying directly by a tremendous force, as if he had been struck by a runaway truck.

When he first obtained the Imperial Guard Saber, Yang Sheng's strength was evaluated as Mid Nine-Stage.

This was likely an evaluation synthesized from his own physical strength, specializations, and perhaps other factors.

Yet Jiguan Shinichi at this moment had directly reached the Late Nine-Stage, and his sheer physical strength had simply surpassed the limits of a normal human!

Struggling to his feet, Yang Sheng saw Jiguan Shinichi slash at him once more, leaving him with no choice but to continuously roll on the ground to dodge.

After being possessed by the ghost spirit, Jiguan Shinichi seemed to have lost most of his rationality, rendering him incapable of even executing the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu techniques.

However, the power granted by this ghost spirit possession was so overwhelming that technical finesse had become completely irrelevant.

Furthermore, with every evasion, Yang Sheng felt a chilling, malevolent force seep into his body, causing his own movements to grow increasingly sluggish.

Eventually, failing to dodge in time, Yang Sheng was sent flying by a single slash, crashing hard against the ropes encircling the ring.

Blood slowly seeped from his hand gripping the Imperial Guard Saber as he cast his gaze around.

There was no way he could defeat this monstrosity relying solely on his current strength, so he hoped to see if Chai Jiu and the others had finished off Crippled Ho and managed to procure a gun for him to try out.

If all else failed, grenades or rocket launchers were hardly rare inside the Kowloon Walled City.

He refused to believe this entity could not be physically transcended!

Just then, as Yang Sheng's blood seeped into the hilt, a golden radiance erupted from the Imperial Guard Saber.

The golden light grew and coiled around Yang Sheng's entire body, transforming into the phantom of a general clad in golden armor.

Military Soul!

Whether it was nourished by Yang Sheng's blood or stimulated by the martial ghost spirit before it, the military soul residing within the Imperial Guard Saber finally burst forth.

"With one heart and mind, even mountains can be shaken!"

"Loyalty and righteousness alone pierce the bull's eye!"

"The commanding general treats us like parents, surpassing even them!"

"Dare to violate military law, and your body is no longer your own!"

"Clear are the commands, faithful are the rewards and punishments!"

"Crossing waters of fire, who dares to linger?"

"Report above to the Emperor, rescue below the common folk!"

"Slaughter every Japanese pirate, and seek a marquis title!"

One voice, seemingly echoing as countless voices, resounded faintly from within the military soul. Its grand spirit was peerless, and its fighting intent pierced the firmament!

The military soul within the Imperial Guard Saber was not left behind by any single soldier of the Qi Family Army; rather, it was the undying spirits of its successive owners who had fallen in battle against the Japanese pirates, lingering within the blade.

These residual souls had been nourished by the incense offerings of later generations, ultimately giving birth to a true military soul.

Unlike Jiguan Shinichi, whose consciousness was obliterated by the ghost spirit possession, Yang Sheng retained complete, autonomous control, while also sensing a strange power blanketing his entire body.

Most importantly, scenes of countless Qi Family Army soldiers fighting Japanese pirates on the battlefield flashed unceasingly through his mind. These images were crammed into his consciousness as if forcefully embedded, causing his mastery of the Xinyu Saber Technique to continuously rise until it reached 90%.

Yang Sheng gripped his saber with both hands. As the blade descended, a golden ribbon of light left trails of afterimages in its wake, dazzling and brilliant.

The black-flaming samurai blade in the ghost spirit's grasp was suppressed by this golden blade-light, turning thin and translucent.

The Imperial Guard Saber slashed down repeatedly, step by step forcing back the samurai ghost spirit. The golden blade-light converged, and with every strike, the ghost spirit's form shrank a fraction, bringing it within striking distance of Jiguan Shinichi's physical body.

***

Yang Sheng himself was consumed by fighting intent, his strikes surging with malevolent energy, as if he were truly standing upon the anti-pirate battlefields of old.

At that moment, the jade pendant on Jiguan Shinichi's chest suddenly shattered, and a stream of blood-red radiance merged into the ghost spirit.

The next instant, the faceless ghost samurai suddenly let out a shrill scream, its features snapping into sharp clarity.

Half of its face was rotting and distorted, flesh intertwined and tangled.

The other half was entirely a blazing skull, incomparably hideous.

The head of the ghost samurai actually detached itself completely from Jiguan Shinichi's body, lunging forward to bite at Yang Sheng!

A wave of chilling wind rushed toward his face. Before Yang Sheng could react, a blinding golden radiance suddenly blossomed from the forehead of the military soul.

Under that dazzling golden light, the head of the ghost samurai emitted a miserable, piercing howl, unable to advance even an inch further.

[City God's Golden Body can suppress evil spirits, subdue demons, drive away ghosts, and exterminate monsters.]

A line of text flashed across Yang Sheng's eyes, but paying it no mind, he swung his saber down with all his might!

Under this blow from Yang Sheng, the head of the ghost samurai completely dissolved into nothingness, scattering into drifting black smoke.

Simultaneously, Jiguan Shinichi's body collapsed in a violent spasm, dark blood continuously flowing from his seven facial orifices.

At this time, the military soul surrounding Yang Sheng also dissipated, and a wave of profound exhaustion washed over his body.

Enduring the supernatural power of the military soul with a mortal flesh-and-blood vessel took a massive toll on Yang Sheng himself.

He opened his hand to find a golden fragment resting within his palm—neither quite metal nor stone, naturally emanating a faint warmth. He had no idea what it was.

This was the object left behind after the military soul erupted with powerful golden light to suppress the ghost samurai in the final moment.

Setting these thoughts aside for the moment, Yang Sheng turned his gaze toward Song Changli, smiled, and said, "Elder Song, it's time to announce the winner of the match."

Song Changli's face was currently etched with utter shock and incomprehension.

At the beginning, he had been unable to clearly see the exchange between Yang Sheng and Jiguan Shinichi, sensing only gusts of ghostly wind sweeping past him.

It was only when Yang Sheng unleashed the power of the military soul that Song Changli finally perceived the true state of both combatants.

That horrifying ghost samurai, and the golden-radiant military soul of the Qi Family Army.

Every bit of this was shattering the elderly man's worldview.

Clearly, these were existences beyond his comprehension.

Prompted by Yang Sheng, the old man finally spoke in a daze, "The winner is—Yang Sheng of the Hong Sheng Lian!"

Yang Sheng let out a breath of relief and looked around.

Having previously hinted to Old Man Wen that trouble might arise, the men of the Hong Sheng Lian had already quietly secreted Old Man Wen away to a safe corner.

Though Chen Wenyao and the others had underestimated Lui Lok, failing to anticipate his advance deployment of gunmen, the overall situation was already settled. Reinforcements from the O Triad Bureau were on their way outside, and a few gunmen could no longer reverse the tides of fate.

The same held true for Wu Tianhao; with three major factions joining forces, the Chaia Yee Yung stood no hope, no matter how powerful they once were.

[All current main and side quests have been completed. Reincarnators may choose to remain for the full three months before returning, or choose an immediate return.]

[Do you wish to choose an immediate return?]

In less than a month, the bloodshed in the Longcheng ring and the intricate scheming among the various triad factions still lingered vividly in his mind, yet there was clearly nothing left in this world worth lingering for or exploring.

Yang Sheng slowly closed his eyes and said, "Return immediately!"

***

[Volume Two: The Last Celestial Master]