Chapter 7: The Ghost Tamer

As soon as Si Qingxuan bared his sword, the man opposite him, who was wrapped in ghostly energy, let out a smile.

“So you were indeed the one who killed the Phase Ghouls I sent out earlier.”

The two Phase Ghouls pounced toward Si Qingxuan simultaneously.

“This time, you’d better be careful. These two Phase Ghouls have been meticulously nurtured by me for years; they are nothing like those small fry from before—”

As he spoke, his smile froze on his face like a ridiculous mask.

“Talent: Judgment” activated, and Si Qingxuan skewered the throats of both Phase Ghouls with one strike, as skillfully as if he were stringing kebabs.

Killing Phase Ghouls was, after all, a matter of practice making perfect.

In the previous battle, Si Qingxuan had already confirmed that he possessed almost overwhelming power when facing Phase Ghouls.

This time, the opponent’s attack pattern hadn’t changed at all, so Si Qingxuan let loose and ended the fight even faster.

“You are also an Awakened One?”

After their necks were pierced, the Phase Ghouls struggled before dissolving into black mist beneath the sword.

The Ghost Tamer’s face turned deathly pale as if he had suffered a heavy blow, his expression one of pure horror.

[The path has narrowed for you, friend. If used well, the Talent of Ghost Taming still offers many options. Why did you choose to raise these packs of Phase Ghouls? They’re filthy, weak, and their IQ isn’t high.]

Si Qingxuan said, “If he knew how to raise something powerful and smart, maybe I wouldn’t be standing here alive today.”

Si Qingxuan looked up at the Ghost Tamer and saw that the feigned gentleness in those amber eyes had completely vanished.

The man clutched half of his face, and a bright red bloodline suddenly appeared right down the center of his visage.

Then, his features suddenly lost control, as if images of countless different faces were overlapping, causing his entire face to lose its balance.

“How is it possible? How could I be defeated by an unknown Awakened One like you—”

As he spoke, he waved his hand frantically.

Black mist billowed from his fingertips, attempting to shroud Si Qingxuan’s vision while he turned to flee, gritting his teeth.

Si Qingxuan blocked the mist with his sword, and before he could do anything else, the black mist dissipated with a hiss the moment it touched the longsword.

Si Qingxuan took aim at the Ghost Tamer’s frantic back and, with a powerful one-handed swing, carved a long gash into the man.

The Ghost Tamer stumbled and collapsed to the ground, struggling to roll over and face Si Qingxuan as he scrambled toward a corner of the wall.

“I am not on the Anomaly list. I am a precious Awakened One… You cannot kill me!”

The Ghost Tamer’s voice went from weak to a desperate shriek as he attempted one last struggle to save his life.

“I am not a disaster—I have participated in missions to purge Anomalies before; I have saved many lives. Now… I am just taking back from humans what they owe me… Where did I go wrong?”

Si Qingxuan was somewhat surprised and frowned as he listened.

“Didn’t you say that Awakened Ones who lose control are recorded on the Anomaly list?” Si Qingxuan asked.

[Look at him carefully; he still retains his sanity. He possesses a clear and autonomous consciousness. He simply wants to kill and steal their skins. This situation is still ten thousand miles away from true ‘loss of control.’]

[Only an Awakened One who has lost their mind and attacks everything around them indiscriminately is considered truly ‘out of control.’ They can only be treated as Anomalies, with no choice but to be purged.]

Si Qingxuan sighed.

He slightly raised his sword, the cold blade pressing against the Ghost Tamer’s cheek.

“Do you know what you’ve done? Look at those photos on the wall. They were targeted and flayed just because they had beautiful faces. Do you really think there is nothing wrong with your actions?”

“This is merely… survival of the fittest.”

The Ghost Tamer panted and flashed a mocking smile.

“I am an Awakened One, and they—they are all just ordinary people. Like lions on the savanna hunting gazelles… When I had need, they were fortunate enough to be chosen and die as my nourishment. This is their honor… and a fate they cannot escape.”

“If strength is truly the only rule of judgment—then if I kill you here, I suppose you shouldn’t have any complaints, right?” Si Qingxuan threatened.

“You don’t understand. Ordinary people and Awakened Ones were meant to be two completely different classes of species!”

The Ghost Tamer suddenly struggled, and the layer of painted skin on his left cheek was torn away, exposing a horrifyingly fleshy scar.

“Look at my face—this is the price of being an Awakened One, the price I paid for participating in mission after mission to purge Anomalies.

A year ago, I fulfilled my duties as an Awakened One as they told me to, running everywhere to protect others. But in the end, I turned into this ghostly mess! No one respected me, and no one could save me—”

“If they had told me earlier that I would end up like this, why would I have been so stupid as to carry out those missions? Doing nothing but good deeds only to end up like this—is that fair to me?”

The Ghost Tamer repeatedly questioned him in a shrill voice, a cluster of phantom fire seemingly burning in his pale gold eyes.

His teeth seemed to grind against hard grit, and the tip of his tongue seemed to roll over a red-hot blade, wanting to show Si Qingxuan the blood flowing in every word to prove that he too was a “human.”

Si Qingxuan: “…”

Si Qingxuan asked the system, “Is what he’s saying true?”

[Well… I can only say that the scars on his face do appear to be caused by the frequent use of his abilities. If it is as he says, and he only awakened a year ago, the speed of this backlash is indeed excessively fast.]

For a moment, Si Qingxuan was actually at a loss for words.

“They just treated me as a tool to be used and discarded. When I went mad, they added my name to the Anomaly list and then crushed me into ash with an air of self-righteousness and feigned pity… Can you accept that kind of life?”

The Ghost Tamer asked Si Qingxuan with a smile.

“I advise you to see the truth of this world sooner—we Awakened Ones are born to stand at the pinnacle of the new world.

Certain people… also standing from the perspective of ordinary people, want to use the purging system to bind us and obliterate us.

If you don’t want to be cannon fodder, if you don’t want to become like me, you should learn to consider your fellow Awakened Ones first—do you understand?”

Initially, the Ghost Tamer had spoken with genuine emotion, but later, perhaps seeing that Si Qingxuan was stunned by him, his words became increasingly provocative.

If it were an ordinary person, they might have been brainwashed by him.

Unfortunately, Si Qingxuan didn’t buy it.

“Oh. Is that so?” Si Qingxuan scoffed.

“When you were just commanding your Phase Ghoul subordinates to kill me, there didn’t seem to be much brotherly love for your fellow Awakened Ones.”

“I don’t want to talk to you about perspectives or fairness; I only want to talk to you about karma and morality.”

Si Qingxuan stood up straight and said,

“You didn’t go to find the real culprits to vent your hatred; instead, you took your resentment out on these people who have nothing to do with you—before I came here, weren’t you using a woman’s skin to abduct a little girl?”

“I don’t know what others think, but I boldly speculate that there are millions of other Awakened Ones in this world besides you… who would probably rather die than become what you are now.”

The Ghost Tamer was stunned for two seconds, then suddenly began to laugh loudly, laughing until tears nearly came out.

“How do you know I didn’t get revenge for myself first?”

“Whose skin do you think I’m wearing right now? …It’s my former captain! Hahahahahahaha…”

Si Qingxuan was startled and his lip twitched as he called the system: “Is this what you meant by ‘not completely lost his mind’?”

[Ahem, this person hasn’t completely turned into a lunatic… but he’s getting close.]

Si Qingxuan: “…”

In the moment Si Qingxuan was dazed, the Ghost Tamer suddenly reached out and firmly gripped the blade of his sword, a string of obscure words spilling from his mouth.

Fine red lines seemed to take on a life of their own, gradually crawling over the skin of his body.

[This is bad, stop him quickly! He’s applying for outside help—he’s summoning the ‘god’ he believes in!]

Si Qingxuan’s pupils shrank.

He instinctively pulled his sword back and activated “Talent: Judgment.”

Everything within his sight slowed down, including how the Ghost Tamer’s skin cracked inch by inch, and a giant bird burning with black flames flew out from beneath his deathly pale skin.

Its crimson eyes fixed tightly on him.

The bird’s cry suddenly exploded in Si Qingxuan’s ears like a thunderclap, as sharp as a crying infant, drilling straight into his head.

Fortunately, he had the protection of his domain and could barely hold on.

[It’s too late… This is an A-rank Anomaly, the Ghost Cry Thrush. It is a pet kept by a certain ancient god—in other words, it is a servant and lackey of an ancient god.

It is skilled at changing its form to tempt others, and its cry can drive people into a frenzy. Its favorite parts to eat are human ears and eyeballs!]

“At a time like this, you don’t need to introduce its diet as well!” Si Qingxuan shouted irritably.

[Now there is some good news and some bad news… Which do you want to hear first? Fine, I won’t keep you in suspense.

The good news is that the Ghost Cry Thrush has been defeated by the Tyrant Caligula more than once; the Sword of Caligula possesses a natural suppressive power over it.

But the bad news is—it is very likely to recognize this sword used by its former enemy. It will go berserk and unleash its ultimate move from the start. You can’t run; you can only fight!]

Si Qingxuan didn’t know what the concept of “going berserk and unleashing an ultimate move” was.

He saw black flames flowing over the giant bird’s feathers.

It flapped its wings, and the cries it emitted made Si Qingxuan’s headache worse and worse.

A few seconds later, the giant bird seemed to have had its fill of looking at Si Qingxuan.

It flapped its wings and landed, its silhouette twitching and growing taller until it finally transformed into the likeness of a young man, opening its arms toward Si Qingxuan—

That face was none other than Si Qingxuan’s ex-boyfriend!

Seeing his “ex-boyfriend” walking toward him with a seductive smile on his face, the goosebumps all over Si Qingxuan’s body danced wildly.

In an instant, the domain beneath his feet expanded to double its original size.

An invisible wave of air radiated outward, as if it were about to crush the “man” in front of him.

The System: “…”

‘Who would have thought? As soon as the Ghost Cry Thrush unleashed its ultimate move, our High Priest went berserk right along with it!’