Chapter 29: Sooner or later, let [dark] become [shadow abyss]

Only his voice could be heard, yet he remained unseen.

Huai’en’s body merged with the shadows, constantly shifting and darting beneath the massive trees, relentlessly assailing the shadowy figure before him.

“Do you intend to keep running? You’ve no chance left; with only yourself, it’s impossible to seize the other token.”

The shadowy figure ahead remained silent, focused solely on escape.

The companion spirit weapons contracted by both individuals were primarily of the Umbra (TL Note: A type of spirit race with innate shadow abilities) lineage, thus their fundamental ability to merge with shadows was as ingrained as the Radiance (TL Note: Another spirit race, known for their energy projection attacks) lineage’s proficiency in projecting spirit energy for offense.

Therefore, the sword-wielder, realizing he was no match for Huai’en, merged into the shadows without hesitation and fled.

Huai’en was instantly enraged.

He had thought it a rare chance to encounter a fellow practitioner; how could he let him go? Yet, to his surprise, the opponent possessed not an ounce of dignity, fleeing at the first sign of trouble.

“Do you truly believe you can escape indefinitely once I’ve set my sights on you? Heh, the Umbra’s inherent trait is to devour its kin. Did you think I would let you go?”

As Huai’en pursued relentlessly, he continuously taunted the sword-wielder, forcing him to stop and fight.

The sword-wielder finally spoke: “Damn brat, aren’t you concerned for your companions? Such a ruckus will surely alert nearby teams. They’re only two, and the tokens must be on those two girls, right?”

Huai’en remained unmoved. “I couldn’t care less. I was dragged here against my will. Rather than winning this so-called Knight’s Tournament, I’d much rather devour your companion spirit weapon.”

Huai’en bared his teeth in a grin, a monstrous, terrifying smile like a demon clawing its way from hell.

“You goddamn little beast!”

The sword-wielder, utterly furious, gnashed his teeth.

The shadow suddenly halted, turning to thrust a sword forward!

Huai’en, in his relentless pursuit, was momentarily too slow to react, and the rapier pierced directly through his body.

Yet…

Before a flicker of joy could register on the sword-wielder’s face, a hint of bewilderment flashed in his eyes.

No sensation of flesh being pierced transmitted through the blade; his thrust had found only air!

Indeed, the next instant, Huai’en’s body abruptly dissolved into a pool of inky shadow, but immediately after, a dagger tore through the darkness, darting towards the sword-wielder’s face.

“You’re actually…”

The sword-wielder gazed at the scene in shock, yet his subsequent words were forever trapped in his throat.

The inky shadow solidified into threads, binding his hands; he instinctively tried to defend himself, but the threads cost him a crucial second.

In that single second, Huai’en’s dagger pierced through the sword-wielder’s right eye, and with a twist of his wrist, instantly obliterated the man’s brain.

The sword-wielder’s shadow transformed into a beautiful young girl, her face devoid of expression, clad in black with white hair and blood-red eyes.

She glanced at the sword-wielder, a fleeting hint of attachment in her eyes, before attempting to flee.

However, without her Spirit Master, she, as a spirit race member, was utterly incapable of unleashing her own power.

Several shadow threads instantly bound her delicate form, suspending her in mid-air.

Huai’en approached, his gaze upon the girl’s eyes as calm as an ancient well.

He whispered, “Devour her, Yingyuan.”

The dagger instantly pierced the Umbra girl’s heart, then, along with countless shadow threads, coalesced into a mass of darkness that enveloped her entire body, forming a cocoon of shadow.

The Umbra, even among the diverse and myriad spirit races, constituted the most peculiar lineage.

This was solely due to their inherent nature: they were cannibals of their own kind.

Umbra spirits, like Gu (TL Note: A legendary venomous insect or poison in Chinese folklore), engaged in internecine warfare, devouring one another until only the strongest survivor remained.

The last one to achieve ultimate strength through this method was a spirit race member named Umbra herself.

She earned the honor of having her name become that of her entire lineage, much like Melo’s (TL Note: A character’s name) former companion spirit weapon, Radiance.

However, within the Radiance lineage, while others aspired to surpass Radiance, they also held immense reverence for her.

But Umbra was different.

The moment Umbra’s name became synonymous with the Umbra lineage, all other Umbra spirits regarded this strongest among them with only one thought.

‘Someday, we will devour her!’

The shadow gradually reverted to a humanoid form, manifesting as a girl with black clothes, black hair, and pale skin.

Her eyes were as black as ink, cold and merciless; even having just devoured one of her kin, her heart remained utterly unperturbed.

Huai’en looked at her, yet his mind recalled the final moment, the flicker of lingering attachment in the eyes of the devoured Umbra girl.

He couldn’t help but rub his brow.

Yingyuan took his other hand, lifting her small face to gaze at Huai’en’s.

Huai’en paused, momentarily stunned. Yingyuan’s expression remained blank, yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that he perceived a hint of concern within those lifeless eyes.

In a daze, he seemed to grasp something, then offered a wry smile.

“Do even you Umbra spirits possess emotions?”

‘The lingering attachment of that unnamed girl, and now Yingyuan’s concern.’

‘Could this most brutal of spirit lineages actually harbor emotions, just like humans?’

Huai’en closed his eyes, steadying his thoughts.

When he opened his eyes again, their usual languid expression had returned.

He gently stroked Yingyuan’s head. “Don’t worry. Sooner or later, I’ll let you devour the Umbra, and then the Umbra will become the Yingyuan.”

Yingyuan nodded subtly, her body once again dissolving into a speck of inky shadow that gathered in Huai’en’s hand, reforming into the dagger.

Only now, the dagger seemed even sharper.

Huai’en sensed it, a ripple stirring within his heart.

His resonance rate had increased.

Originally at 20%, his resonance rate had now risen to 27%.

‘Was it because she devoured her kin? Or because of what I just said?’

‘I don’t know, but… it’s a good thing, nonetheless.’

He turned and headed back. “Let’s go back. Sephilia and the others are waiting for us.”

Huai’en transformed into shadow, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

His speed, it seemed, had increased even further.

****

While Huai’en was pursuing the sword-wielder, Sephilia had already concluded her battle.

Her opponents were inherently weaker than her, likely possessing a resonance rate of only about 15%.

After Melo (TL Note: A character’s name) had severely wounded the Rock Wall Spirit Master, Sephilia alone was able to overwhelm the other two, leaving them gasping for breath.

Soon, the Wind Vortex Spirit Master surrendered.

He dutifully handed over his token.

To their slight disappointment, however, it was a ‘Spirit’ token.

Since their own token was also a ‘Spirit’ token, they couldn’t fulfill the victory conditions.

“At least now we have one chance for error,” Melina consoled, seeing Sephilia’s slight dejection.

“That’s true,” Sephilia replied, quickly regaining her composure.

After all, they had won, and with minimal effort, gaining an extra margin for error.

“Alright, you two can go,” she announced, waving a hand at the two opponents.

“Uh, what about… our teammate? Since we’ve already surrendered, perhaps you could inform your teammate?” the Rock Wall Spirit Master asked dejectedly.

Sephilia pressed her earpiece. “Hey, Huai’en, we’ve got the token. You can come back now.”

“I’m already back,” a voice replied.

Before the words fully registered, Huai’en’s figure materialized around them.

“Oh! You don’t seem to be hurt,” Sephilia exclaimed, even happier to see Huai’en return unscathed.

However, the faces of the other two individuals turned grim.

“You… your companion spirit weapon is Umbra? You returned alone, so surely…”

Huai’en glanced at them, then nodded. “Yes, killed.”

“You…!” the Wind Vortex Spirit Master roared in fury, his scythe slashing towards Huai’en without hesitation.

“Huai’en!” Sephilia cried out in alarm, preparing to rush to his aid.

However, she was not skilled in speed, and at this moment, it was clearly too late.

Yet, what she lacked in speed, Huai’en excelled at!

Now, facing the Wind Vortex, who also specialized in speed, the opponent’s movements appeared to Huai’en as if in slow motion.

In everyone’s sight, Huai’en’s body seemed to blur for an instant; the next second, a gruesome, bloody gash appeared on the scythe-wielding man’s neck.

He stumbled two steps forward, clutching his neck, his eyes wide with disbelief, before collapsing.

The Rock Wall Spirit Master was also stunned.

Seeing Huai’en’s gaze sweep towards him, he screamed in terror and fled frantically.

All that remained was the scythe, which had fallen to the ground and transformed into a young girl in a green floral dress, weeping mournfully beside the fallen scythe-wielder, her face streaked with tears.