Lin Qiye held the enchanted Iron Sword, its "Sharpness V" and "Smite V" runic glows exceptionally striking in the night.
His silhouette moved across the battlefield like a specter, every step precisely landing in the optimal position, every swing of his sword carving into the Ghost-Faced King's vital points. Black blood splattered, turning into a corrosive mist in the air.
The Ghost-Faced King's massive frame retreated repeatedly, letting out agonizing roars from beneath its mask. It had never encountered an opponent with such a fighting style and was momentarily at a total loss.
Zhao Kongcheng leaned against the wall, his face filled with shock. He never imagined that the youth who once needed his protection could now clash head-on with a River Realm monster.
'Where did this kid get such skills? Is this the true power of a God's Proxy?'
The Ghost-Faced King roared in fury, black energy surging around it like a tide as the red light in its eyes flared brilliantly. It let out a long howl to the heavens, activating its Forbidden Domain—[Ghost-Faced Phase]!
In an instant, the entire space warped and distorted.
Zhao Kongcheng felt the world spin; up became down, left became right. A powerful wave of vertigo hit him, making him want to vomit, and even Lin Qiye's figure became a blur in his vision.
"Qiye! Watch out!" he choked out, only to witness a scene that left him dumbfounded.
Facing the encroachment of the Forbidden Domain, Lin Qiye actually pulled out a large milk bucket from nowhere. He tilted his head back, gulped down several mouthfuls, and his eyes immediately regained their clarity. His movements remained entirely unaffected, as if that terrifying Forbidden Domain had absolutely no effect on him.
"This kid even has that kind of divine medicine?!" Zhao Kongcheng's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
The corners of Lin Qiye's mouth curled slightly. Facing the Ghost-Faced King as it lunged again, he flicked his wrist, and a half-man-tall stone brick appeared out of thin air directly in the path of the monster's charge.
The Ghost-Faced King, mid-sprint, failed to notice it. Its massive body slammed hard into the stone brick, losing its balance and tumbling pathetically to the ground. It let out an ear-splitting roar of rage as black liquid erupted from beneath its mask.
Lin Qiye seized this fleeting opportunity and quickly switched his Inventory. A bucket of scalding lava appeared in his hand, which he then precisely poured over the Ghost-Faced King.
Sizzle—
A pungent, scorched smell accompanied the Ghost-Faced King's shrill screams, echoing through the entire space.
The Ghost-Faced King rolled in agony within the lava, black smoke billowing from its body. Finally, it managed to roll out of the lava's range, extinguished the flames on its body, and struggled to its feet.
When it tried to pursue Lin Qiye again, it found itself completely walled in by a circle of stone blocks, four units high, placed at some unknown moment.
Zhao Kongcheng watched all of this with dropped jaws, his heart a storm of shock. He had never seen such a bizarre yet efficient method of combat.
He couldn't help but want to ask: "What the hell is this fighting style?"
The Ghost-Faced King angrily shattered the stone blocks with its sharp claws. The moment it broke free, it found the ground beneath its feet covered by a layer of flowing water. Its speed was drastically reduced by the current; every step was agonizingly difficult, as if it had fallen into a quagmire.
Lin Qiye stood upstream of the flow, perfectly composed. His enchanted Iron Sword flickered with purple light. From several meters away, every swing accurately carved a new wound onto the Ghost-Faced King.
Unwilling to give up, the Ghost-Faced King forced its power again, releasing [Ghost-Faced Phase] once more. it expected to see Lin Qiye fall into sensory chaos, yet Lin Qiye simply pulled out another milk bucket with calm indifference and drank it. The Forbidden Domain failed again.
The expression beneath the Ghost-Faced King's mask seemed to freeze; it felt a level of frustration it had never known before.
It was a King of the River Realm, yet it was being toyed with by a youth who only possessed "Lamp Realm" strength. This sense of shame drove it into a state of total madness.
Stimulated by the combination of extreme rage and frustration, the Ghost-Faced King's aura suddenly surged—it actually achieved a breakthrough mid-battle!
Its size expanded instantly, growing another size larger, and its wounds healed at a rate visible to the naked eye. More importantly, it seemed to regain its reason. It no longer charged blindly but began to consciously destroy the blocks Lin Qiye placed, while attempting to use the walls for leaping maneuvers.
"Not good!" Lin Qiye's brow furrowed, sensing the impending danger.
The post-breakthrough Ghost-Faced King's strength and speed far exceeded its previous state. It shattered the stone blocks with a few punches, then stepped on the rubble it had created, lunging at Lin Qiye like a bolt of black lightning.
Lin Qiye raised his shield to parry, but the Ghost-Faced King bypassed him in an instant, striking him hard in the lower back.
Thump!
With a dull thud, Lin Qiye was sent flying, crashing heavily against a wall. Though he felt no pain, he saw on the MC Interface that four of the yellow hearts provided by the Enchanted Golden Apple had disappeared instantly.
"This guy is too strong after breaking through!"
Lin Qiye quickly adjusted his stance, but the attacks from his enchanted Iron Sword were no longer taking effect as easily as before. The Ghost-Faced King's movement speed was too fast; it had begun to learn Lin Qiye's combat patterns, no longer charging recklessly but using the environment to dodge and counterattack.
In an instant, the tide turned, and Lin Qiye fell into a precarious situation.
Zhao Kongcheng saw this and grew frantic. He wanted to stand up and help, but his injuries were too severe for him to move. He could only watch helplessly as Lin Qiye was backed into a corner by the Ghost-Faced King.
"Qiye! Run!" Zhao Kongcheng shouted at the top of his lungs.
Just as Zhao Kongcheng was burning with anxiety, thinking Lin Qiye wouldn't be able to hold on, a prompt suddenly popped up on Lin Qiye's MC Interface:
[Detected special item nearby: Night Watchman Standard Enhancement Serum—Ghost-God Trigger (Dropped by Zhao Kongcheng). Effect: Greatly increases all of the user's attributes for a short time and activates Power Mode. Upon ending, the user will receive Poison and Wither debuffs. Pick up and use?]
Lin Qiye's gaze sharpened. He saw the crest-shaped injector lying on the ground next to Zhao Kongcheng.
"The system is even recommending it, so what am I waiting for!"
As for the debuffs? He still had milk; why would he fear debuffs?
He performed a side-roll to dodge the Ghost-Faced King's claw strike and sprinted toward Zhao Kongcheng. The Ghost-Faced King sensed his intent and let out a furious roar, its massive body pursuing him rapidly.
Lin Qiye felt the sharp wind behind him and knew the Ghost-Faced King was only inches away. He bit his lip, exploding with the limit of the Starry Night Dancer's speed. At the critical moment just before the monster's claws reached his back, he scooped up the Ghost-God Trigger.
Without any hesitation, under Zhao Kongcheng's horrified gaze, Lin Qiye slammed the sharp needle into his iron-clad arm.
"Qiye! No!!"
Zhao Kongcheng let out a heart-wrenching scream. He knew better than anyone the sheer violence and terrifying side effects of the Ghost-God Trigger. It was essentially burning one's own life! He never expected Lin Qiye would use it so decisively.
The Ghost-God Trigger serum entered Lin Qiye's body, and an indescribable, explosive power instantly flooded his entire being. Lin Qiye felt his blood reach a boiling point; every cell was cheering, and every muscle was brimming with strength.
He could even see the red heart and drumstick icons on his MC Interface beginning to flash with an ominous red light, while a super-strong BUFF icon for Strength and Speed appeared.
His vision became exceptionally clear. Time seemed to stretch out, and the Ghost-Faced King's movements appeared slow and clumsy in his eyes.
"So this is the power of the Ghost-God Trigger?"