Defeated

Jiang Chen gnashed his teeth. His ego, which had inflated after just acquiring his abilities, was instantly dragged back to reality.

Anger flared within him. “Hmph, you're nothing but a coward who relies on sneak attacks. Since you've delivered yourself to me, I'll be taking that mask of yours!”

Strands of a peculiar, invisible energy emanated from the golden ring, establishing a connection with the trench coat he wore.

He pulled the remaining playing cards from his coat, a white light flashing across them.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

In the next instant, dozens of playing cards shot toward Bai Yuwen.

Just as the playing cards were about to strike, three dark shadows emerged from his left, right, and below. They simultaneously extended hands as large as washbasins, forming a barrier in front of Bai Yuwen.

Pfft! Pfft!

Dozens of playing cards lodged themselves into the shadow palms. Jiang Chen wasn't surprised.

He brought his hands together, posing as if to unleash an energy blast. Under the influence of the ring, he remained in a constant state of hyper-aggression.

Bloodshot veins map-lined Jiang Chen's eyes as he roared, “Kid, your strength isn't bad, but compared to me—who possesses two portions of the Lord of Evil's power—you're still not enough!”

Hum!

A surge of white energy manifested, and within it, a wisp of golden flame flickered.

Swish!

In the next moment, a pillar of white light wrapped in golden flames shot toward Bai Yuwen, who had drawn a short sword.

Wherever the light pillar passed, scorch marks seared into the surrounding ground and walls. Just as it was about to hit Bai Yuwen—

—he suddenly threw himself flat against the ground. Two black shadow hands emerged from the pavement and punched the soles of his feet.

Swoosh!

The force of the punch propelled Bai Yuwen forward. His body hovered a mere ten centimeters off the ground as the pillar of light roared past just above his head.

His hair singed and his skin turned red as a burning pain washed over him.

But he paid it no mind. The eyes behind his mask gleamed with murderous intent as he slid directly beneath Jiang Chen in the blink of an eye.

Only then did Jiang Chen react. Bai Yuwen's speed filled him with sheer terror.

Wind whipped up around his trench coat as he tried to fly upward to escape.

Clack!

Suddenly, two massive black hands shot out from beneath his feet and grabbed him in a vice grip, delaying his ascent.

Behind him, the upper body of a shadow monster emerged from the ground.

Capitalizing on this brief moment of restraint, Bai Yuwen slashed his short sword upward from Jiang Chen's groin.

The trench coat attempted to defend its host automatically, but several more black hands materialized around him and pinned the coat down.

Slash!

The short sword sliced through Jiang Chen's lower body, cutting all the way up to his chest. Fresh blood splattered across Bai Yuwen's mask.

“Ahhh!” Jiang Chen screamed in agonizing pain. He looked down in disbelief at his spilling organs.

'How can this be? Am I not the protagonist? Don't I possess two portions of the Lord of Evil's power?' His mind was filled with confusion, and even more so, resentment.

From acquiring the trench coat to seizing the ring, the entire process had taken less than an hour. Yet, his encounter with another wielder of the Lord of Evil's power had ended in his death in less than ten seconds.

Boom!

Behind them, the pillar of light struck a five-story building, triggering a platinum-colored explosion.

Rumble!

The first and second floors vanished instantly. The entire building shattered and collapsed, sending a massive plume of dust billowing into the sky.

Thud!

Jiang Chen's corpse was violently slammed backward by the shadow hands, sending him to his grave once and for all.

The blood on Bai Yuwen's mask was automatically absorbed. He looked down at the corpse with a calm expression. “If you had been given more time to grow, you might have been a troublesome opponent with two items. But that's all you amounted to.”

The boy had too little combat experience. Although his energy attacks were powerful, their startup was too slow.

If he had been given time to master them and unleash them instantly, it would have been troublesome.

Even so, Bai Yuwen was confident he would have won regardless. After all, he hadn't even had his shadow monsters join the fight yet; they had only acted as support.

With a thought from Bai Yuwen, two humanoid dark shadows materialized and stepped forward to strip the trench coat and ring from the corpse.

Tap, tap, tap!

Suddenly, footsteps echoed from behind him.

Bai Yuwen sensed the newcomer. It wasn't a wielder of a supernatural item.

Since someone dared to approach a supernatural being like him at a time like this, he assumed it was one of his own allies.

Bai Yuwen said casually, “You can take this corpse away. Supernatural power once manifested inside him. If you dissect him, you might find some surprises.”

Tap, tap, tap!

The footsteps suddenly quickened. Bai Yuwen's eyes narrowed, and he leaped three meters into the air.

Swish!

A blade tip thrust through the space where he had just been standing. He looked down and saw a young man in a suit with crimson eyes.

As he looked down, the young man suddenly snapped his head up.

Bending his knees slightly, the youth launched himself upward in the next instant, charging at the descending Bai Yuwen.

What fast reflexes! Noting the youth's reaction and explosive speed, Bai Yuwen's expression turned serious as he slashed his short sword downward.

Clang!

His short sword clashed with the other's long blade. A tremendous force surged through, but his own strength was superior.

He violently forced his short sword downward.

Slash!

The short sword hacked into the opponent's shoulder before sweeping outward, slicing clean through his neck.

Thud!

A head tumbled to the ground, and the youth's body collapsed.

“What is this thing?” Looking at the corpse, Bai Yuwen felt a bit puzzled.

The opponent's strength, speed, and reflexes far exceeded those of ordinary humans, even surpassing his basic shadows.

Tap, tap, tap!

Just then, rapid footsteps echoed from both ahead and behind.

He looked up to see over a dozen red-eyed young men appearing from both directions.

Armed with swords, sabers, and axes, they rushed toward Bai Yuwen.

Bai Yuwen watched them, his expression turning cold. “Trying to overwhelm me with numbers? Too bad you're facing me!”

A vast expanse of darkness pooled around him, and from within it, nine three-meter-tall shadow monsters emerged.

“Kill them!” Bai Yuwen barked.

The shadow monsters charged violently at the Night Slaves.

Seeing a shadow monster, one Night Slave raised his axe and swung it down with all his might.

Bang!

However, the shadow monster unleashed a single punch, smashing the Night Slave and his axe flat against the wall, sending blood splattering everywhere.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Facing shadow monsters with physical capabilities far superior to their own, the Night Slaves stood absolutely no chance. It was essentially one punch per Night Slave.

Blood and shredded flesh splattered all over the surrounding walls. In just a few seconds, this wave of Night Slaves was completely wiped out.

Meanwhile, the two humanoid shadows had already stripped the trench coat and ring, carrying the items toward Bai Yuwen.

With the Night Slaves dealt with, the alleyway fell completely silent.

Bai Yuwen took the trench coat and the ring and walked out.

As soon as he stepped out of the alleyway, he encountered a group of soldiers and Security Bureau personnel.

“How do you want to handle these items?” Bai Yuwen asked, waving the gear in his hands.

One of the Security Bureau agents spoke up. “Director Xu said that if you secure supernatural items, you just need to leave one for us.”

This was to prevent him from making some reckless wish after gathering all seven.

Bai Yuwen casually tossed the ring to one of the Security Bureau agents. “Speaking of which, where is Xu Qiulan? I secured two items at once, and she didn't even come to receive me personally.”

“Director Xu is currently commanding the arrest operations. Those guys on the streets from earlier must be captured alive so we can interrogate them and find out who is pulling the strings,” an agent replied.

Since those people dared to open fire and kill in their territory, this grudge had to be settled.