Blackwater City

Ryan and his team fled for their lives.

Normally, they would have carefully controlled their speed and the bumpiness of the ride.

After all, they were carrying a dying old man on their backs, and any violent shaking could cause him to draw his last breath prematurely.

But now, they couldn't care less about any of that.

The desire to survive overpowered all reason.

They unleashed their mana and battle qi without any regard for consumption.

Each of them was like a rabbit chased by a fierce beast, running so fast they practically left afterimages.

In the flying vessel high above...

Lin Gui steadily controlled the flying vessel to follow them.

At the same time, he used Levitation to control the pile of abandoned supplies below.

He made them follow behind the flying vessel like a silent flock of ghosts.

From the back seat of the flying vessel, Theia and Eve poked their heads out, looking down.

They watched the terrified bounty hunters sprint into the distance.

The expression on Theia's face slowly morphed from initial surprise into an indescribable look of blank bewilderment.

She had watched with her own eyes as Lin Gui produced that spine-chilling, terrifying female voice out of thin air.

She saw how he used Wind Guiding to manipulate the air currents and mist, creating an atmosphere filled with dancing ghostly shadows.

He had even used Levitation to kick up the dead leaves and dried grass from the ground.

And she watched those experienced bounty hunters below get so scared out of their wits that they threw away all their gear and fled in sheer panic.

She slowly turned her head to look at Lin Gui's profile, which remained focused and calm.

Her lips parted, but no sound came out. Instead, she silently reached over and patted Eve's leg.

Eve followed her gaze, a wry, helpless look flashing through her eyes.

They had obviously seen that Ryan and his team were trying to flee.

Theia had even gripped Azure Echo in her hand, drawing the bowstring slightly, prepared to force them to stay.

Eve had looked at Lin Gui curiously, wondering how he would handle it.

As it turned out, neither of the girls had expected this.

Lin Gui had put on such a... horrifyingly theatrical performance.

Having witnessed the entire thing, the corner of Theia's mouth twitched.

Lowering her voice, she whispered to Eve,

“Honestly... isn't his skillset a little too perfect for playing the ghost?”

Levitation, which could make objects float out of thin air.

Wind Guiding, which could stir up drafts of wind.

And that incredibly realistic Voice Mimicry...

These seemingly low-grade Novice Magic spells, when combined in his hands...

Actually became a spine-chilling, secret art for manipulating minds and inducing panic.

Hearing this, Eve sighed softly, a complex look of understanding mixed with her wry smile.

She recalled how back in the Royal Capital's mines, he had won a wager against a Legendary assassin in a similarly unconventional, paradigm-shifting way.

“Perhaps...” she murmured in response.

“What he's best at has never been direct confrontation.”

“Instead, it's using the most unexpected methods to achieve his goals.”

Theia blinked, looking down at the bounty hunters who were running so hard they were practically wetting themselves.

Then she looked at the culprit in front of her, who still wore a calm, focused expression.

Ultimately, she silently returned Azure Echo to her back.

Well... this method might be a little wicked.

But it seemed... surprisingly effective?

Below the flying vessel...

Completely dominated by fear, Ryan and his team reached an unprecedented peak of speed.

They abandoned all caution.

They didn't even care to look out for the occasional blind spectral demon that might crash into them within the Wall.

They simply buried their heads and charged forward with everything they had.

What left Theia and Eve most speechless was—

In order to 'help' them run even faster...

Lin Gui would occasionally mimic that agonizing female ghostly voice.

And unexpectedly throw a few 'encouraging' words from behind them.

“Too slow... faster...”

“Or do you want to make me stay in this mist forever...”

“Or... do you want to keep me company?”

The voice was sometimes faint and distant, and sometimes right next to their ears.

Every time it echoed, it felt like a whip cracking against the nerves of Ryan and his team.

It forced them to tap into even deeper reserves of potential, pushing past their already extreme speeds.

Gasping heavily with bloodshot eyes, they were practically running at the cost of their own lifespans.

Spurred by this incredible speed driven by a 'ghost' chase...

They flew through the pale and eerie Forest of Sighs.

And galloped all the way across the jagged, rocky edges of the Blackwater Mountains.

A treacherous journey that normally would have taken them over half a day...

Was crossed in less than two hours by their sheer, desperate will.

When the blurry silhouette of a massive city-state gradually emerged from the mist ahead...

Ryan and his team were on the verge of collapsing from utter exhaustion.

They had reached Blackwater City.

Ryan and his team slumped against the base of the cold city wall.

Their chests heaved violently, gasping like broken bellows.

Sweat drenched their armor and dripped continuously from their hair.

Their legs were so weak they could barely stand, relying entirely on the wall for support.

The two elderly guides had already passed out during the long, frantic run, but the priestess still remembered to monitor their vitals with magic.

Along the way, the extreme terror and relentless sprinting had drained every ounce of their strength.

Up on the flying vessel, Lin Gui and the other two looked up.

They curiously observed this legendary city of the dead.

The first thing that caught their eyes was an extremely tall city wall.

Its majestic height was on par with the outer walls of the Carter Royal Capital.

The wall bricks were dark gray, covered in moss and signs of wind erosion.

Some of the battlements had collapsed, but the main structure was remarkably intact.

There were no signs of large-scale destruction or claw marks from rampaging demons.

What astonished Lin Gui the most was...

When he maneuvered the flying vessel to get a little closer...

The thick fog ahead suddenly churned violently, parting to both sides.

A beam of dazzling sunlight pierced through the gray haze without warning.

It cast directly onto the ancient city wall.

Lin Gui instinctively squinted.

When his vision cleared, he froze.

Above the high wall, the sky that had always been shrouded in thick fog...

Was actually a clear, brilliant azure blue.

There was no gray fog, no gloom.

Only a pure, washed-clean blue sky quietly hung over the ruins.

It was as if the mist of the Wall of Sighs was separated here by an invisible force.

Creating a bizarre 'pure land.'

Lin Gui controlled the flying vessel, smoothly floating upward along the towering city wall.

They had now arrived at Blackwater City.

A universally recognized safe point within the Wall of Sighs.

He didn't have to worry about being attacked if he strayed outside the guide's range.

Because they had entered one of the seventeen dead cities that made up the Wall of Sighs.

This was a rare area within the Wall of Sighs that was default-deemed 'safe.'

Safe enough... that living people had permanently settled here.

The flying vessel nimbly cleared the mottled high wall, landing on what used to be a guard's observation platform.

From the flying vessel, Lin Gui, Theia, and Eve took in the entire sight of Blackwater City.

The city-state was grand in scale, with neatly planned streets.

Stone houses stood in close, orderly rows, most of their structures perfectly intact.

Though the roof tiles were covered in dead leaves and dust, they were rarely damaged.

A wide main thoroughfare led to a central plaza.

The sculptures and fountain pools in the plaza still stood.

There were no messy traces of battle or disaster left inside the city.

Everything seemed to have been paused, eerily clean.

The only abnormality was—the lack of human presence.

There was no sign of living activity, only a dead silence.

But on certain street corners or the edges of the plaza...

One could see the remaining ashes of campfires, as well as patched-up walls.

Proving that people had indeed stopped here, or even lived here.

The once Blackwater City, now the Blackwater Ruins.