【Strength: 30→50!】

Lu Ce didn’t add anything else—he simply increased his strength.

Up to this point, his magical attack power had never been his forte. It had all been about his physical body, so he wasn’t going to mess around.

Today, he was going to crush everything with brute force!

What does it mean to get stronger as the fight goes on? Lu Ce was the definition of it right now, because this was a physical battle—not some spirit-form duel like before.

In this kind of battle, he’d get injured, he’d bleed, and he’d gain Pain Points!

He was sitting there now, already somewhat regaining his senses—in other words, he was out of combat.

The “side effect” of the Chaotic Berserker had completely kicked in now, giving Lu Ce a ton of Pain Points and an overwhelming sense of weakness.

It felt like the time he had no strength, and after running a kilometer, still had to do thirty pull-ups—totally drained...

But the Pain Points—that was some next-level sh*t.

Park Bu Seong and the other Eighteen Soul-Hooking Ghosts had been locked in a standoff with Lu Ce in the center for who knew how long. No one dared make a move, not knowing what breaking the deadlock would bring.

But Park Bu Seong just had this gut feeling that while the guy was reading, the black mist around him kept getting heavier.

Also, just now—he didn’t know why—but the claw in his hand suddenly tightened. Maybe it was just his imagination.

One hand gripped the claw, the other held a small statue about ten centimeters tall.

That was his last good item. Like Xie Antong had said, Park Bu Seong definitely had a stash of good stuff on him.

But this thing? He had no way of controlling it. If he used it, sure, Lu Ce would probably die—but the Horror Mystery for this stage would probably be completely screwed.

That was only if the other mystery didn’t go wrong too.

Besides, he really didn’t want to waste it...

Park Bu Seong started talking to Ye Ah on the other end, opening with:

“Hey, what’s going on over there? Still not settled...?”

Just then, “Sin,” who’d been sitting on the steps reading the whole time, happened to look up.

Park Bu Seong flinched instinctively.

Facing that pale green mask again, he no longer felt the confidence he once had—only a deep, unwelcome fear.

Truth was, he had already lost this fight. He no longer believed he and “Sin” were in the same league.

Without realizing, he gripped the statue a little tighter.

“You guys are down to just a couple of scrappy cats, right?”

From beneath the Wrath Mask, a cold, emotionless voice came out, stunning the eighteen beast-headed humanoids.

Eighteen Soul-Hooking Ghosts: ......

Maybe they just hadn’t expected to be described as a bunch of scrappy cats.

“I just want to ask something.” Lu Ce tilted his neck forcefully, revealing his sharp jawline, and his neck cracked loudly.

“What are you all... waiting for?”

Why did they all act like NPCs in a game?

I’m waiting for my stamina and injuries to recover, and for my Pain Points to be allocated. What are you waiting for?

“Waiting to die?!”

His voice suddenly jumped a pitch. The balance shattered instantly as he yanked hard on one of the hooked chains stuck in his body!

The other seventeen chains instantly pulled back in opposite directions. His scapula, collarbone, triquetral—bones in all sorts of places popped out of place. A normal person would’ve lost all ability to resist by now.

But Lu Ce was never normal. His entire skeleton groaned under the strain, but he didn’t care. He forcefully dragged the chain he’d grabbed.

The lizard head felt like his body wasn’t even his own, pulled by a terrifying force—blasting forward at high speed! The next second, he was right in front of “Sin.”

The lizard’s triangular pupils contracted to pinpricks. Before he could react—boom!

He looked down. Lu Ce’s arm had pierced his chest right up to the elbow, punching straight through.

Looking up, in his blurry vision, he saw the grinning mask.

“One down...”

The Eighteen Soul-Hooking Ghosts were caught completely off guard. Park Bu Seong hadn’t expected it either. No one understood how this man’s strength had suddenly doubled.

Did he still have something in reserve earlier? But that made no sense!

Lu Ce didn’t hold back—but the power of Immortal Lu didn’t grow linearly...

No one could answer their confusion. Lu Ce, now thoroughly high on battle, was already wrapping things up.

Honestly, this stage was pretty tough—no wonder Park Bu Seong had been so confident before.

But it’s over...

With one person down, the formation of eighteen crumbled instantly.

They went from being eighteen soul-hooking wraiths to eighteen bouncing balls, yanked back one by one by Lu Ce and smashed with a single punch.

Heads exploded. Chests punched through. All about that efficiency.

When he got to Park Bu Seong’s dog-headed man, Park Bu Seong just severed his connection to the chain entirely. Total coward move.

Defeat came like an avalanche.

“What’s your status?!”

“I can’t deal with it right now, she won’t even open her eyes...” Ye Ah’s weak voice came through.

“F*ck!”

Cursing at the top of his lungs, seeing his plan about to fall apart, Park Bu Seong angrily threw the statue in his hand.

【Sequence A-001, Reflection of the Old God!】

【When released in any scene with demonic or twisted power, it can draw “Its” attention.】

A simple description, but it was the number one A-Tier!

The next moment, space froze. It was a powerful law—even Lu Ce stopped his slaughter.

Everyone’s eyes turned in the same direction. Then, in the silence, they could hear their own heartbeats.

It sounded like their heartbeat—but also not—like it was coming from outside their body.

An oppressive force from the soul came from that direction. Amidst the spatial distortion, a vertical eye slowly opened.

Instantly, all ten remaining Soul-Hooking Ghosts, including Park Bu Seong, dropped to their knees.

And I mean full-on collapse—limbs on the floor, heads pressed against the ground, bodies trembling. Like they were facing their natural predator, an overwhelmingly superior being they couldn’t resist.

On the stairs, the only one still standing was Lu Ce.

He was confused too. His eyes glowed with golden light, not understanding what had just happened.

【Legendary Badge: Godslayer, Activated!】

【Effect: When facing any superior being, immune to all effects except direct damage!】

【Description: I never thought I was born a king—but in my bones flows the blood that will never let me bow!】