Chapter 17 – Twin Ghosts

Suddenly, a thick surge of blood qi erupted like a fountain, instantly staining the surrounding space crimson. Yun Shang stared in shock at the scene, her eyes wide and her heart racing, as if the entire world had frozen in that moment.

Within the rolling waves of blood qi, a blurry figure flickered in and out of view. As the blood qi gradually dispersed, the figure became clearer and clearer. Yun Shang finally saw it clearly—there were actually two ghosts!

A name flashed through Yun Shang’s mind—twin ghost! She had once heard of such ghosts in ancient legends, said to be formed from the fusion of two deceased souls, possessing dual personalities and power, extremely ferocious and terrifying.

Since this was Yun Shang’s natal ghost, it naturally recognized her as its master from birth.

The Ghost Immortal System introduced: “Twin ghost, though nominally a single ghost, is in fact two ghosts. They share life and death together, each possessing a vitality equivalent to that of their rank. Only when both ghosts die are they truly dead.”

Su Ming looked at the two ghosts. One was a cavalry ghost, the blue ghost fire burning continuously on its horse signaling that it was no ordinary being. The other was a shield ghost, wielding a shield and a broken blade in its hands.

Their strength was not particularly great—both were at the Second Realm, after all, being newly born. But being twin ghosts meant that cultivating one would simultaneously raise the power of both.

The two ghosts looked at Yun Shang and knelt in unison: “Master!”

Yun Shang was overjoyed. She hadn’t expected the ghost she received to be this powerful. As for cultivation, she needn’t worry at all—though she held no authority as a saintess, she could still acquire plenty of cultivation resources.

Yun Shang said with some excitement: “Young Master Su, thank you. I don’t know how to repay you, but if you ever have any requests, just name them.”

Su Ming remembered that her mother still wanted to bring her back, so she said somewhat awkwardly: “Well… actually, there is one thing. Could you come home with me for a visit?”

Yun Shang’s face flushed bright red: “Wait… I’m not ready to get married yet…”

Su Ming was startled: “No, no, hold on. It’s my mother who wants to see you…”

Yun Shang’s face grew even redder: “Actually, that’s not entirely out of the question… Just give me two days to prepare, alright?”

Su Ming was completely speechless. What was all this about? Were saintesses really this easy to whisk away?

Su Ming told Yun Shang to hide the twin ghost well, though she suspected it probably couldn’t be hidden anyway.

But Su Ming had just received notice that the top five from the new student trial were to come to the Heavenly Saint Sect for a match. Since she was already here, he might as well stay for a while.

Su Ming actually guessed that Guo Dong was behind this. Guo Dong surely knew that in previous years, the top five were formed into a team for the Four Great Academies’ competition.

But this year it was an individual competition—one-on-one—which eliminated the need for team training and coordination.

While this kind of battle didn’t showcase tactical teamwork, it made the fights easier to follow, without skills flying everywhere and everything relying on commentators to explain.

Actually, Su Ming guessed wrong. This kind of match format wasn’t something a saint could simply change on a whim—it was purely a stroke of luck.

Because Guo Dong had just received the notice himself: the Heavenly Saint Sect was to send three people to participate in the match. However, they had a special arrangement—they would join directly when the Four Great Academies were down to five remaining contestants, and the final champion would be determined from there.

Yun Shang also received the notice. She had already decided that once everything was over, she would return the Pseudo-Black Tortoise to her master and elope with Su Ming. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder what she would do if she encountered Su Ming in the match…

In truth, she knew Su Ming had the Sword Ghost, but she believed the Pseudo-Black Tortoise’s strength could contend with the Sword Ghost. She was still pondering how to ensure Su Ming wouldn’t get hurt…

At this moment, Blood Soul Ghost sent a message to Su Ming: “Master, thanks to the ghost bead you gave me, I’ve already reached the Fifth Realm.”

Su Ming: “Only the Fifth Realm? Will you have a chance against the Pseudo-Black Tortoise when the time comes?”

Blood Soul Ghost was startled: “Wait, who am I fighting?”

Su Ming: “If we happen to face Yun Shang, I can’t exactly send out the Sword Ghost.”

Blood Soul Ghost, looking like someone enjoying the drama with no sense of urgency: “Oh—I never would have thought, Master, that you’d be worried about sister-in-law so soon?”

Su Ming was speechless: “Don’t make me curse at you.”

Blood Soul Ghost: “Aiya, as a female ghost, Master just needs to send out Ice Crystal Turtle when the time comes. Don’t worry, she’ll definitely fight tooth and nail to make Turtle Sister appear.”

Su Ming thought carefully—would it really be that coincidental?

Actually, what Blood Soul Ghost said wasn’t wrong. Yun Shang was indeed thinking that when the time came, she’d send out Turtle Sister and just lose to Su Ming directly…

Meanwhile, Guo Dong was in his room. He had decided not to make a move on Yun Shang anymore. Now he felt that just having his way with Yun Shang was boring—he wanted to torture Su Ming alive right in front of Yun Shang. That would be interesting.

Wugou: “Saint, the sect master told me to inform you that if you cannot defeat Su Ming’s Sword Ghost when the time comes, you may use the Black Tortoise’s blood essence to forcibly enhance Azure Dragon’s combat power, granting it the strength of Peak Eighth Realm. Combined with White Tiger’s Sixth Realm, you might have a chance at victory.”

Guo Dong looked at Wugou. This was an Early Grandmaster Realm expert his master had given him. It was previously said that Guo Dong had two Grandmaster Realm experts protecting him—one was Wugou, and the other was someone from the military who never showed his face.

Guo Dong remembered that his master had asked him to bring Yun Shang to see those slaves tomorrow. He never understood what was so interesting about a bunch of slaves.

At this moment, no one knew that Wugou was already dead! The Black-Robed Man was now controlling his body with the descent technique.

The Black-Robed Man hid in the shadows: “Just two Early Grandmaster Realm experts. Troublesome, but not impossible to fight…”

Guo Dong asked Wugou: “You think if the Sword Ghost unleashes his ultimate move, I could use the True Black Tortoise to block it? That big move of his—I faintly sense a terrifying burst at the Ninth Realm. The temporarily boosted Azure Dragon’s strength is unstable.”

“Wugou”: “Everything the Saint says is correct. This subordinate has no rebuttal.”

Guo Dong patted “Wugou” on the shoulder: “You’re never this formal usually. What’s wrong today?”

“Wugou” said nothing and simply left.

Guo Dong watched him go—just as always, putting on airs.

The Black-Robed Man breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t managed to remember every detail after all. There was no helping it—he and Su Ming had arrived at the same time.

The Heavenly Saint Sect had a unique protective sect formation. The Black-Robed Man had no confidence in forcing his way in without being detected, so he had used spatial ghost arts to slip in at the same time as Su Ming.

Moreover, secretly killing Wugou and having to remember all his daily habits was truly asking too much of him.

But his goal should already be achieved. Guo Dong would indeed summon the True Black Tortoise, and he was confident he could take it away directly.

The Black-Robed Man muttered, “Su Lin, you bastard, making me do something like this. Just wait until Qingmei gets back—I’ll deal with you then.”

Su Lin suddenly sneezed. “Hmm? Could it be that the child’s mother is thinking of me?”

Mo Qing also sneezed, but not because Su Lin was thinking of her. Rather, it was because she had descended several hundred meters underground and finally laid eyes on Azure Dragon’s remnant soul.

Mo Qing produced her token. “Lord Azure Dragon, a descendant of the Mo Family requests an audience with the imperial family’s token.”

Azure Dragon slowly opened his eyes. Having lost his body long ago, he was already like a flickering candle in the wind, barely holding on.

Mo Qing offered a Soul-Returning Pill, and only after Azure Dragon consumed it could he barely speak.

Azure Dragon: “To see you before I die is more than enough for me. I am deeply sorry—during the capital’s defense battle all those years ago, I failed to hold the line and let down your hopes.”

Mo Qing: “There were reasons beyond your control. Had it not been for the treacherous Zhou Kingdom opening the passage to that other world, our Mo Family would never have been unable to take part in that defense.”

(Note: The Zhou Kingdom is where Su Ming now lives.)

Azure Dragon: “Now, are there any survivors of the imperial family?”

Mo Qing: “Yes. And now, we hope you can help her.”

Azure Dragon: “It’s not that I don’t want to. My current strength may not even reach the Fifth Realm, and without a body, the moment I leave this place, I risk scattering my soul at any time.”

Mo Qing noticed that not only was spiritual energy abundant here, but there was also a unique soul aura. If Azure Dragon left, it might indeed be very troublesome.

Mo Qing: “Where is your body? I’ll go find it for you.”

Azure Dragon: “No need. It was destroyed long ago. But if you’re willing, help me find a body that carries my bloodline. Once I possess it, I can reshape it.”

Mo Qing: “Very well!”

Azure Dragon: “I should warn you—I sensed someone followed you here just now. Though they kept their distance, so they couldn’t hear our conversation.”

Mo Qing was startled. Someone had been following her, and she hadn’t noticed at all…