Chapter 26 – Reclaiming the Frost Ghost, Shi Zhen Gravely Injured

Shi Zhen watched with growing anxiety, wanting to draw her blade and charge in herself, when the Blood Soul Ghost’s voice reached her ears.

Blood Soul Ghost: “My master said, if necessary, I can kill you too!”

The Blood Soul Ghost’s phantom-like figure suddenly appeared behind Shi Zhen, who had no protection whatsoever—she was like fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of the butcher.

Shi Zhen froze, the blade in her hand beginning to tremble. Having lived this long, it was the first time she felt fear.

She never expected that someone who always claimed to feel nothing about death would feel like this when facing it…

A thought suddenly struck Shi Zhen—surrender. If she surrendered, everything would be fine, and besides, she had already lost anyway.

Back then, she couldn’t even summon the frost ghost, and her snow leopard had just been severely injured. Yes, she had already lost.

Shi Zhen was about to raise her hand when the Blood Soul Ghost’s Blood Claw pierced her arm and mouth directly, leaving her unable to raise her hand or speak.

Blood Soul Ghost: “Wait until my master finishes off the frost ghost.”

Shi Zhen collapsed to her knees in pain, seemingly stripped of her former haughty demeanor, left only with the dishevelment of a loser.

In truth, the reason the Blood Soul Ghost struck so viciously was because of what Su Ming had always said—if someone surrendered from the start, they could be spared.

But if someone was hostile from the beginning, even if not killed, they should be crippled.

The Blood Soul Ghost was now simply following Su Ming’s orders, temporarily disabling Shi Zhen.

Since there was no surrender command, the match continued, until either the frost ghost could no longer fight or Shi Zhen died.

Su Lin watched Su Ming’s several battles and guessed his combat principles—kind to friends, ruthless to enemies.

Su Lin sighed. This truly bore the shadow of the late emperor. He remembered how the late emperor had been like a brother to him, and how he too had relentlessly pursued his enemies.

By now, Su Ming had become the center of attention. This 18-year-old youth actually dared to prevent a surrender on a national livestream—one could see how ruthless this person was…

Su Ming fought his way to the frost ghost, using the Chef Ghost Leader as cover, now less than a meter away from it.

This distance was dangerous. Theoretically, Su Ming and the Chef Ghost Leader’s combat power wasn’t enough to get them this close. If the frost ghost wanted to take them both out in one move, at minimum both would be severely injured.

Su Ming cut his finger, and blood began to seep from the wound, but at this distance, he still couldn’t inject his blood into the frost ghost’s body.

The Ice Crystal Turtle shouted, “Boss, let me help you!”

With that, the Ice Crystal Turtle manipulated the snow on the field, directly replicating the snow leopard’s ultimate move—avalanche. A massive barrage of snowballs hurtled toward the frost ghost.

The frost ghost hastily raised an ice shield to block. The two forces collided, and bone-piercing cold air rushed straight toward the audience stands.

“No way, can it get this cold in July?”

“Is this the kind of effect students can produce? Weren’t they supposed to be a useless generation?”

“Hey, you up there, watching less internet would do you some good.”

Shi Zhanlong now understood everything. If Su Ming wanted to snatch back the frost ghost right now, then he definitely had connections to the Mo Family!

The Black-Robed Man watched Shi Zhanlong’s reaction. Hmm, he seemed too clever for his own good. He couldn’t be kept alive then—he’d be killed along with the others when the time came.

Meanwhile, Shi Zhen was caught in the avalanche’s crossfire, completely buried beneath the snow, losing consciousness entirely.

The frost ghost sensed Shi Zhen’s condition. She knew this was the best opportunity to leave—breaking the contract now would cause her the least harm.

Taking advantage of the snow cover, Su Ming stealthily injected the Blood God into the frost ghost’s body. The frost ghost suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of submission, an innate instinct to obey Su Ming.

Unable to resist, the frost ghost knelt down: “I am willing to follow any arrangement you have.”

Su Ming was taken aback. Was it really this effective?

Ghost Immortal System: “Now that you’ve subdued the frost ghost, bring it to the rest area. Someone will meet you there.”

Su Ming said to the frost ghost, “Then sever your connection with Shi Zhen and follow me.”

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the frost ghost forcibly severed the contract, its power plummeting to the early Second Realm, and its ghost body suffered severe damage.

Shi Zhanlong was furious. He was certain that Su Ming was definitely a member of the Mo Family, and he intended to confront her right away.

At that moment, the Black-Robed Man sent him a telepathic message: “Do you want revenge?”

Shi Zhanlong was startled: “Who are you?”

The Black-Robed Man sneered inwardly. He was just stalling for time anyway, since he figured he wouldn’t survive past tomorrow. He might as well have some fun.

Black-Robed Man: “In a moment, someone will give you a million in cash. Give me five hundred thousand, and I’ll secretly help you kill Su Ming.”

Shi Zhanlong: “Who are you? What realm are you at?”

Black-Robed Man: “I’m on good terms with your daughter. Seeing her humiliated, I’ve decided to lend you a hand. I’m at the Early Ninth Realm.”

Shi Zhanlong’s mind was buzzing. When did his daughter ever have dealings with someone like this? But on second thought, it was probably another family trying to curry favor with him…

Shi Zhanlong probed: “So, what do you plan to do?”

Based on the military strategist’s intelligence, the Black-Robed Man replied: “We can use Zhao Pei’s soul-binding ghost to extract Su Ming’s soul. Then you can ask whatever you want, or if you don’t want to ask, just kill her directly.”

Shi Zhanlong thought it over, but since Su Ming was already affiliated with the military, killing her outright was out of the question.

However, he couldn’t let that old bastard Li Xiang off easy either. That guy had just swindled him out of a lot of money, so he had to bleed him dry.

Shi Zhanlong: “Let me think it over. I’ll give you an answer tonight.”

The Black-Robed Man smiled. It seemed his stalling had worked, and Shi Zhanlong had completely abandoned the idea of confronting Su Ming.

At that moment, the sound of an ambulance siren rang out. After the snow leopard’s injury, the backlash from the frost ghost forcibly severing the contract, being wounded by the Blood Soul Ghost, and being buried in the avalanche, Shi Zhen was hanging by a thread.

This was also the first time someone had been seriously injured so far. Previously, the worst cases were just contracted ghosts or beasts getting hurt. No one had expected things to get this severe.

Principal of Vermilion Bird Academy: “My god, Su Ming hasn’t even used her Sword Ghost yet. If she did, how terrifying would that be?”

Principal of Black Tortoise Academy asked: “Is her Sword Ghost really as strong as the Peak Eighth Realm?”

Principal of Vermilion Bird Academy smiled: “Let me put it this way. In our previous new student trial, aside from the Vermilion Bird going missing and the Flood Dragon leaving for unknown reasons, the Sword Ghost alone wiped out all the ghosts and beasts at the Third Realm and above in our trial.”

Everyone present gasped in shock. But the situation wasn’t looking good right now. On the academy side, only Su Ming had advanced, while all three members of the Heavenly Saint Sect had won.

Principal of Azure Dragon Academy: “Actually, I think this is unfair. These kids have been fighting for days and are all carrying injuries. Those bastards from the Heavenly Saint Sect just jumped straight into the battle.”

Principal of Vermilion Bird Academy: “It doesn’t matter. I believe Su Ming will take first place.”

}

In truth, all four principals present knew that the duel between Guo Dong and Su Ming was the true clash of titans—unfortunately, they had met in the semifinals.

Su Lin had been keeping an eye on Qing Yun of the Heavenly Saint Sect all day. The man had no spirit beast or ghost pet, yet he had defeated his opponent relying solely on his physical cultivation—a testament to his strength.

However, from the man’s every move and stance, Su Lin could tell he had never received formal training. Still, with that single blade brimming with ghostly qi, he had gravely wounded his opponent’s spirit beast.

Su Lin said to the Black-Robed Man, “Seems like a promising talent. We might consider turning him.”

The Black-Robed Man replied, “Tomorrow’s plan remains unchanged. Go to the backstage area to meet Su Ming—Mo Shuang has already gone ahead.”

Watching Shi Zhanlong hastily board the ambulance and head to the nearest hospital with Shi Zhen, Su Lin knew this particular nuisance had been temporarily dealt with.