Chapter 153: Spirit Medium Art: Summoning
This kick, Yang Haoran did not hold back at all, using his full strength. Du Xiao was sent flying, and even while still in mid-air, he painfully spat out a mouthful of blood.
After kicking away this young man who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth, Yang Haoran didn't continue his attack. Instead, his gaze shifted to the Skin-Borrowing Ghost kneeling on the ground.
The Skin-Borrowing Ghost's expression changed, and without a second thought, he immediately tried to flee.
Yang Haoran seemed to have anticipated this. Just as the Skin-Borrowing Ghost was about to rise, a black chain, as thick as an arm, coiled around his body.
If it had been back at Tianhe Hospital, such a chain, formed from Spirit Power like Yang Haoran's, would have been nothing but trash; he could have shattered it instantly.
But now, he had the will but lacked the strength. His spirit body was too weak, and he could no longer shatter the chain.
At the same time, the Soul-Gathering Bead, which had been floating beside Yang Haoran's body, reappeared above the Skin-Borrowing Ghost's spirit body. A powerful suction emanated, completely enveloping the Skin-Borrowing Ghost's spirit body.
The Skin-Borrowing Ghost struggled fiercely, but to no avail. He knew that begging Yang Haoran for mercy was useless, so his face once again twisted into a ferocious grimace, baring his fangs at Yang Haoran, his expression savage.
Yang Haoran sneered inwardly. The Skin-Borrowing Ghost had only just knelt there, begging for mercy, feigning everything purely for survival. Now, knowing that feigning pitifulness was useless, he immediately exposed his true nature.
“Let go of me! You let go of me! I'll eat you! I'll eat you alive! ”
The Skin-Borrowing Ghost roared, but the smile on Yang Haoran's face remained, and he intensified the activation of the Soul-Gathering Bead.
With a reluctant shriek of agony, the Skin-Borrowing Ghost was forcibly drawn into the Soul-Gathering Bead. It was only then that Du Xiao, clutching his lower abdomen, struggled back to his feet.
“You—you stop! ”
He didn't even have time to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. Du Xiao wanted to stop Yang Haoran, but it was already too late. Not only had the Skin-Borrowing Ghost been collected into the Soul-Gathering Bead, but the Soul-Gathering Bead itself had been re-embedded into the ring.
Yang Haoran smiled as he looked at Du Xiao, who was trembling with rage. With a shaky finger, he pointed at Yang Haoran, unable to utter a single word for a long time.
Seeing Du Xiao's reaction, Yang Haoran smoothed down his long hair and asked with a smile, “My hair's gotten a bit long. It's about time I had it trimmed, don't you think? ”
“Pfft! ”
Du Xiao was so enraged that he spat out another mouthful of blood. Yang Haoran's sudden sneak attack had indeed caused him significant injury, but it wasn't enough to make him spit blood again.
This mouthful of blood, at this moment, was entirely due to rage assaulting his heart, provoked by Yang Haoran.
“Your hair won't need trimming anymore, because I'll cut off your entire head! ”
Watching Du Xiao's exasperated state, Yang Haoran's eyes narrowed into crescent moons. He spoke with a smile, “That's how young people are, always getting angry over small things. It's very bad for your health. You could try to be a bit more mature, a bit more composed. ”
“Screw your sister! You stole my Guardian Yin Spirit, harmed my body, and now you mock me! This isn't over today! I must kill you! I'll duel you! ”
Du Xiao cursed and roared, seemingly trying to vent his inner fury through this display.
Yang Haoran nodded with a smile, saying, “Truly, a newborn calf fears no tiger. Very well then! ”
“You're seeking death! ” Du Xiao roared. Then, his hands rapidly formed seals, and another furious shout erupted from his mouth: “Spirit Medium Art: Summoning! ”
A fierce gust of Yin wind suddenly swept through the entire cemetery. As the wind howled, it was accompanied by waves of mournful ghostly wails.
Under its influence, the surrounding temperature plummeted instantly, as if one were trapped in an ice cellar.
Yang Haoran did not seize the opportunity to attack. He simply stood there quietly, watching Du Xiao with a smile.
Around Du Xiao's body, several Wánglíng now appeared. Their eyes were vacant, as if they had lost their own thoughts and consciousness.
“Kill him for me! ”
Du Xiao roared, pointing sharply at Yang Haoran. The Wánglíng behind him, upon hearing Du Xiao's command, rose into the air uniformly, as if controlled puppets receiving orders, and, shrieking like ghosts, lunged at Yang Haoran.
The smile on Yang Haoran's face remained, and he stood perfectly still, allowing these Wánglíng to lunge at him.
Du Xiao's Spirit Medium Art: Summoning was merely the most basic of Spirit Medium arts. It could summon all ghosts within a certain range and then control them for one's own use.
However, it could only control minor entities like Wánglíng. If it summoned beings above Wánglíng, the Spirit Medium would be unable to control them; whether the entity was willing to help depended entirely on their own choice.
At this moment, Du Xiao had unleashed the Spirit Medium Art, summoning all the nearby Wánglíng and bringing them under his complete control. Yet, in Yang Haoran's eyes, this approach was exceedingly childish.
Firstly, it was still afternoon, and the sun hung high in the sky. Under such conditions, summoning Wánglíng would cause them considerable harm; even if Yang Haoran did nothing, these Wánglíng would be unable to endure in the sunlight for long.
Secondly, Wánglíng inherently possessed no offensive power. Even if forcibly summoned by the Spirit Medium Art, they would cause Yang Haoran no harm whatsoever.
The Spirit Medium Art: Summoning is actually a very practical and important secret art for Spirit Mediums. Generally, when a Spirit Master needs to feed their Guardian Spirit, they will unleash the Spirit Medium Art: Summoning, calling forth Wánglíng for their Guardian Spirit to devour.
It can also be employed against enemies; however, not in the way Du Xiao was doing now, using Wánglíng for combat. Wánglíng themselves possess no offensive power; using them against an enemy serves no purpose other than to scare people.
The reason this art is said to be usable against enemies is predicated on summoning powerful ghosts that are superior to Wánglíng. Once such a ghost is summoned, the Spirit Master can negotiate terms with it and then enlist the powerful ghost's help—that is the correct usage of Spirit Medium Art: Summoning.
Yet, at present, Du Xiao was actually controlling a group of utterly powerless Wánglíng to lunge at Yang Haoran, which made Yang Haoran wonder if this young man had a screw loose.
“This works out perfectly, saves me the trouble of finding you one by one. ”
Yang Haoran said with a chuckle, then, with a wave of his hand, the Soul-Gathering Bead whistled forth, flying to meet the lunging Wánglíng.
As the Soul-Gathering Bead was activated, a tremendous suction emanated. The lunging Wánglíng were swept up by this immense force and all drawn into the Soul-Gathering Bead.
Du Xiao froze, as if only then realizing that Wánglíng, apart from being able to scare people, seemed to have no other purpose. Sending these Wánglíng to lunge at a Night Watcher was no different from seeking one's own death.
“And you still expect to graduate from your apprenticeship like this? It seems you've returned everything your master taught you. ”
Yang Haoran put away the Soul-Gathering Bead, and, still smiling, walked towards Du Xiao.
Du Xiao's expression turned ugly. Unwilling to concede, he cursed loudly, “This cemetery is truly f***ing poor! There's nothing but a few Wánglíng—not even a single Half-step Evil Spirit! If there were, you, this temporary worker, would be long dead by now! ”
“Truly arrogant. But you'd best continue to be arrogant. The more arrogant, the better. That way, I'll be able to act with a clear conscience and be a bit more ruthless. ”
As Yang Haoran spoke, he lightly flicked his right hand. A clatter of chains sounded, and in his grasp appeared a chain coalesced from Spirit Power.
In truth, he had already collected the Skin-Borrowing Ghost and, under Du Xiao's Summoning Art, gathered the other Wánglíng in the cemetery. He could have left then and there, but he didn't. Naturally, it was because of this Spirit Medium, Du Xiao.
It wasn't that Yang Haoran had a peculiar fetish for bullying young men. Rather, this Du Xiao was truly too arrogant. A fellow so arrogant yet so lacking in strength—if he wasn't made to feel pain just once, he'd probably never realize how vast the outside world truly was.
Moreover, Spirit Mediums and the Underworld Office had always been at odds. If he hadn't encountered them, so be it; he wouldn't be bored enough to seek them out. But since he had encountered one, he naturally couldn't just let it go.
For both public and private reasons, he had no justification to simply walk away.
He felt that he ought to do something.
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