From the moment he started to activate the power field space with his mind to the moment he was thrown down and forced to stop, only about half a second had passed. In that short half second, he actually consumed nearly two hundred soul power... Doesn't that mean that if he flew for one second, he would consume at least three hundred soul power, and if he flew for ten seconds, he would consume three thousand soul power?
Zhou Ziwei felt an urge to vomit blood. He had thought he had suddenly mastered such a magical ability, allowing him to fly around like Superman wearing his underwear inside out. But who would have thought that this was a skill that devoured people without spitting out the bones... Three thousand soul power in ten seconds... He didn't even have three thousand soul power in total... If he had accidentally flown for ten or eight seconds, wouldn't he have ended up with his soul scattered because he had exhausted all the soul power in his sea of souls?
Volume 2 The Assassin's Nightmare Chapter 279: Collect Interest First
Feeling that he only had less than two thousand units of soul power left in his body, Zhou Ziwei felt like crying. He hadn't used the Soul Covering move at the beginning because he was worried about consuming too much soul power when he fought the mysterious expert.
He hadn't expected that the mysterious expert to be so powerful. In the end, the expert still managed to deplete a significant portion of his soul power. Afterward, he inexplicably comprehended a force field space.
He initially thought this force field space was a treasure he had stumbled upon by chance, but who knew that after this series of tests, it turned out that the thing was actually a bottomless pit that devoured soul power... or... this skill could only be used as a last resort for escaping! He would never dare to use it lightly under normal circumstances.
Now that he's expended so much soul power, how will he possibly wipe out that mysterious organization once he reaches the Philippine Islands and discovers the black market assassin network's hideout? Will he rely solely on a barrage of Soul Pearls? While the Soul Pearls are indeed incredibly powerful, the problem is… will they all be gathered together, patiently waiting for him to bombard them? And who knows how many experts are within that black market assassin network? If he has to bombard them one by one, how many Soul Pearls will he have to consume?
At this moment, he only had a few dozen Soul Beads left. How many people could those Soul Beads kill? Moreover, what kind of trouble he would encounter when he actually reached the Black Market Assassin Network's lair was still unknown. Without several thousand units of Soul Power, if he encountered an insurmountable enemy, even if he wanted to use the Force Field Space to escape, he would need that much Soul Power to sustain him...
Although there is a bullet in Zhou Ziwei's body that locks in a solidified soul, which can provide him with soul power, Zhou Ziwei has no idea how much soul power can be extracted from the bullet.
Placing one's hopes for survival on an unknown factor is not a wise choice, so replenishing one's soul power as much as possible is the top priority now.
However, time was running out before he reached the Philippine Islands. He could only afford to wait another day, and in that time he simply wouldn't have enough time to go to the bat cave near Tengchong to absorb the soul power of those ghost bats.
It seems we'll have to try and find a solution here in the island nation first...
If all else fails, we'll have to go find that Masao Mita again.
In fact, even if there was no need to replenish his soul power, Zhou Ziwei would not let Mita Masao off easily. Although there was no evidence to prove that the sudden appearance of this mysterious expert challenging him was related to Mita Masao, even a fool could tell that it must have been that guy's doing. Otherwise, Zhou Ziwei had not had any conflicts with anyone else in Japan, so why would that mysterious expert specifically target him?
Zhou Ziwei certainly wouldn't believe that the mysterious expert was there to seek justice for some high-ranking official.
You dare to scheme against me? You're dead!
Zhou Ziwei cursed under his breath, then looked up at the sky. He saw that the eastern sky was gradually brightening, but none of the six Kun Chong he had sent out had returned with any news. Zhou Ziwei guessed that the mysterious expert had probably already escaped from here, otherwise... if that guy was so badly injured and hadn't escaped by now, he would probably be dead by now.
After waiting a while longer, still without any reports from the Kunchong, Zhou Ziwei finally decided to stop sitting there waiting foolishly. He was pressed for time and didn't have much time to waste.
Instead of waiting here, we might as well find that old bastard Masao Mita and ask him who that mysterious master really is.
As long as we know the details of that mysterious expert, even if we miss today, we can always find a way to make trouble for that guy later. In short, that mysterious expert killed Zhou Ziwei's three Kunchong, and Zhou Ziwei will never let that guy go no matter what.
Thinking of this, Zhou Ziwei leaped up and ran quickly down the mountain.
However, just as he moved, he suddenly sensed a small fruit fly flying rapidly toward him from a distance.
Is there news?
Zhou Ziwei was slightly taken aback and quickly stopped to wait. After only a dozen seconds, a small fruit fly flew into Zhou Ziwei's side and then transmitted a piece of soul memory to him through soul connection.
That... that guy is actually dead!
Zhou Ziwei's expression faltered slightly, and then, following the guidance of the little fruit fly, he quickly turned around and ran in another direction.
A few minutes later, Zhou Ziwei followed the fruit fly to the secluded path behind the mountain, where he saw a withered corpse lying quietly on the ground. Or... it could only be considered a half-corpse, because the corpse was severed from the legs down, and the wounds on the legs had not yet scabbed over. A large pool of blood flowed down the ground, staining the sand on the path red.
Seeing that the corpse was a dwarf in life, and judging from the location where the legs were severed, Zhou Ziwei could indeed recognize it as the mysterious expert he had fought with for half a day earlier, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Looks like this guy died from blood loss. What a lucky break for him... Hmph!
After a moment of silence, Zhou Ziwei shook his head slightly. Just as he was about to turn and leave, he suddenly remembered that although this mysterious expert was somewhat ugly, his strange skills were more powerful than Zhou Ziwei had ever seen before. If he could merge with this person's soul and learn his skill of disguising himself as wood or stone so that no one could tell the difference, or his skill of drilling holes with his bare hands, it would definitely greatly enhance his strength.
It would be such a pity to miss this opportunity.
Thinking of this, Zhou Ziwei immediately focused his mind and looked around, but soon he was disappointed to find that he did not see a single ghost in the surrounding area.
That's not right... It's still dark, the sun hasn't risen yet, so his soul shouldn't have disappeared immediately after he died. If his soul is gone, why isn't it guarding his body?
Zhou Ziwei was puzzled and looked around the corpse again. He suddenly noticed that there were messy footprints of another person next to the corpse, and his heart skipped a beat.
There's another person here? Who is this person, and what is their relationship with the dwarf?
Zhou Ziwei frowned slightly and carefully examined the footprints on the ground. He then discovered that the footprints only led up the mountain, with no trace of them coming down. Moreover, the footprints stopped right next to the corpse and then disappeared without a trace, as if the person had vanished into thin air.
Footprints vanished into thin air? How could this happen? Could it be that the person took off their shoes and ran away barefoot? But... why would the person want to hide their tracks and erase their footprints?
Zhou Ziwei felt increasingly confused, but then he finally noticed that the corpse's crooked neck looked a bit strange. So, he suppressed his disgust and took a step forward, then used his toe to hook the corpse's head and change its position. He was shocked to find that there were one or two rows of chilling teeth marks on the corpse's neck, as well as a fatal wound that had been sucked pale white...
Upon seeing this, Zhou Ziwei's pupils constricted sharply. After a long while, he murmured in horror, "He... he was actually bitten to death! And... it seems that this person not only bit him to death, but also drank every last drop of his remaining blood..."
Zhou Ziwei looked again at the deathly pale wound on the corpse's throat, which had been sucked dry and was completely devoid of any blood, and involuntarily shivered.
Could it be that this guy collapsed here due to his severe injuries, and just happened to run into his mortal enemy from his past life, which is why...
Zhou Ziwei hesitated for a moment, feeling that something was amiss. If the man was truly just the dwarf's nemesis, it wouldn't be surprising if he bit the dwarf to death and drained his blood. But why did his footprints mysteriously disappear afterward? The man's footprints were heavy, and it seemed he had just walked along a red dirt road, with his shoes leaving clear imprints. If he had bitten the dwarf to death and then turned to leave, he should have left some footprints... Could it be that he took off his shoes and ran barefoot, worried about being discovered?
Zhou Ziwei became more and more confused as he thought about it. He couldn't help but lean down next to the corpse and carefully observe the messy footprints on the ground for a while.
Suddenly, Zhou Ziwei's expression changed drastically...
This...this footprint doesn't seem to have really disappeared, but rather...it seems to have become countless times lighter all of a sudden.
With meticulous observation, Zhou Ziwei finally saw the footprints that had left the body. The footprints looked like the same ones that had come from there, but they were much, much shallower than before, as if the person had weighed over a hundred kilograms when they came, but only a few kilograms when they left.
How could this person's weight suddenly become lighter? That's completely impossible... Could it be... that this person learned some methods to increase their energy and lighten their body in a short period of time?
Zhou Ziwei's expression grew increasingly serious. He ignored the corpse and followed the barely perceptible footprints downhill for a distance. Suddenly, he noticed that the footprints stopped abruptly in front of a shallow pit. This time, no matter how Zhou Ziwei searched the surrounding area, he couldn't find any trace of them. It seemed that the footprints had truly disappeared completely.
It seems the other person either actually took off their shoes, or...
Zhou Ziwei looked at the pit in front of him, where the soil had clearly been disturbed, and his face immediately turned extremely ugly... because he suddenly thought of a terrifying possibility: that person had walked here, dug a hole in the ground, and disappeared underground...
No wonder we couldn't find that guy's ghost; it turns out... after the dwarf died, his soul possessed someone else's body.
Zhou Ziwei finally thought of the most likely possibility... that after he seriously injured the dwarf, he was too weak to escape down the mountain and was exhausted here. However, he was unlucky enough to run into an old enemy, who viciously bit his neck and drank all his blood.
It's hard to imagine how ferocious a person's soul would be if they were bitten on the neck and drained of all their blood. Especially since the deceased was a master of all sorts of bizarre martial arts in life… So, the dwarf's ghost would surely attack the murderer who drank his blood relentlessly. And could this dwarf… somehow somehow mastered the specific vibrational frequency necessary to enter other life forms, and then… usurp their place?
If this inference is true, then it means that... this mysterious master who was originally a dwarf has not actually died. Just like Zhou Ziwei was resurrected after his death, this dwarf has also changed into another body and been reborn.
This is definitely a very troublesome piece of bad news for Zhou Ziwei.
Without a doubt, if that dwarf could truly be reborn in a different body, or possess someone else's body with his soul, he would definitely try every means to avenge today's humiliation.
Being targeted by such a powerful expert is certainly not a pleasant experience.
Now Zhou Ziwei can only hope that the dwarf's ghost is just possessing someone else's body, and not that he has truly been reborn like himself.
If it's the former, then no matter how powerful this guy is, once he encounters Zhou Ziwei, Zhou Ziwei only needs to recite the Six-Syllable Mantra to purify and absorb the guy's soul without any suspense.
But if it's the latter... then the trouble will be much bigger.
Even if we can't find that person for the time being, we should at least learn more about them. Otherwise, if we end up with a mortal enemy but don't even know whether he's old or young, or what he looks like, that would be the biggest tragedy...
Thinking of this, Zhou Ziwei immediately summoned the other five Kun pets back, and then read through the soul memories of each of them during this period.
Unfortunately, Zhou Ziwei read through all of Kun Chong's soul memories but did not obtain any useful clues.
After several Kunlings blocked all the roads leading up and down the mountain, no one was seen going up or down the mountain.
It's likely that person had already reached the mountain before Kunchong sealed it off, and after being possessed by the dwarf, they escaped using the art of burrowing underground, so naturally they wouldn't have been discovered by Kunchong.
Zhou Ziwei followed the mountain path in the direction the footprints came from, all the way to the bottom of the mountain. After hesitating slightly, he found a farm of moderate size not far away at the foot of the mountain, but did not go into the farm to check anything.
Judging from the appearance, there are at least several dozen families living in that farm. Zhou Ziwei doesn't have time to check each family for clues right now. He can only make a note of this place and find someone else to investigate it in detail later, or wait for another opportunity...
Now it's time to go and cause trouble for that old guy, Masao Mita. Although Zhou Ziwei wasn't too happy with these Japanese devils, Masao Mita had done him a favor by helping him successfully complete his mission of joining the black market assassin network. So he really didn't plan to have any dealings with this family anymore, nor did he want to cause them any more trouble.
But... that old guy Masao Mita actually tricked Zhou Ziwei again afterward. If Zhou Ziwei were to let him off so easily again, he wouldn't be magnanimous, but an idiot.
Just as Zhou Ziwei was thinking of going back to cause trouble for Mita Masao, he looked up and saw several Japanese soldiers peeking in his direction. Looking at them, Zhou Ziwei felt a vague sense of familiarity; they seemed to be faces he had seen in the Mita family's enormous mansion. Zhou Ziwei's expression immediately darkened, and with a wave of his hand, a silver light flashed... instantly piercing through the heads of those Japanese soldiers one by one...
The six-syllable mantra began to be slowly recited in Zhou Ziwei's heart. Circles of red light flashed, and Zhou Ziwei's soul power was immediately replenished.
Hmph... Consider this a little interest I've collected so far!
After enlisting Blood Shadow's help, Masao Mita was feeling quite uneasy. He was filled with anxiety and regret, wondering if he had stirred up trouble. Since the other party had already said that their past grievances were settled, he shouldn't have caused any more trouble.
Then he thought that only after Blood Shadow killed that mysterious person could he truly rest easy...
After much thought, Masao Mita felt that the possibility of Blood Shadow failing was unlikely. After all, that guy was a veteran professional assassin, ranked eighth in the world's assassin world... This ranking wasn't just some random list from a gossip magazine, but was supposedly published by the most authoritative organization in the assassin world... It seems that this ranking changes every three years, and anyone who can be included in the top ten assassins is a truly terrifying existence.
In any case, in the island nation, only Blood Shadow is listed among the top ten assassins. Or you could say that Blood Shadow is the undisputed number one expert in the entire island nation.
In Masao Mita's mind, the mysterious figure who kidnapped his daughter and almost killed him should also be a native of Japan. Since that person was also Japanese, he was definitely no match for Blood Shadow, and he would surely die at Blood Shadow's hands...
As if hypnotizing himself, Masao Mita kept convincing himself that this was the only possible outcome... and then anxiously awaited his subordinates' report on the matter...
Soon, Masao Mita learned that Blood Shadow had already approached Zhou Ziwei. The two had a brief, probing exchange in a hot spring bath, after which Zhou Ziwei rushed to Dongshan, fifty miles away, to keep the appointment...
Immediately afterwards, his subordinates sent him a video recording of Zhou Ziwei walking towards Dongshan. When Masao Mita saw that Zhou Ziwei was actually running 50 miles at a speed exceeding the world track and field 100-meter record, he was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out of his head.
Volume 2 The Assassin's Nightmare Chapter 280: A Moment of Arrogance
What a complete pervert...
Seeing the video of Zhou Ziwei running at lightning speed, covering a kilometer in the blink of an eye, Masao Mita couldn't help but mutter a few words, and a sense of unease crept into his heart.
I wonder if this terrifying guy will actually be taken down by Blood Shadow? With his speed, even if he can't beat anyone, if he wants to run away, who can catch him?
However, Masao Mita then remembered that while his men could at least trace Zhou Ziwei's whereabouts, Blood Shadow had remained unseen by anyone despite his fame for so many years. This was clearly far beyond what Zhou Ziwei could achieve. Thinking this, he felt much more at ease...
However, Masao Mita was still not at ease about this matter, so he sent seven or eight people to keep watch at the foot of Higashiyama.
Sending those small fry up the mountain to watch the fight is pure nonsense. They'd probably be taken out by those two as soon as they got a little too close.
However, in Masao Mita's view, if those two ruthless men really fought on the mountain, only one of them would be able to come down alive. So the task he sent was simple: wait and see who could come down the mountain alive and then report back to him immediately.
In fact, Masao Mita knew that such surveillance might not actually reveal anything. After all, Blood Shadow was truly elusive, and even if Blood Shadow left the mountain after his victory, the few spies he had arranged would not be able to find any trace of him.
As for Zhou Ziwei... Masao Mita also knew almost nothing about Zhou Ziwei's identity, and had never even seen what Zhou Ziwei's true face looked like.
So... even if someone comes down from the mountain, Masao Mita might not be able to tell whether that person is Zhou Ziwei or Xueying.
However, no matter what, Masao Mita insisted on having people keep a close watch on the movements on the mountain. At times like these, knowing more is always better than knowing nothing.
Masao Mita waited anxiously all night, growing more and more flustered with each passing moment. He had initially believed that Blood Shadow, the world's eighth-ranked assassin, could easily kill Zhou Ziwei, but now it seemed how naive and ridiculous that idea had been.
Easy? Someone who can keep Blood Shadow busy all night without any results is no ordinary character. Even if Blood Shadow does manage to come down the mountain alive in the end, it will probably be a narrow victory. This shows how bad and risky this move by Mita Masao was.
What if the person coming down the mountain isn't Xueying but Zhou Ziwei?
Just as Masao Mita was growing increasingly anxious, he finally received a call from the surveillance personnel at the foot of the mountain...