Simultaneous time travel: But our system is out of sync!

The dim light at the entrance of the passage was fragmented by the sudden surge of figures.

However, the moment those nine figures, with an air of arrogance and a hint of barely perceptible urgency, filed out and stepped into the empty hall, time seemed to be gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand.

They seemed to have been collectively frozen in place by Sun Wukong's magic spell in mythology. One second they were walking with the sinister steps of someone who had succeeded in their plan, and the next second they were like nine wax figures that had suddenly cooled down, stiffly nailed to the spot.

The air was still, and only their suddenly contracting pupils and hissing gasps for air sounded particularly jarring in the deathly silence.

What you see is a sight that is enough to overturn your understanding.

It was neither the chaotic battlefield where both sides suffered heavy losses as expected, nor the submissive scene of hunters bowing their heads in obedience.

What met their nine pairs of horrified eyes was a mountain.

A chilling "mountain of people" built silently, layer upon layer, by living people—or rather, by once lively and fierce hunters.

The limbs overlap and squeeze at various twisted angles, like a broken doll carelessly discarded by a naughty child.

The heavy stench of blood, mixed with dust, sweat, and fear, permeated the air, almost solidifying into a tangible substance.

Some bodies at the "foot of the mountain" were still twitching unconsciously and emitting faint groans, while those at the "summit" were completely silent, their fate unknown. This scene was filled with savage violence and suffocating despair.

"I...I have so many hunters!" A gaunt old man's throat bobbed, his voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping, as he growled in disbelief.

The power they had carefully cultivated, enough to intimidate the region, had now become the foundation of this horrific spectacle.

"No...no way...they're all here?!"

Beside him, a well-dressed middle-aged man, now pale as a ghost, answered in a trembling voice, his fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of his luxurious clothes, his carefully maintained dignity completely gone.

He looked around, but his eyes were always fixed on the mountain.

After the initial shock came overwhelming anger and a deep-seated fear.

These nine individuals, who styled themselves as chess players, hid behind the scenes, meticulously weaving a web of conspiracy.

Instigating infighting among the hunters was the most ingenious part of their plan—to weaken these fierce minions by making them weaker and easier to control through infighting. This was a carefully crafted strategy of weakening and subjugating them.

Weakening them is for control, to keep these knives sharp, only with the hilts in their hands! It's to keep the hunters going through the bloody hunts, to gather the crucial, massive number of sacrifices!

What we're seeing now is nothing short of weakening! This is utter destruction! It's cutting off our very foundation! It's severing our entire base!

This "mountain of people" was like a resounding slap across their faces. Control? Control a bunch of immobile, lifeless, rotting flesh? Control my ass!

An indescribable panic, like a cold, venomous snake, instantly tightened around their hearts.

Sacrifices! Without powerful enough hunters to act as henchmen, how can we capture the remaining sacrifices?

If there aren't enough offerings, what if the "eternal life" grace bestowed by that "great one" isn't perfect?

What if it fails?

They risked everything, betrayed everyone, all for that eternal life! This sudden turn of events shattered their life's pursuit!

The immense fear instantly transformed into a rage that consumed reason. Nine gazes, like poisoned arrows, with a murderous glint in their eyes, focused on Lin Bei, the only figure standing before the "mountain of people" in the center of the hall.

It's him! It's this young man! He's the culprit! He's the jinx that destroyed their grand plan!

"You deserve to die—!"

A roar filled with rage and murderous intent tore through the stagnant air.

Of the nine, the most robust-looking ronin with a thick beard was the first to lose control.

An immense rage, like lava breaching the dam of reason, engulfed him. His eyes were bloodshot, his beard and hair stood on end, like a lion utterly enraged. The hard stone slab beneath his feet groaned under his weight, cracks spreading like a spiderweb.

"Do you know what you've done?!" His voice was like rolling thunder, echoing throughout the hall, every word filled with deep-seated hatred.

"Are you tired of living?!"

Extreme anger caused him to completely lose his mind.

His mind was completely consumed by overwhelming hatred for destroying the hunters and ruining the plan, and he even completely ignored the terrifying meaning that the "mountain of people" in front of him represented—this was not a toy castle that the hunters had willingly built, but a masterpiece that this young man had casually thrown up like trash with absolute power!

"Clang—!"

A piercing metallic scraping sound rang out, and the gleaming katana was instantly drawn, its blade slicing a chilling glint in the dim light.

The bearded ronin channeled all his strength into his legs, and like an arrow released from a bow, he charged forward with overwhelming force, his blade aimed directly at Lin Bei's throat! The air seemed to be cleaved apart by this strike, emitting a piercing shriek.

Faced with this powerful and deadly blow, capable of splitting boulders, Lin Bei didn't even bother to lift his eyelids. He didn't even adopt any defensive stance, simply standing casually in place, as if the one charging at him wasn't a fierce warrior, but a buzzing fly.

Just as the sharp tip of the knife was about to touch the skin of his throat, Lin Bei slightly raised his eyes, raised an eyebrow, and curled the corner of his mouth into an almost playful smile, his tone as calm as if he were commenting on the weather:

"oh?".

There was no trace of tension in that voice; instead, there was a hint of surprise and...admiration?

"How dare you draw your sword against me?"

He paused, calmly meeting the ronin's bloodshot eyes, and clearly uttered a few words.

I admire your courage.

Before the words were even finished, a sudden change occurred!

The bearded ronin, who had charged towards Lin Bei with immense force and lightning speed, his blade almost touching Lin Bei's skin, was instantly frozen as if by an invisible force.

He remained frozen in place, his body leaning forward, gripping the knife with both hands, ready to charge at full speed, only a step away from Lin Bei!

Time seemed to freeze once again.

His muscles were taut as rocks, and he couldn't move even a finger.

Only those eyes, widened to their limit by extreme horror, trembled wildly and uncontrollably in their sockets, their pupils shrinking to the size of pinpoints, clearly reflecting Lin Bei's calm face.

Large beads of sweat, like beads from a broken string, rushed from his forehead, temples, and stubble, gathering, rolling down, and hitting the cold floor with a soft but unsettling "plop." His breathing became extremely weak and rapid, his chest heaving violently, yet he couldn't inhale much air. His face drained of color in an instant, turning ashen.

Finished!

At this moment, the bearded ronin felt as if he had one foot in the grave.

It seems like he's not going to live any longer!

His eyes, which had been thoroughly washed away by fear, became clearer than ever before.

All the anger, murderous intent, and mania vanished without a trace, like a thin mist under the sunlight.

Instead, he was filled with a deep, pure regret and a fear that could freeze his soul! The fear was so intense that it almost flowed from his trembling eyes.

He regretted it!

He shouldn't have come up here!

No, he shouldn't have come out of that secret room!

Although the demon in the secret room also terrified him, at least... at least that demon wouldn't be like the person in front of him, able to attack with his bare hands—

His gaze was fixed on Lin Bei's right hand.

His precious sword, which had accompanied him for half his life, cut hair with a single blow, slicing through iron like mud, and drinking the blood of countless enemies, was now being held by Lin Bei's right hand... no, by the index finger and thumb of Lin Bei's right hand, which he casually extended, as if plucking a flower.

That's not even the scariest part.

What terrified the bearded ronin the most was that the indestructible blade tip, forged from refined steel, was melting at a visible speed between Lin Bei's seemingly ordinary fingers!

Hiss!

A faint, teeth-grinding sound came from behind.

The bright metallic luster quickly dimmed, turned red, softened, and then transformed into drops of molten, scalding hot iron, like lava, which slowly dripped down between Lin Bei's fingers.

Molten iron dripped onto the floor beneath their feet, instantly scorching small, blackened pits with a hissing sound and sending up wisps of pungent smoke.

The scene was bizarre and terrifying!

It was as if Lin Bei's fingers were not flesh and blood, but a miniature furnace containing endless high temperature!

The terrifyingly high temperature, enough to melt steel, caused the bearded ronin's face to burn and his hair to curl, even from a distance.

Little did he know that what Lin Bei was gathering at his fingertips at that moment was a qualitative change in power brought about by his mental strength increasing eightfold!

That was almost a tangible form of solar fire, with its core temperature approaching the terrifyingly high temperature of the sun's surface!

Lin Bei's powerful and refined spiritual energy allowed him to reach a completely new level of control over the True Fire of the Sun.

This is no longer a simple act of covering one's arms with the true fire of the sun for attack or defense, but rather an act of compressing and condensing the vast power of the true fire of the sun into a small space, generating an extreme high temperature that is enough to incinerate everything!

If this True Fire of the Sun had not originated from the "Furnace of Yang Qi," and if Lin Bei had not tempered himself with the True Fire of the Sun for a long time, making his muscles, bones, and flesh exceptionally tough, and if he had not had incomparably powerful Yang Qi as his foundation, his fingers would probably have turned to ashes along with the knife the moment they touched it.

Even so, maintaining this extreme condensation and high temperature requires a brief period of preparation and cannot be used instantly for attacks while moving at high speed.

Otherwise, with these methods alone, Lin Bei was confident that he could strike at the heart of the matter right now and go find the Ghost King Muzan to challenge him.

However, Lin Bei was fully aware of this limitation that "it cannot be used for high-speed attacks," but the bearded ronin was completely unaware of it!

Feeling the oppressive heat so close to his eyes—enough to melt steel and distort the air—and watching his prized sword melt away like a candle, the bearded ronin's heart nearly stopped beating; he felt utterly terrified!

He had never heard of or seen such a method before!

This completely exceeded his understanding of the limits of human strength!

This is simply divine and demonic power! If those two fingers had shifted even slightly, or if that terrifying heat had spread even slightly to his body... he had no doubt that within a fraction of a second, before he could even scream, he would have been completely vaporized, leaving not even a trace of ashes, not even a speck of dust!

At this moment, eternal life, the blessing of demons, and the might of Lord Muzan all seemed so pale and laughable before this humanoid furnace, like the babbling of a child.

Such outrageous monsters exist among humans!

What about their previous plans?

Even if he were to miraculously become a ghost and gain so-called immortality, so what?

Wouldn't they just be crushed like an ant by the other party?

The awe of power and the fear of death completely overwhelmed the desire for immortality.

Just as the bearded ronin stood frozen in place, his heart drenched in icy fear, the remaining eight people at the entrance of the passage, due to their perspective and distance, failed to see the horrifying details of the melting iron and steel.

They only saw the bearded man charging forward menacingly, but when he reached his target, he froze, standing motionless, not even bringing down his knife.

"Big Beard! What the hell are you doing?!"

The old woman, with her wrinkled face and mean eyes, was the first to lose her temper. She broke the suffocating silence by shouting and cursing in a sharp, piercing voice, like fingernails scraping glass.

"Standing there like a wooden stake! Dragging your feet and wasting my time!"

She already disliked this reckless ronin, and now she had found a reason to vent her anger.

"Are you even capable of this? If not, get out of here! Don't just occupy the toilet without doing your job!"

The old woman was spitting everywhere.

"Get out of the way and let the others handle this! Quickly subdue this troublemaker so we can report to 'that person' as soon as possible! Don't keep him waiting; can you bear the responsibility for that?!"

The more she cursed, the more enthusiastic she became. A sliver of malicious pleasure flashed in her cloudy old eyes. She deliberately raised her voice, speaking in a tone loud enough for the entire hall to hear clearly as she exposed her shortcomings.

"Besides! Weren't you the one yelling the loudest down there just now? Saying things like 'We'll teach those troublemakers a lesson,' 'We'll make them wish they were dead,' 'We'll skin them alive and burn them to a crisp!'"

Those threats, tsk tsk, I'm sick of hearing them! What? When it comes to actually fighting, you chicken out? You whine? Turns out you're just a silver-plated spearhead who only knows how to talk!"

These sharp and sarcastic words, like the last straw that broke the camel's back, clearly reached the ears of the bearded ronin.

Finished!

The bearded ronin let out a wail in his heart, utterly despondent, no longer even wanting to curse the old hag, only boundless despair remained.

This is really like rubbing salt in the wound! Originally, the other party didn't seem to intend to kill him immediately, so he might still have a sliver of hope, maybe... maybe he could beg for mercy?

But now, this old hag has blurted out all those suicidal threats. Isn't she pushing him into a fire pit—no, into lava? Can he survive? It would be a miracle if he did!

As expected, Lin Bei's reaction was exactly what he had anticipated.

The bearded ronin clearly felt the temperature emanating from the two fingers gripping the tip of his sword suddenly rise again! The acrid smell in the air intensified. He looked up in terror, meeting Lin Bei's icy gaze. Gone was the playfulness from before; only pure, icy killing intent remained.

Lin Bei slowly raised his eyelids, his gaze like a tangible icicle piercing the bearded ronin's face, which instantly turned ashen. His tone remained unhurried, yet carried a chilling, judgmental quality:

"You," Lin Bei's voice rang out clearly, each word striking the ronin's already fragile nerves, "Do you have any last words?"

These words tolled like a death knell in the bearded ronin's mind.

He resignedly took a deep breath. It was an extremely difficult breath, as if he had used up all his strength.

He abruptly closed his eyes, as if trying to shut out all his fear, resentment, and last lingering attachment into the darkness. Just a moment later, he snapped his eyes open again!

In that instant he opened his eyes, something within them shattered completely. It was the instinct for survival, all the glimmer of hope, and a certain obsession of being a samurai.

He looked at Lin Bei, his eyes no longer filled with the resentment of impending death, but with a calm that came from profound understanding, and a sense of helplessness in the face of an inescapable fate.

"I……"

His voice was hoarse and dry, yet strangely clear.

"I know I'm not a good person."

He readily admitted it.

"He also did many things...that he shouldn't have done. Murder, arson, aiding and abetting evil...his sins are grave."

He paused for a moment, his gaze seemingly piercing through Lin Bei, looking at some empty point, carrying a hint of weariness and relief.

"But I... I've just seen too much death... far too much... so I've become more afraid of death than anyone else."

"I just... I just want to live."

This is the humblest, yet most genuine, reason.

"To survive... I compromised... I fell... I sold myself to the devil..."

His gaze refocused on Lin Bei's face, and a complex, almost liberated look appeared on his face.

"You're very strong...that's...good."

He seemed to see some hope of breaking through this darkness.

"There's something in the secret underground chamber..."

"call out--!"

"call out--!"

Just as those two crucial words were about to be uttered, two barely audible yet incredibly fast whistles tore through the air without warning!

They shot out from behind the bearded ronin like two treacherous and deadly venomous snakes!

The target was aimed directly at the back of his neck!

Lin Bei's pupils suddenly contracted!

His attention was completely focused on the secret the bearded ronin was about to reveal, and he never expected that the enemy's own forces would launch such a precise and deadly backstab at this moment and in this way! The distance was too short, the speed of the hidden weapon was too fast, and the person who made the move had obviously planned it for a long time, and the timing was perfect!

Lin Bei's reaction was as fast as a ghost, but he was still a beat too slow! He suddenly exerted force with the fingers holding the knife tip, trying to pull the ronin away. At the same time, his other hand shot out like lightning to try to intercept, but he only felt two cold and sharp objects with afterimages grazing past his fingertips!

"Well--!"

The bearded ronin's body stiffened abruptly! His eyes, which had just revealed a sense of relief and liberation, were instantly filled with extreme shock and unspeakable pain, bulging outwards as if they were about to break free from their sockets!

He opened his mouth wide, as if he wanted to utter a final cry, to finish telling that life-or-death secret, but all that rose to his throat was thick, bubbly blood foam that smelled of rust!

"Hmm...hmm..."

The unfinished words were completely choked off, replaced by desperate and eerie gasps, like a broken bellows, as his throat was blocked by blood and ruptured trachea. His body convulsed violently a few times, his eyes quickly lost focus, and the light of his life was extinguished like a candle flickering in the wind.

He stared intently at Lin Bei, as if trying to convey something with his last bit of strength, but ultimately it was all in vain.

His tall body, as if stripped of its spine, crashed forward with a thud, striking the cold ground. Two thin, sharp iron spikes, gleaming with a cold, menacing light, were embedded in the back of his neck!

Lin Bei's gaze instantly sharpened like a knife, sweeping sharply towards the remaining eight people!

The hall was deathly silent; you could hear a pin drop. The air was thick with the stench of blood, burnt flesh, and a chilling aura of betrayal.

The eight people had different expressions on their faces: some were terrified, some were indifferent, some were pretending to be calm, and one was even slightly relieved.

The bearded ronin's trachea and carotid artery were precisely pierced; the technique was ruthless and professional.

The perpetrator was undoubtedly one of these eight people!

Lin Bei's mind raced.

Why?

Aren't they in cahoots?

Why did he suddenly turn on the man with the beard?

The only explanation is that what the bearded ronin is about to reveal—about what's in the "underground chamber"—is a secret they absolutely cannot divulge!

The secret was so important that it even outweighed the lives of his companions!

After a moment of astonishment, Lin Bei's lips curled into a cold smile.

A puzzle?

Very good. He likes puzzles.

Especially when the answer lies hidden in these eight living "clues".

The bearded man is dead?

It's okay. Aren't there still eight people who know the inside story?

Since they were willing to kill their companions to keep the secret, Lin Bei was even more interested in getting them to talk.

He slowly withdrew his gaze, no longer looking at the still-warm corpse, but instead turning his attention back to the eight survivors, each with a different expression and a hidden agenda. His eyes were calm, yet carried an undeniable air of control.

"Alright," Lin Bei's voice wasn't loud, but it echoed clearly in the deathly silent hall.

Like a judge striking his gavel, "Now, it's your turn."