Chapter 771 Tolling the Death Knell

"No..."

Shang Tianfeng suddenly panicked. He felt death drawing closer and closer. He tried with all his might to break free from Ghost Shadow’s embrace but found it futile. At this moment, Ghost Shadow was like a lock, binding him completely.

"Let me go! Let me go! No, please, I’m begging you, let me go..." Shang Tianfeng begged frantically, terrified.

Ghost Shadow paid him no heed. He could clearly feel his own life force combusting—everything was burning.

Self-detonation is imminent! Almost time! Brothers, don’t go on too far ahead! I’m coming!

"Ghost Shadow, you’re being too rash!"

Just then, a familiar voice, one that brought tears to Ghost Shadow’s eyes, rang out from behind him. A hand landed on his shoulder, and instantly, the self-combustion process halted.

Shang Tianfeng felt Ghost Shadow’s grip on him suddenly go limp and weak. Seizing the opportunity, he tore himself free and scrambled five meters away.

"I’m saved! Haha, I’m saved..." Shang Tianfeng laughed madly.

It’s so good to be alive! It feels wonderful just to breathe!

He gasped for air as he looked at the young man standing behind Ghost Shadow and asked, "Who are you?"

Ye Xiu ignored him. Ghost Shadow ignored him too.

Ghost Shadow dropped to his knees before Ye Xiu. "Young Master, I was careless. The hiding place I chose wasn’t secure enough, and it cost 29 of our brothers their lives. Please, punish me."

Shang Tianfeng was stunned. Is this young man the master of Ghost Shadow and the 29 intelligence agents? Is this the very person they were willing to die for, the man I’ve envied so fiercely?

"Get up. This isn’t your fault," Ye Xiu said, helping Ghost Shadow to his feet. "If anyone is to blame, it’s me for putting our brothers in such a risky situation. Go on, reattach their heads. They all have Life Totems; they won’t die."

He wanted to help reattach the heads himself, but he didn’t recognize these intelligence agents. With bodies and heads scattered on the ground, he had no way of knowing which head belonged to which body.

"Really?" Ghost Shadow’s eyes lit up. He hurried to match each head on the ground to its corresponding body, but without needle and thread, the heads wouldn’t stay attached to the necks.

That was when Ye Xiu intervened. He used the energy of the Life Totems to fuse the heads back onto their necks. This way, the Life Totems within their bodies would automatically heal their injuries until all 29 intelligence agents were resurrected.

"Life Totems?" Shang Tianfeng overheard Ye Xiu and asked in astonishment, "All 29 of them have Life Totems?"

Ye Xiu, still busy fusing heads to bodies, glanced at Shang Tianfeng and said coldly, "If I were you, I’d be using this time to run, not to satisfy my curiosity."

"Can I even escape?" Shang Tianfeng asked.

"You can try," Ye Xiu replied indifferently.

Shang Tianfeng turned and bolted.

Ye Xiu flicked his finger.

Shang Tianfeng’s body continued to run, but his head tumbled to the ground. His body staggered a good distance further before finally collapsing.

"It seems you can’t," Ye Xiu said with a cold smile.

「An hour later!」

The 29 intelligence agents gradually began to wake up.

"Is this damn place Hell?" one of them mumbled, looking around. It was night, and everything was pitch-black. Seeing his brothers and an unfamiliar young man, he asked, "Brothers, I heard there’s a woman in Hell named Meng Po who’s great at making soup. They say if you drink it, you lose your memory. Should we have some?"

Another agent chimed in, "That depends. Is she good-looking? Does she have a good figure?"

"What if she’s beautiful and has a great body?"

"Then we’ll do her!"

"Who goes first?"

"The Chief, of course!"

Ye Xiu chuckled. These guys certainly had a sense of humor.

At that, Ghost Shadow smacked the back of the head of the agent who’d joked about him.

"Ow!" the agent cried out in pain. He suddenly froze. "Pain? We’re not dead?"

The other 28 agents paused, stunned. Then, one of them slapped the man next to him. "Does it hurt?"

The man winced. "No kidding, of course it hurts! What did you hit me for?"

The one who had hit him explained, "I wanted to check if we were really alive. Seeing you yell in pain confirmed it. We’re all alive."

The agent who’d been slapped was furious. "Then why didn’t you hit yourself?"

The other agent replied sheepishly, "I was afraid it would hurt."

"You’re afraid of pain, but you think I’m not?"

The group erupted in laughter, the sound of their survival echoing through the abandoned factory.

Just then, one of the agents asked Ghost Shadow, "Chief, why aren’t we dead? And what about Shang Tianfeng?"

Ghost Shadow pointed at Ye Xiu. "The Young Master killed him."

Young Master?

All 29 intelligence agents turned their gaze toward Ye Xiu. In an instant, as if on springs, they all shot to their feet, incredibly tense yet buzzing with excitement.

"Haven’t you always wanted to meet the Young Master?" Ghost Shadow asked with a grin. "Now that you see him, why are you all acting like shy maidens, not making a peep?"

The 29 agents opened their mouths but didn’t know what to say. They simply stared at Ye Xiu, their fervent gazes saying it all.

"Don’t do such impulsive things again. No one in this world is worth you dying for," Ye Xiu reminded them, before changing the subject. "However, in light of your valiant, fearless performance this time, I’ll get each of you another Totem when I have the chance. Also, everyone is promoted one rank."

Under Ye Xiu’s strict management and promotion system, a higher rank meant an upgrade in all benefits.

The 29 intelligence agents were ecstatic. They didn’t really care about the Totems, promotions, or benefits; what mattered was receiving the Young Master’s praise and recognition.

"Ghost Shadow, I just acquired a dagger. Since you also use short weapons, I’ll give it to you," Ye Xiu said, handing the dagger he had pulled from Beishan Xiao’s head to Ghost Shadow.

"Thank you for the gift, Young Master!" Ghost Shadow knelt on one knee, raising both hands to accept the dagger.

The other 29 agents were instantly green with envy. To receive a personal gift from the Young Master was an unparalleled honor.

"Uh, Young Master, does this dagger have a name?" Ghost Shadow asked, caressing the blade lovingly.

"It probably does, but I don’t know it," Ye Xiu replied.

"Please, Young Master, bestow a name upon it," Ghost Shadow said, seizing the opportunity.

The 29 agents were furious. That shameless bastard! He received a personal gift from the Young Master and still isn’t satisfied? He even has the audacity to ask for a name! If Ye Xiu weren’t present, they would have ganged up on the shameless fool.

"Let’s call it the Soul-devouring Blade," Ye Xiu said after a moment’s thought. "This blade possesses a special ability that targets the Primordial Spirit."

"Thank you for the name, Young Master!" Ghost Shadow was overjoyed. He cast a smug look at the 29 intelligence agents, as if to say, Eat your hearts out. This isn’t for you.

The 29 agents seethed with indignation.

TICK. TOCK. TICK. TOCK...

Just then, the sound of a clock ticking began to reverberate through the air, chilling them to the core.

Ye Xiu’s expression turned grave. "’The death knell?’ Wolong and Fledgling Phoenix have sounded the death knell. They intend to control all the corpses on the island at once. What a grand scheme!"