Ou Xiangrong froze, his mind unable to process what was happening.

Dance? he repeated in his mind. The paranormal item was actually inviting him to dance.

Ou Xiangrong sneered coldly. There was no way he would accompany an enemy's dancing shoes in a battle. He immediately bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of tongue blood onto the gleaming white blade of his yanagiba.

As an experienced Evil-class Spirit Realm Walker, he had fought plenty of Nocturnal Specters and knew the particular skills of that class.

Paranormal items were renowned for their strangeness. Ou Xiangrong had once been entangled by a paranormal item for several days, making it extremely troublesome.

But their weakness was also obvious - they lacked sufficient actual killing power.

Moreover, paranormal items generally feared things with strong yang energy. For this type of item, which he suspected of housing a vengeful spirit, a mouthful of blood could suppress it.

No big problem.

The bouncing Red Dancing Shoes waited a few seconds. Seeing that the human before them was unwilling to dance, they seemed to get angry. The shoes glowed with a dark red light and rushed toward Ou Xiangrong, their soles tapping aggressively against the ground.

Ou Xiangrong stood his ground, waiting for the Red Dancing Shoes to approach. When they leaped toward the car hood to attack him, he calmly swung his yanagiba, trying to deal heavy damage to the vengeful spirit residing in the shoes.

However, when the blade slashed through the dancing shoes, there was no sensation of striking a solid object. The strange red shoes seemed to exist in another dimension beyond reality.

Bang, bang!

Ou Xiangrong was viciously kicked twice in the chest and face.

He experienced the same sensation he'd inflicted on Zhang Yuanqing—pain so intense his heart nearly stopped beating, making it difficult to breathe. A fiery pain radiated out of the bruise on his face as warm liquid flowed from his nasal cavity.

This isn't a Nocturnal Specter item, he realized.

"Void?" Ou Xiangrong muttered, looked shocked and bewildered.

The item possessed characteristics that seemed somewhat similar to those of a certain foreign class. How could a Level 1 Nocturnal Specter possess an item from a foreign class?

There was no more time to think. From the corner of Ou Xiangrong's vision, he saw those strange dancing shoes changing direction and sprinting toward him again.

He had no time to wipe the blood flowing from his nose, instead crossing both arms in front of his chest. With two loud thuds, the Enchanting Demon was kicked off the roof of the car and sent rolling across the ground.

Ou Xiangrong lunged forward, sprinted, rolled, or used vehicles to dodge, maneuvering through the spacious underground garage, avoiding most of the attacks aimed at him by the Red Dancing Shoes.

Unfortunately, he was still stepped on several times. Each stomp caused him excruciating pain, and the injuries from the fierce battle the previous night flared up as well, causing his organs to seep blood.

Useless master Zhang Yuanqing watched the Red Dancing Shoes' battle, stunned with eyes wide.

It's so, so strong, he mused in awe.

Once again, he felt the terror of rule-type items deep in his bones.

It could not be destroyed, nor its pursuit interrupted. The target could only passively endure being hunted unless they satisfied its rule, which was completing a dance.

Of course, even that was impossible. Even if Ou Xiangrong acquiesced to the Red Dancing Shoes and endured the shame of having to tap dance, Zhang Yuanqing would intervene and make him stumble during his dance.

If he performed the dance steps wrongly, then everything would be wasted.

Through this situation, Zhang Yuanqing also gained a clear understanding of the Enchanting Demon's power. Even though the force that the Red Dancing Shoes could exert was formidable, Ou Xiangrong was actually capable of withstanding it.

He had a terrifying level of physical toughness.

Ou Xiangrong won't foolishly wait for death, Zhang Yuanqing surmised. Once he realizes he can only passively take the beatings without any ability to fight back, he'll definitely choose to escape.

Zhang Yuanqing's mind was clear. He had to ambush the other party before he fled.

He did not seek to kill the enemy, but he definitely had to hold this murderous killer down.

Bang, bang!

Once again, Ou Xiangrong failed to dodge in time and was kicked twice in the face by the Red Dancing Shoes. He staggered backward, his vision going dark and his head spinning.

An opportunity!

Zhang Yuanqing burst out like a cheetah. Gripping the Demon-subduing Awl, he sprinted in a curved arc, circling behind Ou Xiangrong.

He viciously thrust the Demon-subduing Awl toward his target's back.

With a sudden hum, a dense, fog-like white light materialized, blocking the three-tined spike of the Demon-subduing Awl.

This strange power came from the bronze waist token which Ou Xiangrong was gripping tightly in his left hand. It was an ancient waist token covered in cracks and bloodstains, something that seemed to belong to a battle hardened veteran.

That was the defensive item Zhao Yingjun had been carrying.

"A defensive item?" Zhang Yuanqing muttered in surprise.

He felt his heart sink. His ambush had failed.

He shifted his feet and quickly circled around Ou Xiangrong, using the Demon-subduing Awl to strike the white light barrier repeatedly. Each strike created ripples of light that flowed outward.

This time, with the Red Dancing Shoes providing cover, he was not instagibbed by the Enchanting Demon, and managed to just avoid several dangerous blade strikes and punches.

Crack!

Finally, under the barrage of attacks of the Demon-subduing Awl and Red Dancing Shoes, the bronze waist token shattered into pieces, the white light shattering into fragments.

At that moment, the duration of Zhang Yuanqing's Night Wandering was up, and his body materialized.

Ou Xiangrong seemed to have been waiting for this moment. Crimson surged in his eyes and twisted, evil runes appeared in them.

Enchantment! Zhang Yuanqing realized belatedly.

An explosion echoed in his mind, and he lost his ability to think, completely forgetting he was in the heat of battle.

At the same time, a voice echoed in his mind, saying, Drop your weapon, don't resist. Drop your weapon, don't resist...

Ou Xiangrong grinned viciously as the blade of his yanagiba whistled toward the young Nocturnal Specter's neck.

He had purposely endured the blows from those terrible dancing shoes rather than using the defensive item early, waiting for the Nocturnal Specter to actively attack.

The item he had taken from the Scout was already half damaged. If he had used it prematurely, it would have only bought him a few moments, blocking some of the dancing shoes' attacks before being completely destroyed.

The better strategy was to purposely endure the attacks, deliberately showing a weakness, and luring his opponent into actively attacking.

As he expected, the young Nocturnal Specter lacked experience and patience and had fallen for his trap.

Just before the blade slid across the young Nocturnal Specter's neck, though, Ou Xiangrong saw his target's body suddenly drop to the ground. The yanagiba carved a path just above his scalp, cutting off a few strands of hair.

Those Red Dancing Shoes that had been relentlessly pursuing him had somehow appeared on the Nocturnal Specter's feet and forced him into a split, just to avoid the throat slash.

At the same time, brilliant golden light surged suddenly in his eyes the Nocturnal Specter, who should have still been under the effects of his Enchantment. He instantly broke free from his confused and bewildered state and sprung powerfully forward, crashing into Ou Xiangrong with great force.

Ou Xiangrong had not expected such an outcome. He hadn't expected that a mere Level 1 Nocturnal Specter could break free from his enchantment.

He was still in the middle of his powerful slash, the momentum carrying him forward, leaving him unable to respond. He could only watch helplessly as the three-tined awl pierced its way toward his chest.

Flesh tore as the tip of the Demon-subduing Awl entered his chest, erupting in a brilliant burst of golden light which burned away all life force in his chest cavity.

Ou Xiangrong's vision went black and he nearly fainted from pain. But as a battle-hardened Enchanting Demon, he unleashed his full potential in the face of death. He managed to pull his right arm back, dragging the yanagiba toward the Nocturnal Specter's throat.

At the same time, he tensed his left arm muscles and snapped his elbow forward. His left fist extended forward powerfully like a spear, aiming for his opponent's shoulder.

Zhang Yuanqing threw his head back sharply, dodging the slashing blade aimed at his throat, but he was immediately hit in the shoulder by Ou Xiangrong's punch, and sent flying like a broken sandbag.

With a loud metallic bang, Zhang Yuanqing crashed into a vehicle, sending a spiderweb of cracks shooting across the vehicle's windows. He rebounded and fell toward the ground, but his body hadn't yet hit the ground before it was erased from reality inch by inch, disappearing from Ou Xiangrong's vision.

He had once again entered the Night Wandering state.

But Ou Xiangrong wasn't looking at him. Instead, he staggered toward Xu Yingying.

His heart had been destroyed. The only thing that could save him was living human blood. He needed to kill someone to enter his berserk state.

Then, he would rush out of the underground garage and massacre everyone on the campus. The bloodthirsty traits of an Enchanting Demon granted him the ability to repair his injuries and reverse death.

Doing that would definitely cause his Morality to drop below 60, turning him into a wanted man by the Spirit Realm and causing him to be hunted by all Spirit Realm Walkers in the city. But he couldn't worry about that now.

Tap, tap...

Two dark red glimmers appeared out of nowhere, materializing into a pair of brand new red dancing shoes that intercepted Ou Xiangrong.

To Ou Xiangrong, those footsteps sounded like funeral bells, the sighs of death, the judgment of the King of Hell.

Bang, bang!

The shoes trampled on Ou Xiangrong's face, mangling the soft flesh. He fell backward uncontrollably, but at the last moment, Ou Xiangrong threw the yanagiba in his hand.

The forty-centimeter-long weapon became a silver streak, shooting toward the distant Xu Yingying.

Ou Xiangrong stared intently at the blade.

Ding!

Suddenly, sparks flew as the yanagiba was deflected by a brass awl that seemed to emerge from the void, and a human figure materialized beside Xu Yingying.

It was Zhang Yuanqing.

When he saw what had happened, the hope in Ou Xiangrong's eyes turned into despair and indignation.

The Red Dancing Shoes descended from above, trampling on his face, crushing his nose bridge, splitting his lips, and causing both his eyeballs to burst from their sockets.

Ou Xiangrong's hands and feet twitched a few times before his life force was completely spent.

Zhang Yuanqing collapsed beside Xu Yingying, letting out a long breath as if completely exhausted. He could feel violent energy coursing through his chest, and his hands and feet trembled continuously.

This wasn't fear. It was excitement brought on by the surge of adrenaline. When people were in danger and urgently needed to save themselves, the body would frantically release adrenaline. In such a state, people could truly kill without blinking an eye.

Colloquially, it was a state known as "being pumped up!"

His battle plan had succeeded.

Before initiating the fight, he had already thought it through clearly. The only thing he had to avoid was his opponent's Enchantment skill, so before deciding to ambush him, he had already made a sacrifice to the Demon-subduing Awl.

One of the Demon-subduing Awl's functions was purification.

The Red Dancing Shoes' second form gave him confidence in his ability to survive close combat, and it had indeed helped him avoid the fatal slash to the throat.

Marking, Enchantment, Berserk, and close combat prowess. He had clearly evaluated all of Ou Xiangrong's abilities and prepared countermeasures. If he still couldn't win after all that, there would have been no point in continuing.

After taking a few minutes to catch his breath, Zhang Yuanqing calmed the turbulent emotions in his mind and heard the sound announcing a notification from the Spirit Realm.

【Ding! you have killed a Level 3 Enchanting Demon, gaining 30 Morality points and 15 Reputation points. Reputation unlocked.】

Startled by the notification, Zhang Yuanqing quickly opened his Character Status panel and discovered a new column labeled "Reputation."

Reputation? Killing enemy faction Spirit Realm Walkers rewards Reputation? he wondered. As a veteran gamer, he wasn't unfamiliar with reputation, but he didn't know what Reputation was used for in the Spirit Realm.

Zhang Yuanqing thought about it and decided not to worry about it for the moment. He'd log into the official forum to find out later.

He was more interested in the tangible spoils of war.

He got up and walked over to Ou Xiangrong's corpse, kicked the eyeballs under a car, then dragged the body to a shadowy corner.

After carefully searching the corpse, he found a cell phone and a wallet.

The phone was a vintage device that could only make calls.

The wallet had a nice bulge to it. Flipping it open, he found a stack of hundred-yuan bills and a fake ID card.

Zhang Yuanqing carefully counted the money.

As a wanted criminal, he was only carrying just over fifteen hundred yuan. Is this even reasonable? he thought angrily.

As far as he was concerned, all this was now confiscated! He pulled out the money and stuffed it in his pocket.

Next, he walked over and picked up the sharp yanagiba.

The moment he touched the weapon, several lines of information appeared in his vision.

【Name: Bloodthirsty Blade】

【Type: Weapon】

【Functions: Bleeding, Bloodthirst, Armor-breaking】

【Description: A powerful Enchanting Demon fed this blade with his own blood. Over time, it became extremely bloodthirsty. Its blade can cut through hard steel. The wounds it inflicts do not heal easily, and it absorbs the blood of prey to feed back to its master, making them stronger.】

【Note: A blade that does not want to harm its master is not a good blade.】

This blade looks pretty awesome, he thought as he read the information. If it had killed Xu Yingying just now, the effects of the weapon would have been passed onto Ou Xiangrong. Fortunately, I kept an eye out and stood guard beside Xu Yingying.

Zhang Yuanqing ran back to Ou Xiangrong's corpse and removed the sheath from his lower back. He equipped it on himself, then inserted the Bloodthirsty Blade into the sheath.

At the moment, the blade was ownerless, and it was a simple matter to make it recognize him as a master by putting it into an inventory slot.

But Zhang Yuanqing did not feel like claiming it at the moment because the "Note" section in the item description was somewhat alarming.

The Bloodthirsty Blade was probably a cost-type item, and that line was probably the cost of using it. Combined with the blade's description, Zhang Yuanqing could roughly infer what the cost of using the blade was.

There were basically two possibilities. First, whoever obtained this blade would be cursed and eventually die a miserable death. Second, this blade needed its master to regularly feed it with blood. The second possibility was most likely.

He did not need another blood-feeder. One Demon-subduing Awl already made him anemic. If he added this Bloodthirsty Blade as well, how could he survive?

Just then Zhang Yuanqing saw the Red Dancing Shoes tapping in front of him, bouncing up and down. A line of text appeared beside it.

【Would you like to dance with me? If willing, please step in place.】

Only then did he remember he hadn't put this item back in his Inventory. Just as he was about to refuse and retrieve the item, a Spirit Realm notification appeared.

【Attention: Each use of this item requires one dance. If you refuse, the Red Dancing Shoes will no longer favor you and will hunt you down.】

Zhang Yuanqing's mouth gradually fell open in surprise. This was the first time he'd used the item in the real world after taming it. Never could he have expected that using this rule-type item required paying such a cost.

Don't dance with me and I'll kill you? This is too much of a scam, thought Zhang Yuanqing as he got up.

"I'd be delighted," he said instead, flashing a broad grin.

The lively sound of tap-dancing steps echoed through the quiet empty space of the parking garage. This time Zhang Yuanqing did not trigger his old condition. Instead, he leaned on his extraordinary physique to complete the dance, although that meant he frequently messed up the steps.

Fortunately, as the master of the Red Dancing Shoes, he was not attacked for his mistakes.

After finishing the dance, the Red Dancing Shoes placed its right shoe behind its left, rose on tiptoes, and performed a curtsy.

After putting the Red Dancing Shoes back into his Inventory, his ears twitched as he heard urgent footsteps coming from the ramp leading to the parking garage.

Li Dongze appeared, leading Guan Ya and seven or eight unfamiliar Spirit Realm Walkers as they charged into the underground garage at full speed.

Some held guns, some held blades, while some carried cats—the group was fully armed.

Thank goodness, thank goodness the dance was already finished, Zhang Yuanqing thought as he felt a wave of immense gratitude.