Chapter 21: The Three Arts of the Spirit Master: Covenant, Borrowed Power, and Fusion

Seeing this, Fan Xing immediately leaped aside to dodge.

Boom!

With a deafening crash, the Butcher Pig’s axe carved a massive crater into the ground. Yedo and the Princess immediately launched an attack. Yedo flickered behind the Butcher Pig and swiped with his claws. However, the Butcher Pig’s layers of fat provided formidable defense, rendering Yedo’s attack ineffective. The Butcher Pig spun around and swung its axe, instantly sending Yedo flying. Blood splattered everywhere; a massive gash opened across Yedo’s abdomen, revealing his internal organs.

Boom!

With another loud thud, Yedo slammed violently into the wall.

The moment Yedo was sent flying, the Princess, having increased in size, slammed into the Butcher Pig with tremendous force. As an assault-type spirit, the Princess possessed great strength; despite the significant gap in rank, she still managed to make the Butcher Pig stagger. Fan Xing seized the opportunity to flash beside the Butcher Pig and activated her Skinning skill. Her cold, glinting fingernails slashed through the creature’s skin. The Skinning skill carried a piercing effect, allowing it to bypass a portion of the opponent’s defense, which was highly effective against high-defense spirits like the Butcher Pig.

As its skin was torn, a flash of madness crossed the Butcher Pig’s eyes. It swung its axe, and just like Yedo, Fan Xing was instantly sent flying, half of her shoulder nearly severed. Yet, despite the pain, this injury meant nothing to her. As soon as she hit the ground, the wound healed completely, and even the splattered blood flowed back into her body. However, one drop of blood did not return to Fan Xing; instead, it fell into Yedo’s mouth. Yedo had been severely injured by the Butcher Pig’s strike and could barely crawl, but upon swallowing the drop of Fan Xing’s blood, his injuries instantly vanished. Fan Xing acted not only as a shield but also as a healer.

With their wounds recovered, Fan Xing, Yedo, and the Princess attacked the Butcher Pig simultaneously. Fan Xing and Yedo took the front, while the Princess attacked from the side. Fan Xing’s attack landed first; given the rank difference, a direct confrontation was not to her advantage. The Butcher Pig’s axe slammed into her shoulder, nearly cleaving her in half, but her nails also tore open its chest. However, the Butcher Pig’s fat was too thick; beneath the skin lay layers of dense fat, so while she had broken the skin, she failed to reach any vital organs.

Yedo’s attack followed immediately. Since Fan Xing had already broken through the Butcher Pig’s defense, Yedo found it much easier to strike. His sharp claws thrust into the wound Fan Xing had created, twisting violently inside. Unfortunately, he missed the heart by a hair’s breadth, blocked by a rib. Before Yedo could react, the Butcher Pig swept its free hand, knocking both Fan Xing and Yedo away. Fan Xing felt a sharp pain in her chest, while Yedo felt as though all his bones had shattered.

The intense pain only made the Butcher Pig more frantic. At this moment, the Princess slammed into it, forcing it to retreat repeatedly. Simultaneously, the crown on the Princess’s head flickered, and she activated her Glazed Light skill. A beam of red light erupted from the crown, striking the wound on the Butcher Pig’s chest.

Boom!

As the pain intensified, the Butcher Pig swung its axe and sent the Princess flying. The Princess was severely injured, black feathers scattering as she crashed into a nearby wall, collapsing it. Yet, more than her injuries, the Princess was concerned about her appearance. *Is my crown broken? Are my feathers thinning?* One of the Princess’s wings and her chest had been split by the axe, blood gushing from the massive wounds, and the wing was nearly severed at the root. The Princess actually possessed strong defense, as her black feathers were designed to dissipate force, but the rank gap was simply too vast.

Fan Xing’s wounds were already healed. She flicked her finger, and two drops of blood fell into the mouths of Yedo and the Princess, instantly restoring them.

"ROAR!!!"

The Butcher Pig roared. The Princess’s final strike had finally hit a vital point. As its injuries worsened, the creature entered a Frenzy state. Its muscles began to swell as if inflated; the Muscle Expansion skill activated, drastically increasing its attack power.

Seeing this, Fan Xing shouted, "Yedo, Princess, act now! Stop it!"

As she spoke, she activated her Flying Blade skill, and several knives shot toward the Butcher Pig. Most were deflected, but one struck true, embedding itself into the creature’s eye.

"ROAR!" The Butcher Pig let out a shrill, mournful cry, its heavy footsteps echoing in the night as it charged toward Fan Xing. The Princess fired another Glazed Light, the red beam striking the Butcher Pig’s head and knocking it sideways, causing it to stagger again. Yedo used Eerie Mist to flash to the Butcher Pig’s side, swiping at its other eye.

But the Butcher Pig had already reacted, swatting Yedo away with a flick of its hand. After knocking Yedo aside, it continued to charge at Fan Xing, its heavy footsteps echoing in the night. Fan Xing retreated rapidly; engaging this creature head-on was no longer a wise choice. After entering Frenzy, the Butcher Pig’s attack and defense had both increased, and combined with the Muscle Expansion, its power was terrifying.

Fan Xing retreated while continuously firing blades at the Butcher Pig. Though the damage was minor, it added up. The best tactic now was to kite the enemy. Similarly, the Princess kept firing Glazed Light, harassing the Butcher Pig from a distance. However, the Princess’s attacks were weaker than Fan Xing’s, as she was only E-rank. Being an agility-based spirit, Fan Xing was naturally faster than the bulky Butcher Pig, and it could not catch her. Gradually, they fought their way from inside the building to the open ground outside.

As time passed, the Butcher Pig’s injuries grew more severe, and the damage it had previously sustained began to compound, causing its momentum to wane. Frenzy was not a permanent state; it had a time limit. While Frenzy could be triggered by severe injuries, it would also fade if the injuries became too grave, as Frenzy was a buff, not a healing ability.

Under normal circumstances, the correct move after triggering Frenzy was to end the fight quickly; any delay meant defeat. Fortunately, Fan Xing was an agility-based fighter. If she were an assault-type like the Butcher Pig, she would have died for sure. She was one rank lower and lacked enhancement methods, so she would have lost in a contest of pure power.

Finally, Fan Xing seized an opportunity to blind the Butcher Pig’s other eye. Taking advantage of its blindness, the Princess fired a Glazed Light that followed the wound on its chest, piercing straight through its heart. The Butcher Pig was not the toy soldier Fan Xing had encountered in the tower; its heart was indeed a fatal weakness.

Boom!

With a heavy thud, the Butcher Pig collapsed to the ground, its life extinguished.

*Finally, it's dead!* Fan Xing let out a long sigh, her body swaying as she nearly collapsed. She wasn't injured, but her spiritual energy was severely depleted. If only she had a charging-type spirit, the fight wouldn't have been this difficult. Yedo and the Princess returned to her side, both looking exhausted.

"You've both worked hard. Well done." Fan Xing patted their heads one by one.

"Coo-coo..." The Princess looked wronged, lifting a wing to indicate she must be covered in filth. It was deep in the night, and with the Princess’s black feathers, Fan Xing couldn't actually tell if she was dirty, but she smiled and comforted her: "There, there, I'll give you a bath when we get home."

The Princess was just about to be happy when a voice suddenly sounded in their ears.

"You killed my Butcher Pig?"

Fan Xing looked toward the sound and saw a figure standing atop a pile of steel pipes nearby. Silhouetted against the silver moon, the figure looked eerie. So, the Butcher Pig had an owner. League spirit masters were protected by spirit-pattern bracelets, so their contracted spirits couldn't be viewed through the codex. However, rogue spirit masters were different; even if their spirits had owners, they could generally be scanned by the codex. Fan Xing had assumed the Butcher Pig was ownerless, but she had guessed wrong.

The man leaped down from the pipes and walked toward Fan Xing step by step.

"I didn't expect that just by leaving for a moment, that thing would be killed. Truly useless." He asked Fan Xing, "Who are you? A Box-Garden space has been set up here. Are you a lackey of the Spirit Master League?"

A Box-Garden space could mask the movements within and protect people and property outside, but it could not prevent other spirit masters from entering or leaving. Fan Xing did not answer, her face full of vigilance. As the man approached, she noticed he was very tall and extremely thin, like a stalk of bamboo. His face was deathly pale, appearing as if it had been coated in white ash under the moonlight.

"Not talking?" The man’s expression turned nasty. "In that case, I’ll just have to capture you for interrogation."

As soon as he finished speaking, a spirit energy card appeared in his hand. Unlike the white cards Fan Xing and her spirits used, the man’s card was black, making it hard for her to see its exact appearance in the night. With a flash of light from the card, a tall figure emerged.

It was a bipedal bull-type spirit with bovine legs but human-like hands, standing even taller than the Butcher Pig. A tail whipped behind it with a cracking sound, and a pair of massive, hideous bull horns protruded from its head. Like the Butcher Pig, it held a giant axe, but unlike the fat-laden Butcher Pig, this creature was covered in bulging, solid muscle.

Race: Bull Butcher
Category: Beast Spirit
Attributes: Earth, Metal
Traits: Not Awakened
Skills: Blood Axe (Swings a giant axe to cleave the opponent, dealing damage), Frenzy (Enters a frenzy state after injuries reach a certain level, significantly increasing attack and defense), Muscle Expansion (Mobilizes all muscles to strengthen the body, significantly increasing attack power)
Rating: C
Positioning: Assault-type
Description: A special spirit born in a slaughterhouse, harboring deep resentment toward humans.

Except for the name, the Bull Butcher’s information was identical to the Butcher Pig’s. Essentially, they were the same type of spirit, born in the same way, just from different livestock. One thing was certain: even with identical data, this Bull Butcher was definitely stronger than the Butcher Pig! Fan Xing could tell just from its aura.

As soon as the Bull Butcher appeared, Yedo and the Princess spontaneously stepped in front of Fan Xing.

The man chuckled. "Two E-rank spirits daring to show off in front of me? How overconfident. I don't know how you killed my Butcher Pig, but since I'm here, you're all going to die!"

As he spoke, the Bull Butcher swung its giant axe. Fan Xing, her spiritual energy exhausted, could only struggle to dodge while secretly retrieving a spirit energy gem from her bracelet to recover. Thank goodness she had obtained the gem while climbing the tower; otherwise, she would have been done for. With the gem, her energy quickly recovered, but Yedo and the Princess were both sent flying and severely injured. Fan Xing didn't hesitate to take out her cards and recall them.

The man saw this and thought Fan Xing was terrified. "What, planning to give up? A wise choice."

Fan Xing chuckled as well. "Give up?" Her tone carried a hint of mockery.

The next second, her body slowly began to float, and her long black hair cascaded down, dancing in the wind like seaweed. The man’s brow furrowed. Fan Xing looked up sharply, a flicker of red light flashing in her pitch-black eyes. This was the first time Fan Xing had revealed her true "Painted Skin" form.

While disguised, she could not unleash her full strength; only by releasing her true form could she reach her peak combat power. Fan Xing waved her hand, activating her Flying Blade skill, and blades shot toward the Bull Butcher. The creature swung its axe, easily deflecting them. But in a flicker of movement, Fan Xing had already appeared behind the Bull Butcher.

After releasing her true form, her speed had reached its absolute limit. Painted Skins were classified as a type of ghost, also known as "Painted Skin Ghosts" or "Disfigured Ghosts." Little Fan Xing had been severely burned in a car accident, leaving her face unrecognizable, which was why she had transformed into a Painted Skin. One of the abilities of a ghost was to be elusive, which made Painted Skin ghosts agility-based spirits.

Fan Xing’s arm suddenly locked around the Bull Butcher’s neck, and her other hand, glowing with sharp claws, plunged deep into one of the creature's eyes. Blood splattered as the eye burst, and the Bull Butcher let out a shrill, agonizing wail.

"MOOOO!!!"

The man looked horrified. He hadn't expected this to happen. Could he have encountered a B-rank spirit master?

The first skill a spirit master obtained upon awakening was "Contract," allowing them to bond with a spirit. Upon reaching E-rank, they gained the second skill, "Borrowing," which allowed them to borrow a portion of their spirit’s power. At D-rank, they gained a second contract slot. At C-rank, the Borrowing skill was enhanced, allowing them to borrow abilities from two spirits simultaneously. When upgrading to B-rank, a spirit master awakened the third skill: "Fusion." At this point, a spirit core was born within the master, allowing them to house a spirit inside their own body, gaining the spirit’s full power with added amplification.

Fan Xing’s current appearance was identical to a spirit master in the state of fusion with their spirit, which led the man to a misunderstanding. If he were facing a B-rank spirit master, he stood no chance at all. The man began to feel the urge to retreat.