Chapter 538: The Price of Power

Inside the charred, carbonized Chasm.

Yenir swiftly used his sword to scrape through the lower layers of Crystal, rummaging like a scavenger for the equipment that Yinglong had ‘burst out’.

Had it not been certain that system equipment and items were indestructible, he would have feared that his two mighty swords might have ruined his prized treasures.

The Judgment Sword combined with Divine Rage blasted out a crater a hundred meters deep.

Under the fierce heat and pressure, the underground sand and gravel melted into quartz glass.

Even after more than a minute, the crater still emitted billowing smoke from its extreme heat.

“According to Blood Nightingale, the Blood Shadow device is embedded in Yinglong’s back muscles—like a miniature power unit. It shouldn’t be hard to find.”

“But…”

“Damn it, this guy’s all skull—where’s his back supposed to be…?”

He muttered under his breath.

After casually tossing out a piece of glowing green bone, a flash of blue and yellow shimmered beneath a pile of powdery ash.

The strange glow caught his eye, and his gaze lit up instantly.

Exactly—these were the items! Amid a heap of priceless equipment, he immediately sensed a faint ripple of blood-colored energy.

Without hesitation, he rifled through a cache of invaluable gear and retrieved a metal patch-like object. The moment he secured it, he heard the system prompt he’d been waiting for!

“Beep. Obtained ownerless item [Extreme Blood Shadow] Special Item, Level: ???, Damaged.”

“Item Effect 1 [Breakthrough Limit]: Once equipped, it extracts mental power from the user and converts it into any attribute in an instant—the conversion cap can exceed the current level.”

“Item Effect 2 [Blood Shadow Phantom]: When equipped, it draws and stores mental power from the user. In use, the stored power is consumed to block damage and adds an extra mental shock effect to attacks. Maximum damage absorption: (points)”

“Note: This item is damaged. Once equipped, the Extreme Blood Shadow skill will persist indefinitely after activation and cannot be interrupted.”

“Warning: An unknown curse resides in the Blood Shadow Phantom. Once equipped, it continuously drains the user’s life force.”

…

The item description was brief, but one glance was enough for Yenir to understand its usage.

Confirming that this was the ‘external aid’ he needed, a wild joy flashed across his face.

Extreme Conversion! This is it!

His willpower far surpassed his other attributes—if he could convert it all, he’d surge to Third-Stage Advanced in one go; in a state of Mind Storm, even reaching the threshold of Peak Third-Stage wasn’t out of the question!

Moreover, the enhancement scales with his own strength!

Intermediate becomes Advanced, and Advanced transforms to Peak! Even Yinglong, with his Third-Stage Advanced attributes, could rival Peak—let alone him!?

Yet after two consecutive system prompts, Yenir knew all too well the enormous drawback Blood Nightingale had mentioned.

“Once equipped, you can’t remove it—and it permanently absorbs mental power…”

“No wonder Yinglong is completely devoid of mental power; he’s as good as a blind man.”

Blood Nightingale hadn’t lied.

Recalling the debacle at the banquet in front of Yinglong and the moment when a single Mind Shock knocked him unconscious, Yenir couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion.

A proud Third-Stage Peak with no mental power—such a colossal flaw surely explained why Yinglong was so cautious.

For an Awakener, the mental power surrounding them is like an all-seeing eye. Without it, fighting at high speed is as futile as stumbling in darkness.

Moreover, in any unforeseen circumstance, lacking mental power means they have no time to react—relying solely on their eyes.

To put it bluntly, he wouldn’t even notice if someone placed a hat on Yinglong’s back.

That, my friend, is the price of power.

Even knowing the item’s overpowered effects, Yenir couldn’t shake the feeling that its cost was too steep.

Willpower-type Awakeners are rare; they seldom face mental attacks in battle. Otherwise, Yenir suspected that back in his Second-Stage days he might have worn Yinglong down to death.

Relentless Mental Shock attacks would leave a mentally drained Yinglong moving like a malfunctioning machine—stumbling with every step…

“Looks like I really need to get Blood Nightingale to fix this flaw…”

“I may be strong now without mental power, but what about Fourth Stage? Besides, without mental power, I can’t even perform Sword Techniques on my own…”

The Blood Shadow device, although powerful, carries a terrifying flaw.

Stowing away the metal-piece-like Blood Shadow device, Yenir shook his head, aware that it was Blood Nightingale’s self-preservation backup.

He noticed the warning about the ‘curse.’

The item’s second skill, Blood Shadow Phantom, appeared to be a solid defensive asset—even his Divine Rage couldn’t counter it. Its 10,000-point damage absorption effect was baffling in its calculation.

But he figured it could at least withstand a few all-out blows from a Third-Stage Peak.

As for the continuous life force drain and the so-called curse…

No need to overthink—it was almost as if he could picture the secret story behind the item with his toes.

That so-called curse was probably because the device had absorbed all of Blood Nightingale’s family…

Yinglong often went hunting mutants. Outsiders might think he collected mutant Blood Shadows to enhance himself, but it now seemed it was meant to counteract life force depletion…

This Blood Shadow device granted Yinglong tremendous combat prowess—but it clung to him like an eternal curse.

“Enough about that.”

“As long as that damn woman isn’t too demanding, I’m willing to agree.”

“Otherwise, leaving Yinglong with such a huge weakness for the sake of power is just too pathetic…”

With a heavy sigh, Yenir decided not to dwell on it.

In a way, he had avenged Blood Nightingale. As for extracting a solution from her later, he was confident he could manage.

Blood Nightingale’s condition was simple: kill Yinglong and reclaim everything that was lost.

The first part was already taken care of. As for the latter, he could always let her take back command of the Bloodshadow Legion—as a second-in-command. A small Bloodshadow Legion was nothing for Yenir.

What he wanted… was the entire Far Frontier! Even all of China!

………………

“Sir! Where’s my Kun?! Where’s my Kun?!”

His face turned ashen, collapsing in despair.

Yenir shot an impatient look at Hakechi, who had been shouting nonstop, his eyes flashing irritation.

Since his conversion, Hakechi and the Third-Stage fighters behind him had been howling like bereft orphans—except for their constant babbling and the periodic glances at their own groin.

Their expressions were heartbreakingly sorrowful, as if they couldn’t believe what had befallen them.

For a proud Third-Stage Peak to behave so childishly, Yenir couldn’t help but feel a pang of disdain.

It’s just a Kun—what’s there to make a fuss about?

A real man brandishes his sword amidst chaos to achieve legendary feats! Worrying about trivial pleasures only slows down the draw.

Yet, seeing Hakechi dare to question him, Yenir realized something was amiss with his conversion process.

He didn’t have time for mental fixation; even if Hakechi couldn’t betray him yet, he was a world away from true fervor.

“Smack.”

A resounding slap echoed as Yenir glared coldly at Hakechi.

“Keep complaining and I’ll sew your butt shut!”

“There’s nothing to complain about—can’t you see you’re stronger now?”

Too lazy for further chatter, he chose to placate them briefly.

Regarding these misfit Third-Stage fighters of other races, if he weren’t short on manpower, Yenir’s nature would have seen them eliminated long ago.

When dealing with these outsiders, he knew that reasoning or appeasement was futile. Only instilling fear would work!

Hakechi, stunned by the slap, froze—had he not been converted into an Otherworldly Ghost, he would have exploded in anger.

But for some unknown reason, his rebellious spark was quickly replaced by overwhelming terror.

It was as if he were a eunuch serving an emperor—despite Yenir’s lack of a threatening aura, Hakechi trembled as if the very sky were collapsing.