There was no process at all.
In almost a single thought, Sevrin had finished learning all of Asell's skills.
However, he was in no rush to push these new skills to their maximum level.
He was still inside Geo Village and had not yet left.
Sevrin felt that if the breakthrough scenes for these Ghost Path skills were too conspicuous.
For instance, if chaotic evil light flashed or Yin Qi erupted, drawing the attention of the village's ghost hoard, it wouldn't end well.
A ghostly entity was, naturally, different from a human.
With humans, you could still talk reason or debate right and wrong; but wanting to do that with ghosts... haha, only someone whose head had been kicked by a donkey would be that stupid.
Now that he possessed the abilities and essence of a ghost himself, Sevrin knew deep down that all ghosts were essentially ultimate bipolar disorder patients.
Whether you provoked them or not, they might still attack you in a frenzy.
If it were just Asell and Lesan, Sevrin wouldn't be too wary.
Everyone would be at the same level, and with two more skills than them, why should he be afraid?
But if the entire Geo Village were included, with over a hundred ghostly entities, his confidence wavered.
So, Sevrin decided to find an opportunity to slip away from the village before settling down to upgrade in peace.
Furthermore, regarding the identity of this young version of Huin, Sevrin immediately understood the true nature of the situation after learning Asell's various skills.
In short, this Huin... was a fake.
If the effect of [Level 1 Ghostly Visage] was the ability to create various illusions to disturb a living person's perception of the outside world.
Then [Level 2 Ghostly Visage] went a step further; it could actually manifest phantoms that looked exactly like real people.
Indeed, this Huin, who could converse, chat, and even interact with physical objects, was nothing more than a false image created by Asell.
As for why Asell would do such a thing? What meaning did it hold for her?
To be honest, Sevrin didn't particularly care.
"Young man."
After finishing their chat, Lesan turned and smiled at Sevrin. "Go with the Chief to the fields and take a look, so you'll have an idea of what to expect."
This suited Sevrin's plans perfectly, so he replied immediately, "Certainly, certainly. Village Chief Geo, lead the way. I'll go check the situation right now."
"I'll have to trouble you then, young man."
Huin smiled at Sevrin, then turned to Asell and said tenderly, "Wait for me at home; I'll be back shortly."
"Mhm," Asell nodded with a smile.
After their goodbyes, Sevrin followed behind Huin, heading toward the outskirts of the village.
There were no complications.
Soon, the two of them left the village and walked for about two miles until they reached a vast expanse of farmland.
Upon arriving, Sevrin had no intention of making small talk with this fake Huin. He immediately pushed all of Asell's skills to their maximum level.
BOOM!
In an instant, centered on Sevrin, countless wisps of Yin Qi swirled in from every direction, greedily swallowed and incorporated into his soul.
The damaged version of the "Evil Yin Arts" was instantly mastered to its peak by Sevrin in the blink of an eye.
Consequently, his Ghost Path level surged from the Wandering Soul stage directly to the higher Vengeful Spirit rank, turning him into a formidable, bona fide vengeful ghost.
As a vengeful spirit, the two basic traits inherent to his ghostly nature, [Ethereal Body] and [Ghostly Visage], naturally advanced from Level 1 to Level 2.
From now on, in his ghostly form, Sevrin could not only easily phase through walls but also significantly mitigate damage from objects concentrated with Yang energy, such as flames, bullets, and various mortal realm impurities.
As for the effects of Level 2 Ghostly Visage, they required no further explanation; the fake Huin was the best example.
Henceforth, Sevrin could utilize this trait to effortlessly cast various powerful illusions, even fabricating phantoms that appeared capable of sitting, lying, walking, and speaking merrily, while in reality being empty husks.
Beyond that, Sevrin also naturally brought Asell's other two Ghost Path techniques, "Vile Slaughter Yin-Descent" and "Resentful Slaughter Yang-Extinguisher", to the stage of completion.
The former allowed him to nurture a Vile Slaughter within his body, spirit, and soul, creating an entity linked directly to his own mind.
This slaughter-spirit could recklessly burrow into the bodies of ordinary people who possessed weak vitality, performing a ghostly possession and controlling their physical forms to act according to his will.
The latter enabled him to refine a breath of extremely fierce and evil Yin-slaughter energy, capable of blowing out a mortal's Three Yang Fires from a distance.
The so-called Three Yang Fires are also known as the Three Torches or the Three Lamps.
Legend has it that every living person carries three torches: one on each shoulder and one atop the head.
Their brightness represents whether a person's vitality and destiny are functioning normally.
Once the fire weakens and the lamps dim, it signifies that the person is afflicted with a severe illness or that their fortune has run dry.
As the saying goes, "a man dies like a lamp extinguishing." If a person's Three Yang Fires vanish completely, it signifies they are no longer among the living, but the dead.
However, in Sevrin's view, these so-called Three Yang Fires were likely what was known as the human bio-magnetic field.
As for what a bio-magnetic field actually was, Sevrin only understood it from the half-true, half-false popular science videos he used to scroll through on his phone in his previous life.
In short, the "Resentful Slaughter Yang-Extinguisher" skill was a versatile killing move, capable of both long-range area-of-effect attacks and silent assassinations.
Furthermore, Asell's [Level 2 Twin Slaughter] Special Trait was born precisely from these two Ghost Path occult arts.
Additionally, based on these two ghostly arts and the Twin Slaughter trait, Sevrin deduced the reason why Asell was far stronger than the rest of the ghosts in Geo Village.
It was because she was a woman ten months pregnant, nearly at her due date.
According to lore, if a pregnant woman on the verge of childbirth was burned to death in a fire, enduring agonizing pain, she would inevitably be filled with boundless resentment and hatred.
If she were then unfortunately buried in a demonic Yin land, she would very likely transform, along with the stillborn fetus in her womb, into the most fierce and evil Child-Mother Twin Slaughter.
The Resentful Slaughter was the condensation of all Asell's pain and spite; the Vile Slaughter was the infant in her womb who had been burned alive with her.
This information was what Sevrin had gleaned from that fragmented "Evil Yin Arts".
And Geo Village, even this entire dark forest, happened to be a so-called demonic land.
As for how Asell obtained that demonic art, Sevrin had no idea, and no way of finding out.
"So..."
A sudden thought struck Sevrin, "What role did Huin play in all of this? Was he the arsonist, or a survivor?
If he was the former, what benefit would he gain from burning his wife and child to death? If he was the latter, hmm... that sinister old dog wouldn't be that innocent."
Suddenly, the 'Huin' standing not far away vanished into thin air without any warning.
"Eh? Disappeared."
Sevrin said in surprise, "Did Asell withdraw her Ghostly Visage on her own? What is she trying to do?"
While Sevrin was feeling confused.
BOOM!
From the direction of Geo Village, a surge of crazed, ferocious, and sinister ghostly Qi suddenly erupted. Roaring, it swept up over a hundred weaker ghostly signatures and barreled toward Sevrin's position.
"Heheha ha~"
"Hahahaha~"
"Woo woo woo~"
As this torrent, formed by the ghosts of Geo Village, hurtled forward, layers upon layers of piteous spirit voices, crying, laughing, or snarling, echoed out, shaking the four directions. It was a terrifying scene of a hundred ghosts on a rampage.
Perhaps because this nest of ghosts in Geo Village had inhabited this region for far too long, they had merged with the environment. They could now stir up the boundless Yin Qi of this demonic land on a massive scale.
Sevrin felt the surging sinister energy all around him growing restless and turbulent, resonating with the approaching force from afar, becoming increasingly violent.
"Crap, I'm too close to Geo Village. Asell has gone mad and is bringing that pack of ghosts to pick a fight with me... Wait, hold on. Isn't this the perfect chance to 'drive the tiger to swallow the wolf'?"
Sevrin's eyes darted around, and he suddenly let out a mischievous cackle. In a flash, his form blurred and transformed into a wisp of sinister ghostly Qi, rapidly fleeing toward the distance.
The direction he fled was toward the edge of this demonic forest, the place where Old Dog Huin was stationed.
...
More than a dozen miles away, at the edge of the dark forest, the area had already been swallowed by raging flames.
Huin had ultimately set the fire. Utilizing a vast amount of manpower and resources, he had ignited a towering inferno along the forest's perimeter.
This fire had been burning for quite some time.
The sky-high flames, carrying billowing clouds of thick smoke, resembled a horde of fierce demons. They bared their fangs and brandished their claws as they lunged into the depths of the forest, turning every reach of territory into scorched earth.
Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh~
As everyone knows, once a mountain fire starts and grows, its speed of expansion is unimaginably fast.
The rotting leaves on the ground and the trees and grass of the forest all became fuel, helping the fire spread across a wider and wider expanse of the woods.
Consequently, even Huin didn't know exactly where the mountain fire had reached by now.
He only knew that today, that brat... was dead!
"Master~"
Gazing at the distant inferno that had turned the sky crimson, the Butler standing beside Huin asked softly, "If this fire keeps burning like this, that kid won't stand a chance. But the Young Master... he will likely..."
"Better that way," Huin said coldly. "Schture's illness hasn't been cured despite all these years of treatment; it's better to end it all once and for all. As for that brat, consider him a sacrifice buried with my grandson."
Upon hearing this, the Butler's eyes narrowed and he sighed inwardly, feeling that the Master was truly cold-hearted.
To vent the spiteful air of being mocked and toyed with by Sevrin, he would even abandon his most beloved grandson.
As expected, the thing the Master cared about most... was always himself.
Wives, children, and grandchildren were secondary.
As for servants and attendants, the Master had never shown them an ounce of pity.
The Butler had always known this and had always lived in fear, terrified that a single mistake would cost him his life.
Therefore, he had already planned his escape route.
"Once this storm is over..." the Butler thought privately, "I should take the money I've painstakingly saved over the years, leave this Geo Fortress, and go live a good life."
While the Butler was fantasizing about the future, Sevrin—who had been hurtling through the dense fog above the vast dark forest for miles—finally entered the boundary of the sprawling mountain fire.
Although he had seen the blazing inferno staining the sky red through the mist from miles away, he had no other choice. He could only steel his resolve and charge straight into the flames.
"This fire was definitely set by that Old Dog."
As he hurtled forward, Sevrin cursed vehemently, "No one but that son of a bitch would be this destructive. Just you wait, I'm going to skin you and grind your bones!"
If he were an ordinary Wandering Soul rank ghostly entity, he would have no choice but to flee and retreat in the face of such a towering inferno.
The Yang energy contained within the flames was far too fierce and violent; low-level ghosts simply couldn't withstand it.
However, as a higher-level ghostly entity, Sevrin's tolerance for this kind of intense Yang-fire was significantly stronger.
So, gritting his teeth and enduring the searing heat of the flames, he charged through layer after layer of the sea of fire, desperately flying toward the distant edge of the dark forest.
However, the horde of ghostly entities from Geo Village was in a dire situation.
Having originally died in a fire, they possessed an innate, profound fear of anything related to flames.
In gaming terms, their resistance was negative.
Consequently, the moment they sensed the looming, sky-high inferno through the thick mist, the torrent of ghostly Qi formed by the Geo Village spirits collapsed on the spot.
"AAAAHHH!"
"WOOO WOOO!"
"NO, NO, DON'T!"
The ghostly entities shrieked and wailed as they frantically fled in every direction, terrified of being encircled and swallowed by the boundless mountain fire with no escape, and thus forced to relive the agony of being burned to death once again.
But right then, a female voice, shrill and piteous to the extreme, abruptly tore through the thick mist, shaking the surroundings:
"Husband, you set the fire that burned me and our child to death back then; do you now intend to burn us once more? You... are truly heartless!"
At this point, the woman's voice turned icy and filled with hatred:
"Ghosts of Geo Village... who gave you permission to flee? Every single one of you, come back to me!"
WHOOSH!
In an instant, every ghostly entity that had been fleeing through the thin mist above the vast forest was uncontrollably yanked back, wailing, toward the source of the voice, Asell. They once again converged and condensed into a massive, powerful torrent of ghostly Qi.
With a slight adjustment, the torrent then roared and sped toward the outskirts of the dark forest.
"Eh? This ability to command a ghost hoard, where did Asell learn that? Why didn't the System identify it?"
Miles away, having plunged deep into the vast inferno, Sevrin spoke to himself in surprise after hearing Asell's shriek. "Could it be that this demonic land is granting her power?"
He vaguely recalled seeing in the "Evil Yin Arts" that while ghostly entities loved eating humans, their true 'sustenance' was the so-called sinister Yin energy.
This bizarre Yin energy only existed in large quantities within demonic lands.
Therefore, barring any unforeseen incidents, ghostly entities would remain within the demonic land and almost never leave.
Even if they were forced to leave, they would return quickly.
Once a ghostly entity had stayed within a demonic land for a long enough period, they would develop a certain resonance with the boundless Yin energy of that region.
As for what this resonance brought about, it remained unknown.
Perhaps Asell's ability to command the Geo Village ghost hoard was related to exactly that.
"A buff. This gloomy territory gave Asell a buff."
After muttering a few words, Sevrin intentionally slowed his speed.
SWISH!
A moment later, a torrent of ghostly Qi hurtled past him. It showed no signs of stopping or turning, flying straight toward the edge of the dark forest.
"As expected, all the aggro has shifted onto Huin."
Sevrin let out a mischievous chuckle and quickly accelerated to follow.
...
The flames leapt within the fierce wind, making crackling sounds like the mocking laughter of demons, sending shivers down one's spine.
What was even more terrifying was the sight of ghostly shadows, faces of the old and young, male and female, wailing in agony within the sky-high sea of fire while simultaneously being forced to fly forward at full speed.
Under the onslaught of the surging inferno and the violent Yang energy, ghostly entities from Geo Village were dissipating into smoke every second, burnt to nothingness.
In stark contrast, protected by the selfless sacrifice of the Geo Village ghost hoard encircling her, Asell, her hair disheveled and her expression crazed, remained almost entirely unharmed.
Sevrin, following closely behind and hitching a ride, similarly relied on the sacrifice of the ghost hoard ahead to avoid much of the searing heat, thereby maintaining a more perfect state.
But all things must eventually come to an end.
After traversing the vast sea of fire, every single ghost from Geo Village, save for Asell, had finally perished, leaving not a single one behind.
Asell, and Sevrin following not far behind, finally reached the edge of the dark forest.
...
"Husband... you are truly heartless..."
"Husband... you are truly heartless..."
Outside the dark forest, Huin heard that piteous, shrill voice drifting from deep within the raging sea of fire. His expression turned hideously pale.
"How? How is this possible?!"
His pupils constricted, and his voice trembled. "Asell... that is Asell's voice!"
Muttering to himself, Huin stumbled and scrambled backward, his legs shaking so much he looked nothing like a martial artist.
But he couldn't worry about that now. Overwhelmed by boundless terror and guilt, Huin only wanted to flee this place, to hide somewhere no one could find him.
Ignoring the startled gazes of the Butler and the rifle squad, Huin bolted toward Geo Fortress like a panicked beast, vanishing from sight in an instant.
"What's wrong with the Master?"
Though filled with confusion, the rifle squad remained, so the Butler had no choice but to act as if nothing happened and continue guarding the junction.
Time slipped quietly by.
After a certain point, the rifle squad and the Butler, who had been on guard for so long they were growing weary and drowsy, felt an intense, overwhelming chill erupt in their hearts, causing them to shudder in unison.
Then, to their utter horror, they saw a female ghost, scorched black and mangled, charge out from the flames and manifest in the broad daylight.
Before the panicked Butler and rifle squad could even scream, the terrifying ghost transformed into a gust of black wind and hurtled toward Geo Fortress, ignoring them completely.
"There are ghosts in these woods!"
"Ghosts! There's a ghost!"
"We burned the forest; did we anger the spirits within?!"
"It's over, it's over! The vengeful ghosts are coming for our lives!"
Seeing the rifle squad descend into chaotic chatter, the Butler scrambled atop a mound and roared at the crowd below:
"Everyone, calm down! What you just saw was an illusion. There's no need to panic. Even if... even if there really are ghosts, there are nearly a hundred of us here, and everyone is armed! What is there to fear? If you see a ghost, open fire and blast it to pieces!"
Only after hearing this did the hundred members of the rifle squad settle down slightly, their panic receding.
"That's right. There are so many of us, and it's broad daylight. What is there to fear?" one muttered, reassured.
"Well said! If a ghost really shows up to harm us, I'll blow its head off with one shot," another shouted after his fear vanished.
"You are our backbone, sir. If it weren't for you, the brothers would have truly lost their heads," another chimed in, taking the opportunity to flatter him.
But just as everyone's nerves began to relax and they slowly settled down, a faint, deathly pale ghostly shadow quietly appeared at the edge of the dark forest.
The first to notice this blurry shadow was the Butler, standing on the high ground.
"Eh? What's that?"
He frowned and said hesitantly, "It looks... a bit like a ghost?"
Before the Butler could say another word, the members of the rifle squad scattered outside the forest also began to notice the ghostly shadow.
"Heaven preserve us!"
"It's a ghost!"
"The ghost appeared!"
"Ghost or not... so what! Watch me blast it!"
Driven by fear, someone finally couldn't hold back and opened fire.
BANG!
The bullet flew out, passing straight through the ghostly shadow without leaving a mark.
But no one cared about that.
The moment that first shot rang out, every member of the rifle squad began roaring like madmen, pulling their triggers with all their might, pouring their ammunition toward the deathly pale shadow.
In an instant, a relentless, deafening barrage of BANG-BANG-BANG! erupted like continuous thunder. The thick smoke billowing from over a hundred blunderbusses plunged the junction into utter chaos.
Amidst this turmoil, one rifleman, his face drenched in cold sweat, suddenly froze. A stiff, bizarre smile slowly spread across his face.
With that eerie grin, he shifted his aim, pointing his weapon at another rifleman nearby who had just emptied his magazine and was trembling as he reloaded. Without a second's hesitation, he pulled the trigger.
BANG!
A headshot.
Instantly, a spray of red and white splattered across the faces of the surrounding riflemen, leaving them shrieking and gagging in horror.
"What are you doing?!"
"Why did you shoot Acu?!"
"Are you fucking crazy?!"
Ignoring the chaotic shouts of condemnation and anger from those around him, the rifleman, still wearing that ghostly grin, wordlessly raised his weapon again, recklessly pulling the trigger as he swept his fire in every direction.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Accompanied by the deafening, continuous cracks of gunfire and screams of agony, a dozen or more riflemen were wounded or killed in a matter of seconds, collapsing helplessly to the ground.
The culprit was quickly brought down by the retaliatory fire of those around him, his body riddled with bullet holes, barely clinging to life.
"It hurts... it hurts... aaaah..."
Dem, who had been wearing that ghostly grin moments ago, now lay on the ground filled with confusion and agony. He had no idea what had happened; he only knew he was in excruciating pain, so much so that he wished for a quick death.
"Why... why did this happen?"
Clutching his confusion, Dem took two more gasping breaths before dying in a state of extreme resentment.
"What kind of madness possessed that pathetic brat?"
Atop the mound in the distance, the Butler stared intently at Dem's corpse over ten zhang away, muttering in bewilderment, "He was fine; why would he open fire on his own brothers?"
After considering it for a few seconds, he cleared his throat and shouted down to the bewildered members of the rifle squad:
"Brothers, I've investigated! The man who just despicably ambushed his comrades was actually a spy from another Fortress. This pathetic brat..."
"Wait a moment, Butler~"
Suddenly, a very familiar voice drifted into the Butler's ears. "Could you please stop calling me a 'pathetic brat'? Call me... 'Handsome,' and we'll be good."