“Hehe, it's useless. Swords can't hurt shadows, you know.”
Elementalization?
The term suddenly popped into Gu Qingfeng's mind.
He wasn't convinced, so he pointed his sword at the Shadow Demon and roared in a low voice, “Qingmu Prison Dragon!”
Countless black-glowing vine chains shot toward the Shadow Demon, attempting to bind it.
However, the vines all passed straight through the Shadow Demon as if it were a mere shadow.
“Don't you get it yet?” The Shadow Demon felt its confidence returning, the intoxicating sense of victory filling it.
“I am a shadow. Do you think there's anything in this world that can hurt a shadow?”
Gu Qingfeng's brows furrowed deeper. Could it be true, as the Shadow Demon claimed, that it was just a shadow? If so, it could defend against any physical or magical attack. After all, how do you fight something without a physical form?
Weapons didn't work, and neither did fire.
If this was the case, the Shadow Demon's ability was downright overpowered. It could ignore all attacks, making it even more terrifying than the Mirror Demon's replication ability.
Gu Qingfeng suddenly understood why the Mirror Demon couldn't defeat the Shadow Demon. The latter could just stand still and let you attack, knowing you couldn't kill it. It would simply wait for your Yin Domain to collapse due to energy depletion.
After all, maintaining a Yin Domain required energy.
At this moment, Gu Qingfeng became curious about the leader of the Seven Demon Generals. The Mirror Demon had the ability to replicate, while the Shadow Demon could elementalize and ignore attacks. These two were already insanely powerful, yet there was still a leader above them.
The Mirror Demon, with its arrogant nature, dared only to vie for the second position, not the first. Clearly, it knew it wasn't worthy.
This made Gu Qingfeng ponder: Above the Seven Demon Generals was the Blood Demon, a master above all masters. How terrifying must that be?
But the most absurd part was that such a collection of monsters had been defeated by the Demon Suppression Bureau and the righteous alliance.
So, humanity wasn't as simple as it seemed on the surface.
“Dear brother, I suggest you give up. There's no one alive who can kill me. Why don't you tell me how you managed to resist the Blood Poison Blood Luminous? Maybe I'll be so pleased that I'll leave you with a whole body.” The Shadow Demon giggled.
Gu Qingfeng chuckled in response, “What a coincidence! There's no demon alive who can kill me either.”
“Oh? Still talking tough even as you face death?” The Shadow Demon sneered coldly.
The next moment, something strange happened.
Gu Qingfeng suddenly felt a surge of killing intent from behind him, yet the Shadow Demon was still in front of him.
Confident in his skills, he turned around.
The source of the killing intent was his own shadow!
His shadow seemed to have come alive, wielding a shadow-made sword, the Wood King Sword, and stabbing it into Gu Qingfeng's chest.
Ding!
Host attacked by Shadow Demon.
Shadow Attribute +100
“Is that all?” Gu Qingfeng smirked dismissively.
He let his shadow continue stabbing him, the notification sound continuously ringing.
The Shadow Demon's eyes flashed with surprise. “What a strong body. Is this your confidence? Then... take this!”
The Shadow Demon disappeared from its spot as before, and even with Gu Qingfeng's sharp eyes, he couldn't catch a glimpse of it. It was as if it had teleported.
“Shadow Blade!”
The Shadow Demon's eerie voice came from behind Gu Qingfeng.
Clang!
A dagger made of shadow sharply pierced his back, producing a metallic clash.
Ding!
Host attacked by Shadow Demon.
Shadow Attribute +1000
Congratulations, host's Shadow Attribute has exceeded the limit, gaining the ability【Shadow Swap】
As the notification sounded, a stream of information flowed into Gu Qingfeng's mind. After receiving it, he was overjoyed.
【Shadow Swap】: Can teleport between connected shadows.
With this ability, Gu Qingfeng immediately understood how the Shadow Demon had appeared behind him so quickly. It was using Shadow Swap!
Gu Qingfeng had a shadow, so the Shadow Demon had used Shadow Swap to instantly appear at his shadow.
This was the power of Shadow Swap, also known as teleportation within shadows. However, there was a prerequisite: the shadows had to be connected.
For example, if two people were far apart, their shadows would be under their feet and not touching. In that case, Shadow Swap couldn't be activated. But once the shadows were connected, one could teleport to the other's shadow instantly.
At this thought, Gu Qingfeng suddenly paused.
Wait, that's not right!
Earlier, I was not close to the Shadow Demon, and my shadow couldn't have been connected to his. How did it teleport behind me?
Suddenly, Gu Qingfeng noticed the shadows covering the room and instantly understood.
This was the rule of the Shadow Demon's Yin Domain.
The entire Yin Domain was covered in shadows!
This meant the Shadow Demon could teleport infinitely within its own domain!
No wonder it activated its Yin Domain before attacking. Unlike the Mirror Demon's domain, which was strange, the Shadow Demon's domain simply covered everything in shadows.
All of this was preparation for Shadow Swap.
However, wasn't the Shadow Demon too overpowered? Ignoring attacks was one thing, but being able to teleport infinitely within its domain? That was maxed-out escape ability.
Moreover, wasn't a shadow just the darkness created when an object blocks light?
That would mean all darkness is a shadow?
Teleporting infinitely at night?!
Gu Qingfeng suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. How did the righteous alliance win against such a monster?
But after a moment, Gu Qingfeng calmed down. Infinite teleportation? I can do that too!
“Your body actually withstood my Shadow Blade, which is comparable to a master's strike?” The Shadow Demon exclaimed in shock.
For a creature with maxed-out escape ability, its biggest weakness was insufficient attack power. The Shadow Blade was already its strongest attack. Because of this, the Shadow Demon had developed a habit of poisoning its enemies and rarely fought directly.
But now, even its strongest attack couldn't harm Gu Qingfeng, and it began to consider retreating. Maintaining the Yin Domain required energy, and it couldn't keep Gu Qingfeng trapped in its shadow domain for long.
Besides, this was Wutong Prefecture, and the Demon Suppression Bureau wasn't far. The fluctuations of the Yin Domain might attract a master.
Although it was night, it could rely on shadow transformation and Shadow Swap to teleport and escape, both abilities had a fatal weakness. While two hundred years had passed, and those who knew this weakness were likely dead, there was no guarantee that the knowledge hadn't been passed down.
Having been defeated once before, it didn't want to fall again.
As it thought, its desire to retreat grew stronger.
Gu Qingfeng, sensing its intention to flee through his spiritual perception, was ten thousand times unwilling. Just as he had gained the ability to Shadow Swap, the Shadow Demon wanted to escape? Not a chance!
It seemed it was time to test his acting skills.
Suddenly, Gu Qingfeng clutched his chest, fell to one knee, and looked pale with cold sweat pouring down his face. “What a fast blade!”

e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.

ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!

rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!

lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...