C12 Chapter 12

Still rattled, they spun around—only to find it was the building’s custodian. Chen Rui and Chen Xin immediately launched into a frantic explanation.

“Crap!” While they were talking, Shi Dian quietly glanced into the classroom. Every student was staring in their direction, and the prisoner’s seat was already empty.

Shi Dian’s eyes darted. He quickly spotted a shadow racing along the wall.

“He’s getting away—move!” Shi Dian shouted, taking off after it.

Chen Rui and Chen Xin stopped trying to explain to the custodian and sprinted after him. But the shadow slipped effortlessly across the floor and up the walls, and within seconds it vanished.

“How is it, Shi Dian?” Chen Rui asked as he caught up and saw Shi Dian stop ahead.

Shi Dian only shook his head. Chen Rui immediately deflated and collapsed onto the floor.

“Heh. Looking for me?” A cold voice suddenly came from behind them.

Shi Dian and Chen Rui whipped around—only to see Chen Xin floating in midair.

“Chen Xin!” they shouted in unison, but she didn’t respond at all.

“Relax. She just passed out. A pretty girl like that? No way I’d let her die—ha!” The voice sounded again. At the same time, a shadow rose slowly from the ground, taking shape into the same man they’d seen in the classroom.

“You bastard—let Chen Xin go!” Chen Rui roared. After what happened last time, he didn’t dare rush in recklessly.

“I wasn’t planning to do this either. You brought it on yourselves. And honestly, I kind of want to test out this new power,” the man said with a twisted grin.

“Who are you?” Shi Dian asked, unsettled. This guy felt nothing like the mute shadow from before.

“Me? Name’s Tang Ji. But who knows if that’s really it—heh.” He let out a cold laugh.

“Why are you stealing?” Chen Rui snapped.

“Stealing? Ha. This is just a warm-up. You really think I’d get power like this just to swipe some petty junk?” Tang Ji pulled out a cellphone and, with a slight squeeze, crushed it to pieces.

“That’s Xinxin’s phone, you jerk. I’m gonna teach you a lesson!” Chen Rui roared and charged in with his fist.

But to his shock, the punch didn’t fly forward—it slammed hard into Chen Rui’s own chest. He let out a muffled grunt, and a thin line of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.

“Chen Rui!” Shi Dian rushed over and caught him.

“See that? That’s the power of a god. Ever since I got this, I understood—I’m a messenger of God. My mission is to stand above everyone and rule this land!” Tang Ji looked unhinged as he raised his right hand. A gold piece of jewelry gleamed on his finger.

“That…” Shi Dian stared at it, a strange sense of familiarity rising in his gut.

The walls around them instantly sank into darkness, and Shi Dian and Chen Rui felt as if they’d been dropped into a hollow, empty void.

“Heh. Welcome to the Shadow Realm. I’m the one in charge here.” Tang Ji vanished into the dark, his smug laughter echoing from every direction. “And you’re about to be swallowed up by it!”

“Oh yeah? You sure about that?” Shi Dian let out a cold laugh, and a blinding light flared from his forehead.

“You—what is this?” Tang Ji jolted, startled by the sudden glare.

“Any power that feeds on darkness has a weakness,” Shi Dian said flatly. “Light. You think hiding in the shadows makes you untouchable?”

“Bullshit! I’m not hiding! Darkness is the strongest power there is!” Tang Ji bellowed.

“Heh. Hate to break it to you, but you’re wrong. How about we make a bet—use every ounce of that darkness you’ve got and try to swallow me whole!” Shi Dian said, the corner of his mouth lifting with calm confidence.

“Fine. I’ll take that bet. If you win, I’ll let you all walk out of here,” Donkey agreed.

Before long, wave after wave of shadows surged toward Shi Dian. But after each assault, the light around him only burned brighter than before.

“No! I don’t buy it!” Donkey drove his dark power harder and harder, but Shi Dian’s radiance had already lit up most of the space.

At last, Donkey revealed himself. Bruised and livid, he stared at Shi Dian and muttered, “I’m not going to lose...”

With that, he raised his right hand. The eye set into his gold jewelry flared with a blinding glare, and Donkey’s body began to twist.

“Don’t!” Shi Dian shouted at the sight—not in fear, but as a warning.

The surrounding darkness started funneling into Donkey’s body. Chen Rui broke free of his restraints and walked up behind Shi Dian, asking, “What’s wrong with this guy?”

“He’s begging that artifact for power—but it’s going to kill him,” Shi Dian said, unmoving as he watched Donkey’s transformation, a note of weary resignation in his voice.

Finally, Donkey turned into a massive black demon. No trace of humanity remained. It glared at Shi Dian with blood-red eyes, and the hot, foul breath it exhaled forced Chen Rui to stumble back several steps.

Shi Dian only looked at it with open contempt, saying nothing.

“Hmph. Nothing to say, huh? Then let the darkness devour you!” Donkey raised his fist and swung down at Shi Dian.

“Move!” Chen Rui yelled in panic, but Shi Dian still didn’t budge.

A massive black fist shot straight at him, but in the very next second, it stopped cold.

“What the hell?!” Tang Ji froze, completely thrown off—until he spotted what was happening.

The gold jewelry on his hand was actually devouring him. His huge body began dissolving into ribbons of black smoke, getting sucked into the piece.

“No!” Tang Ji let out a piercing scream. “Help me! I don’t want to die!”

Chen Rui glanced at Shi Dian. His eyes were glowing red, and the sun-shaped mark on his forehead flared like a brand. The jewelry seemed to react, trembling in response.

After what felt like forever, it finally went still. Tang Ji’s body snapped back to normal. Chen Xin dropped out of the darkness, and the surroundings returned to the way they’d been.

Shi Dian walked over slowly, reaching down to pick up the jewelry. But the moment he got close, smoke poured out of it and formed into a monster with nine blood-red eyes.

“Back off, you demon!” Shi Dian snarled, eyes wide. The creature vanished instantly.

Shi Dian picked up the jewelry and held it in his hand. A strange sensation seeped into his chest, like the thing was trying to communicate with him...