Chapter 62: The Nether Pass of Witch Ghosts, the Airheaded Domineering Force

Plum Blossom flickered once more, his figure instantly materializing as he tightly gripped his longsword, aiming straight for Wine-Intoxicated Hero’s chest and hurtling forward with violent speed.

Fighting by relying on summons was rarely supported in the arena, as such tactics were easily countered by opponents. Because of this, summons in this context functioned more like tools for dealing with monsters. No matter how powerful the summoned specters might be, the summoner’s own attributes would suffer a reduction to compensate, leaving them exceptionally fragile.

Within an arena of this nature, Plum Blossom’s primary objective was naturally to chase down Wine-Intoxicated Hero and deal with him directly—an approach both simple and efficient.

"Have you been wrong about everything from the very beginning?" The smile playing at the corners of Wine-Intoxicated Hero’s mouth was intensely sinister, even brimming with overt mockery, as if he were ridiculing Plum Blossom for being utterly and fundamentally wrong the entire time!

Plum Blossom’s brow furrowed abruptly. Evidently sensing a deeper meaning behind Wine-Intoxicated Hero’s words, a sense of unease welled up in his heart.

In his quest to close the distance with Wine-Intoxicated Hero, Plum Blossom had cut down an untold number of specter bodies one after another. These spectral forms had tumbled onto the ground, clearly dead.

However...

At that moment, Wine-Intoxicated Hero spread his hands wide once again. Suddenly, all the spectral corpses scattered across the shadowy domain were directly devoured by the shadows, which then surged into the sky, transforming into beams of black light that shot straight into Wine-Intoxicated Hero’s body.

Following that, a flame of black fire manifested in Wine-Intoxicated Hero’s right hand. This black flame radiated a terrifying halo—one that had never been seen before, yet contained a destructive power at its core, shimmering with golden and crimson hues.

Immediately afterward, Wine-Intoxicated Hero raised his right hand, and his palm, engulfed in black flames, collided head-on with the oncoming longsword. Rings of black fire shattered outward in ripples, but because of the continuous burning effect of the flames, and recalling the previous encounter, Plum Blossom wisely chose to retreat rapidly.

"These shamanic ghost legions were only ever meant for sacrifice. Their primary purpose is to elevate all of my attributes across the board."

Cloaked in swirling black flames, Wine-Intoxicated Hero looked like a demon crawling straight out of the abyss. Suddenly, more specters emerged once again from the shadowy domain on the ground.

Yet these specters let out a heart-wrenching howl as they fixed their gazes upon Plum Blossom.

"My children, get him!"

Wine-Intoxicated Hero slowly raised his left hand, pointing his index finger at Plum Blossom, a cold, curved smile playing on his lips.

Wine-Intoxicated Hero advanced steadily toward the retreating Plum Blossom. Quick to quell the shock within his heart, Plum Blossom deftly skirted past two oncoming specters, instantly flashed past several more behind them, and then blinked straight through the massive bodies of a final group of specters, his longsword locked onto Wine-Intoxicated Hero.

Seeing this, Wine-Intoxicated Hero once again transformed his entire body into black flames, cleanly dodging Plum Blossom’s attack. As the black flames dissipated behind him, a specter leaped into the air, hurtling straight toward Plum Blossom in a fierce pounce.

The black flame resting in the palm of Wine-Intoxicated Hero’s right hand continued to release pulse waves capable of making anyone's heart skip a beat.

After his initial thrust missed its mark, Plum Blossom naturally executed a backflip, descending toward the ground. The moment his feet touched the earth, a myriad of sword shadows scattered in all directions, kicking up a cloud of dust and violently knocking away the specters that had rushed to his side. This time, Plum Blossom had no intention of slaying those specters, determined not to let Wine-Intoxicated Hero boost his attributes any further.

Yet, fully aware that this would be the case and seemingly anticipating the maneuver, Wine-Intoxicated Hero moved first, launching himself violently toward Plum Blossom’s location. He swung his right arm gracefully, and black flames instantly enveloped his entire right arm. As his five fingers slowly clenched into a fist, he delivered a punch straight at Plum Blossom!

Boom—rumble—

The terrifying collision shockwave instantly forced both Plum Blossom and Wine-Intoxicated Hero backward. However, holding the advantage and refusing to let the opportunity slip, Wine-Intoxicated Hero surged forward once more, closing the distance to the recoiling Plum Blossom. His right hand, already transformed into an arm of black flames, violently seized Plum Blossom’s chest.

"Shamanic Ghost Underworld Pass."

Wine-Intoxicated Hero chanted the four-syllable name like an incantation. The moment his voice fell, black flames twisted into existence behind Plum Blossom, and a colossal, ominous gateway slowly manifested at his back. Even many of the spectators who were well-versed in offensive shaman-class players widened their eyes in shock at the sight before them.

"It's actually the Shamanic Ghost Underworld Pass! To think one could accumulate enough consumption through such a method."

"What a brilliant tactic, gathering power through unconventional means just to unleash this move."

"The opponent Plum Blossom ran into is fiercely strong as well; nothing to scoff at."

Many were surprised because Plum Blossom—a fairly renowned mercenary in the live-streaming industry of *God’s Downfall* who had been specially invited—not only failed to suppress a player from the novice server right away, but was actually seeing his opponent gradually level the playing field and erase the disparity in their strengths. Such a scenario had practically never been witnessed before.

The terrifying gateway emanated pitch-black dark fire, accompanied by a howling wind reminiscent of ghosts crying from the deepest abysses that echoed ceaselessly in Plum Blossom’s ears. The ghost-fire lanterns hanging high upon the gateway flickered with a faint golden light, acting like guiding beacons as the surrounding area grew increasingly dark.

Without missing a beat, Wine-Intoxicated Hero flung Plum Blossom straight into the Underworld Pass. In the next instant, everyone watched as streams of black flame shot outward from within the gateway, swallowing Plum Blossom’s body whole in the blink of an eye. Furthermore, Plum Blossom’s health bar plummeted drastically, instantly shaving off nearly twenty percent of his HP.

Plum Blossom’s brow furrowed tightly as he unleashed a terrifying burst of vital energy to shatter the bindings. He crashed heavily onto the ground, rolling to extinguish the black flames clinging to his armor before slowly pushing himself back up. His eyes blazed with endless killing intent as he stared at Wine-Intoxicated Hero.

Swish—

Boom—

Swish—

Bang—

Plum Blossom and Wine-Intoxicated Hero resumed their fierce entanglement, but Plum Blossom was now completely bogged down in a disadvantaged position. The terrifying "Shamanic Ghost Underworld Pass" had thoroughly pushed him onto the defensive, and even amidst their current clashes, Plum Blossom remained constantly wary of the hovering gateway still lingering in the air.

"Isn't that opponent supposed to be incredible? A hired gun from a boosting studio, yet somehow he looks a bit weak right now. That's Plum Blossom! Who would have thought he'd fall into a disadvantage against a front-line player from a novice server?"

"Exactly, he's been completely suppressed and beaten down. If this keeps up, Plum Blossom won't stand a chance of winning. His popularity might even plummet like a stone after this battle."

...

Back in the lounge, Night Feather and the others were watching the match with rapt attention. Old Hu was utterly shocked by the combat prowess Wine-Intoxicated Hero was displaying, completely caught off guard by just how unorthodox the latter's shaman build truly was.

"The Shamanic Ghost path... I never would have guessed. He actually chose to invest in this branch to amplify the offensive capabilities of the shaman class. Clever bastard."

Old Hu’s heart was thoroughly captivated by Wine-Intoxicated Hero, as this level of combat strength completely exceeded his expectations.

"This guy is indeed formidable," Night Feather said with a bitter, helpless shake of his head, showing no trace of distraction as he watched Wine-Intoxicated Hero’s fighting style. After watching him pull off such a maneuver, Night Feather raised a thumb toward the virtual screen facing away from their lounge. "He was able to hold off dozens of players of the same level by himself before, and he didn't even reveal this trick back then. It looks like we didn't need to step in and assist him at all; he was fully capable of holding his ground, even if winning in the end would have been quite arduous."

"That’s the beauty of a non-mainstream growth route—refusing to play by the conventional rules," Old Hu said in a deep voice. "It makes it completely impossible for Plum Blossom to anticipate this guy's upcoming combat style. Frankly speaking, a style like this is no joke."

"Even though we don't fully understand Wine-Intoxicated Hero’s strategy, until you get familiar with it, you're bound to stay suppressed just like this."

Judging from the current battle situation, every time Wine-Intoxicated Hero absorbed the death of one of these shamanic specters, he gained a permanent boost to a portion of his base attributes. Such enhancements could be accumulated over time, and once they reached a certain threshold, he could unleash ultimate-level skills like the "Shamanic Ghost Underworld Pass." This design indeed saved plenty of skill slots. Based on what had been revealed so far, both facets of Wine-Intoxicated Hero’s combat style had been exposed—both leaning heavily toward close-range combat, and both thoroughly unorthodox.

What Old Hu described as an unconventional, unorthodox path was actually a high-stakes gamble. If Wine-Intoxicated Hero continued to grow along this trajectory, one didn't even need to guess where his absolute advantages lay. However, Night Feather didn't entirely agree with relying solely on such advantages, because the pros and cons of this playstyle carried extreme danger. High-risk situations yielded high rewards, but should he encounter an opponent equipped from head to toe with holy-grade or emperor-grade gear, Wine-Intoxicated Hero would no longer be able to pull off such astonishing feats.

"His shamanic ghost form playstyle makes it useless for Plum Blossom to target the summoned specters first," Old Hu remarked after observing Wine-Intoxicated Hero's attribute status. He then turned to Night Feather and continued, "Specters on the verge of death can simply choose to commit suicide and sacrifice themselves to Wine-Intoxicated Hero. Going after the summoner first is equally futile, because a Wine-Intoxicated Hero fortified by base attribute boosts can withstand far more damage than Plum Blossom."

"I suppose the appropriate counter-strategy here would be stalling for time," Old Hu suggested.

"Indeed, I quite agree with you there, Old Hu," Night Feather nodded. "Effects like that should only be able to exist one at a time. By dragging out a war of attrition, we can eventually exhaust his entire summoned ghost army, leaving only the summoner himself to deal with in the end."

Recalling Old Hu's earlier battle, Night Feather smiled and said, "You fought brilliantly earlier, by the way."

"Thank you for the praise, I merely got lucky," Old Hu replied flatly. "It looks like this fight is about to reach its conclusion, though."

Frowning slightly, Luo Feng chimed in, "But isn't his opponent also playing an unorthodox build—a Qi Sect Sword Demon? Why did it turn out like this...?"

Old Hu gave a slight shake of his head. "He looks like he's playing an unorthodox Qi Sect Sword Demon on the surface, but he hasn't walked the pure path of a Qi Sect Sword Demon. In that regard, he isn't nearly as absolute as that fellow Missing a Screw. Facing an opponent whose moves lack any logical pattern, Plum Blossom is strong, but he's already allowed that guy to exploit his flaws. Against flaws like that, the outcome goes without saying."

"What? He's not a full-fledged Qi Sect Sword Demon? How is that possible? Judging by his skills, they all fall strictly under the Qi Sect Sword Demon category. I even went out of my way to read up on the basic guide for Qi Sect Sword Demons," Huang Hong scratched the back of his head, looking rather astonished.

"His brand of Qi Sect Sword Demon simply cherry-picks the advantages of that growth route and combines them with matching Qi-based mechanics. However, because his stat allocation, skill trees, and equipment paths have fallen into a rigid, predictable pattern, he's attracted a lot of imitation and pursuit from other players. Furthermore, fusing this kind of Qi Sect Sword Demon with orthodox Qi arts robs the build of the specific PvP advantages it once held. Plum Blossom has played too many standard ladder matches, so he naturally developed a bloated sense of ego. Capitalizing on that psychological blind spot makes executing this strategy twice as effective with half the effort," Night Feather explained.

Hearing the explanation, the rest of the group looked deeply surprised, but finally understood why the match had turned out this way.

Out in the arena, Plum Blossom’s face was etched with fury. Never had he expected to encounter such a troublesome opponent in this tier of the ladder, and he had wasted far too much time trying to expose a weakness. At present, Plum Blossom was locked firmly in a disadvantaged position—a state of affairs that required no further elaboration.