Chapter 40: Chapter 40: An Unprecedented Kill
Silence.
Silence reigned over Cambridge tonight…
Several miles away, and even from farther distances, numerous teams that had been tracking Liam, intending to take him down, fell silent as they observed the scene before them.
Countless droplets of water had coalesced into humanoid figures, only to be frozen and shattered by Liam. Yet, from the shattered ice, more water figures emerged. It seemed that Liam's ice powers, while potent, couldn't fully contain these water ghosts.
Water, after all, is nearly impossible to freeze completely. Even when solidified, there's always some moisture left on the surface. To freeze every droplet would require crystallizing every water molecule in the environment—a feat far beyond Liam's current capabilities.
This resulted in a vast army of water ghosts, multiplying exponentially with each attack, growing in number the more they were struck. The sheer scale of the scene, visible even from miles away, sent chills down the spines of the students who had been following Liam, each of them now feeling an overwhelming sense of dread.
"This… Maybe we should just leave?"
"Yeah, this guy might be on something. This level of combat is way beyond us."
"How are we supposed to rob him? Are we serious?"
Watching the terrifying battle unfold in the distance, many teams began to falter. Yet, despite the fear, most remained where they were, waiting for the right moment.
In the distance, Liam and this secret realm's most powerful creature were like two terrifying beasts. And when beasts clash, the outcome is often mutual destruction.
...
Liam knew that his current strategy was merely a stopgap. The more he fought these water ghosts, the more they multiplied, making it clear that trying to wipe them all out was pointless.
So, he focused on listening to the Voices of All Things, hoping to discern the creature's weakness. After all this time, he still didn't know who or what his true enemy was—was it these endlessly multiplying water ghosts, or was it the lake itself?
The stealth ability he had recently copied from Cain proved invaluable here. His body, now as agile as a fish, weaved through the sea of water ghosts. He had nearly given up attacking them altogether, realizing that unless he found their weak point, his strikes were meaningless.
Surrounded by thousands of water ghosts, Liam felt as though he were caught in the evening rush on a Beijing subway. He didn't even bother with his usual ice armor, as the ice itself was starting to lose its shape—one of the ice-armored spikes had even turned into a water ghost!
The only relief he had was that his saliva and blood weren't being transformed into water ghosts; if that had happened, the fight would have been over before it began.
Bare-fisted, Liam darted through the water ghosts, avoiding their attacks with nothing but his agility and reflexes. Simultaneously, he had to block out the cacophony of the Voices of All Things—a chorus of water ghosts speaking all at once.
[Water Ghost 1: Give us your energy! Give it to us!]
[Water Ghost 2: Stay with us…]
[Water Ghost 3: Another hit! So refreshing…]
Liam struggled to filter out the useless chatter from the Voices, which felt like a hundred people all shouting at once in a crowded market. It was even more annoying than a nagging elementary school teacher. However, amidst the noise, he managed to catch one crucial piece of information—he had to enter the lake; the weakness was inside.
Outside the secret realm, the examiners were watching Liam's every move with intense focus. As the designers of this trial, they knew this was the most troublesome and challenging opponent in the entire realm. No student had ever successfully dealt with this creature before. While some students had encountered it, the lake's limited mobility allowed them to escape without too much difficulty.
However, Liam's approach was unprecedented—he had not only sought out this creature but had also provoked it into unleashing its full power.
Despite this, the examiners remained silent. Cain's expression, however, betrayed a hint of unease. For some reason, the way Liam moved through the sea of water ghosts, avoiding their attacks with such agility…
It all seemed eerily familiar.
Was there something off about this kid? Why did his movements look so much like Cain's own?
...
Splash!
The sound of water splashing marked Liam's entrance into the lake. While the surface had been roiling with water ghosts, beneath the water was calm, almost serene—a stark contrast to the chaos above.
The gentle currents cradled Liam's body, making him feel surprisingly comfortable. Holding his breath, he quickly dove toward the lakebed, following the guidance of the Voices to locate the weakness.
But as he listened to the bubbles rising to the surface, a sense of regret washed over him. The Voices of All Things had only one message for him—freeze it from the inside!
Liam: ?!
"Is this some kind of joke? I'm still in here!"
However, glancing upward at the countless water ghosts reflected on the lake's surface, Liam felt his resolve harden. He had no other choice.
"Here goes nothing. I'm betting everything on this."
Pressing his hands against the lakebed, white ice crystals began to spread, like ink dropped onto a canvas, slowly diffusing outward.
Before long, the entire lake froze from the bottom up, inside out, encasing even Liam himself in ice.
Liam remained suspended in the frozen lake, his posture unchanged, like an insect trapped in amber.
A few seconds later, the water ghosts on the surface went into a violent frenzy, smashing against the frozen lake with desperate force.
Then, with a deafening explosion, the ice shattered!
Shards of ice flew in all directions as the water ghosts dissolved into mere droplets, evaporating into the air, never to reappear.
In the history of this secret realm, spanning over a decade, no student had ever vanquished this foe—until now, and single-handedly, no less!
Liam, unaware of the magnitude of his achievement, was sent flying by the force of the explosion, experiencing the sensation of flight for the first time. He coughed violently, even spitting up a bit of blood.
It was his first injury since entering the realm—a stark contrast to his previous effortless victories.
"Impressive!" Zhong Jing said, interlacing his fingers as he watched Liam's airborne figure. "But this secret realm… it was never meant to be your solo performance..."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone