Godly Revival System: I Buy My Killer's Stats-Chapter 661: Forbidden Shadow Fruit

Fear often came from the unknown.

Especially when that unknown was something that had already killed you once.

Blackmist stood still, his gaze locked onto Ethan, his mind working faster than ever. He was certain of two things.

He was sure that he had killed Ethan.

And he was equally sure that he had been killed by that exact same skill.

’So... if I kill him again, I will be killed in the exact same manner that I killed him.’

The conclusion formed almost instantly.

Because of that, Blackmist did not rush to make a move. Every instinct screamed at him to attack, yet reason held him back. Acting without a plan now would be no different from courting death.

"Don’t tell me..." Ethan’s calm voice broke the silence, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "You’re scared to kill me, a mere Golden Core Realm cultivator?"

How could Ethan not see what was going through Blackmist’s head?

Naturally, he seized the opportunity to taunt him.

"..."

Blackmist said nothing. He forcefully suppressed the raging fury boiling inside his chest and steadied his breathing.

For someone who had lived for thousands of years, he understood one thing very clearly—blind rage only led to death. If he wanted to survive, he had to think calmly.

’He isn’t attacking me,’ Blackmist observed coldly.

’That means he doesn’t possess a skill powerful enough to kill me on his own.’

The more he analysed the situation, the more certain he became.

’Killing him is equivalent to sealing my own life.’

’Then....wait a second....’

A sudden realisation struck him like lightning.

’If whatever skill kills him will kill his killer... then,’ Blackmist’s eyes lit up.

’If I kill him with only half of my strength, even if the attack rebounds, I can block it.’

A cruel smile formed on his lips.

With his current strength, even if he used only 10 percent of it, it would kill Ethan, a Golden Core Realm Cultivator, not to mention using 50 percent.

[Shadow Steps]

Swiish!

In the next instant, Blackmist vanished, his figure blurring into shadows as he activated his Quasi-Transcendental Stage movement technique and lunged toward Ethan.

Swiish!

But before his attack could land—

Ethan’s body suddenly dissolved into black mist.

Blackmist’s strike passed through empty air.

In the next heartbeat, Ethan reappeared exactly where Blackmist had been standing moments earlier. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Y-you... this... this is [Shadow Steps]!"

Blackmist’s eyes widened in disbelief.

He could recognise that technique anywhere. It was the exclusive movement technique of the Eternal Shadow Guild.

What shocked him even more was that Ethan’s mastery of Shadow Steps felt identical to his own.

A Quasi-Transcendental Stage Shadow Steps...it took him thousands of years with many special cultivation resources.

But the young man in front of him was only 20 years old, and he cultivated the Shadow Steps close to such a high level.

So, how could he not be shaken?

"Looks like you realised how to kill me?" Ethan asked lightly, his tone almost amused.

Truthfully, Ethan hadn’t expected Blackmist to figure it out so quickly.

Nevertheless, he wasn’t worried in the slightest because he had already planned on how to deal with Blackmist.

’Die... die... die...’

Blackmist forcibly suppressed his shock and launched a flurry of attacks.

Again and again, his figure blurred through the battlefield; however, again and again, Ethan casually dodged every single strike.

"What happened?" Ethan laughed softly. "You can’t even land a hit on me? With your speed, that should be impossible."

"Damn you!" Blackmist roared. "I’m going to kill you!"

This time, he became serious.

His speed surged to its limit, his movements sharp and deadly—but the result was the same.

Ethan avoided him effortlessly.

"Transcendental Stage..." Blackmist muttered, his voice trembling. "It must be Transcendental Stage mastery of Shadow Steps."

The realisation hit him like a hammer.

It was another crushing shock that made Blackmist think he was inside a nightmare.

Ethan was only at the Golden Core Realm, yet he had already cultivated a technique to the Transcendental Stage—something only Soul Transformation Realm cultivators could accomplish.

"Are you going to give up?" Ethan asked with a grin. "If you do, I’ll be disappointed."

Despite dodging every attack, Ethan knew the truth.

He lacked a truly lethal move capable of killing Blackmist—unless he used [I Won’t Die Twice].

But he had no intention of using it here.

He planned to activate that effect in front of everyone, to establish absolute dominance and boost his reputation throughout the province.

Using it now would mean waiting an entire year before using it again.

Unless absolutely necessary, he would not waste it.

"...Looks like I have to use that thing."

On the other hand, Blackmist’s voice was low and cold.

Even knowing that anger clouded judgment, he could no longer suppress it.

He retrieved a black-colored fruit from his storage ring and consumed it without hesitation.

Swiish!

A violent surge of black energy erupted from his body.

"With this Forbidden Shadow Fruit," Blackmist snarled, "even my Shadow Steps will be boosted to the Transcendental Stage."

A twisted smile spread across his face.

"Now... let’s see how you can dodge it?"

Without wasting another second, Blackmist moved.

He rushed toward Ethan like a streak of collapsing shadow, his killing intent surging violently—but he did not forget his conclusion.

He restrained himself to use only 50 percent of his battle prowess.

Swiish!

The space between them distorted as Blackmist appeared right in front of Ethan, his attack carrying terrifying pressure that could crush a mountain.

Swiish!

Ethan vanished again.

But compared to his previous dodges, this time, it was different.

His body reformed several dozen meters away, his feet skidding across the ground as he barely stabilised himself.

A sharp pain shot through his chest.

The Life Essence within his dantian churned violently, nearly emptied from using the Transcendental Stage Shadow Steps consecutively.

’That was close...’

For the first time, Ethan clearly felt it.

He had barely dodged that attack.

If Blackmist had been even slightly faster, or if Ethan had hesitated for a fraction of a second, his body would have been torn apart.

Even worse, maintaining Transcendental Stage Shadow Steps at his current cultivation was an enormous burden.

His Life Essence was rapidly draining.

Still, Ethan did not panic because things were still under his control.

"I’ve had enough fun," Ethan said calmly, straightening his posture as if nothing had happened.

A faint chuckle escaped his lips. "I’ll let you have some fun... with my apostle."

"Come forth," Ethan said lightly, "Golden Horn."

That’s right! The trump card that Ethan was planning to use against Blackmist from the beginning was none other than his first apostle, Golden Horn.

’Swiish’

The space in front of Ethan trembled.

’Apostle’

On the other hand, Blackmist’s brows furrowed.

Before he could react, a massive portal tore open with a low, oppressive hum, its edges glowing with dense golden light.

’Boom... boom...’

Heavy footsteps echoed as a towering figure emerged.

A three-meter-tall minotaur stepped out of the portal, its body packed with explosive muscles, golden horns curving upward like divine weapons.

’Tremble’

Every step it took made the ground tremble.

A terrifying aura surged outward, dense and oppressive.

"T-this...!"

Looking at the figure that walked out of the portal, Blackmist’s pupils constricted violently.