Yang Lie, the protagonist of Rising of the Supreme Sword Immortal, had a habit in the early chapters of the novel: Ag like a toad waiting to devour a tiger.

  Always cautious and calg, with a mind stantly two steps ahead. His tendency to stay hidden in pin sight was reinforced by the sheer number of trump cards he kept tucked away, even surprising his enemies when it mattered most.

  Some of these were so deeply cealed that the self barely hi them, leaving both readers and oppos guessing at the true extent of his abilities.

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  "Do I really have to use the item I got before joining the Sect, from A Monthly Quest?" Yang Lie thought, frustration gnawing at him.

  The item iion was the Phantom Reaver Talisman, a soul-type artifact of Low-Tier Rare Grade.

  Infused with spiritual energy, the talisman could ma a bde capable of cutting through both the physical body and the soul—effective even against a Low-Stage Foundatioablishment Realm oppo.

  "After obtaining the Cloud Sshing Teique, I thought this would be unnecessary. But who would've thought I'd end up using it here?"

  Without hesitation, Yang Lie opened his System Iory and swiftly retrieved the Phantom Reaver Talisman, the artifact pulsing faintly with otherworldly energy.

  "Bastard, don't try anything clever!" Ming Yuen snarled, his eyes narrowing as he noticed Yang Lie preparing to use the talisman.

  "Evil Spirit, this brat has too many tricks up his sleeve—attack him now, before he activate that talisman!" Ming Yuen barked, urgency g his voice.

  In mere seds, the Evil Spirit materialized in front of Yang Lie, striking with brutal speed. Before Yang Lie could activate the talisman, the spirit's fist collided with him, smming his fato the ground with crushing force.

  Ming Yue a wave of relief wash over him, vihat the danger had bee with.

  What he failed to realize, however, was that the Protagonist's System had already sehe immihreat to its host's life—and had automatically activated the Phantom Reaver Talisman in response.

  As Yang Lie y crushed uhe Evil Spirit's blow, a faint glow emerged from his hand, unnoticed by Ming Yuen.

  A surge of ethereal energy burst forth, transf the talisman into a shimmering, spectral bde. In an instant, the bde cut through the air, its edges vibrating with spiritual power.

  The Evil Spirit, still looming over Yang Lie, recoiled as the bde sliced through both its physical form and soul essence, severing its e to the mortal world.

  Ming Yuen's smug expression froze in pce, his eyes widening in disbelief as the Evil Spirit—the powerful entity he had summoned—began to dissipate before him.

  The wraith-like form let out a haunting wail before vanishing into dark mist, cut down effortlessly by the glowing talisman in Yang Lie's hand.

  "How... how is that possible?" Ming Yuen muttered, his fidence crumbling as shock overtook him.

  But his disbelief quickly turo dread as a sharp pain pierced through his body—the side effect of using the Phantom Mirror of Yore.

  His vision blurred, aaggered backward, his body weakened as the mirror drained his life forot findih Qi, a heavy price for summoning such a dark force.

  Although the Evil Spirit had been vanquished and couldn't cim its payment in Life Force, the aftermath of using a forbidden item lingered.

  The Phantom Mirror of Yore, a relic meant only for practitioners of the Dark Arts, exacted its tardless of the oute.

  It drained nearly ten years of Ming Yuen's Life Force, and worse, it attempted to pull him into its cursed realm, seeking to imprison him within the mirror's twisted dimension.

  Ming Yuen struggled against the pull, his body trembling as he fought the dark energy that cwed at his soul. The sequences of wielding such a forbidden item were far greater than he had anticipated.

  Despite his efforts to resist, Ming Yuen couldn't hold out for long. The relentless pull of the Phantom Mirror of Yore sapped his remaining strength.

  His vision darkened, his body grew numb, and with a final, exhausted breath, he colpsed to the ground, unscious—pletely overpowered by the side effects of the forbidden artifact.

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  Yang Lie, oher hand, struggled to stay on his feet. The beating from the Evil Spirit, bined with the excessive usage of Spiritual Qi to power the talisman, had pushed him beyond his limits.

  With his body battered and his energy drained, he colpsed to the ground, unscious from the sheer strain of the battle.

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  The disciples who had gathered to watch the match stood in stunned sileheir eyes wide with disbelief. They had witnessed an intense csh between Ming Yuen and Yang Lie, two formidable fighters who had pushed each other to their limits.

  With both Ming Yuen and Yang Lie incapacitated, the match had ended in an ued draw—a result that no one had foreseen.

  It was a shog clusion, ohat left the spectatrappling with the implications of such a fierce struggle and the undeniable truth that evero of the disciple present on the spot could falter under pressure.

  The realizatio a ripple of uhrough the crowd, reminding them all that strength alone was not enough to guarantee victory in the uable world of cultivation.