Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time

Han Yu's blade flickered desperately, sparks dancing in the air as metal clashed on metal. But something gnawed at his senses.

'They all feel the same.'

The puppets moved with the weight of reality, yet there was no distinction, he couldn't tell if they were real or fabricated by the array. Every swing felt solid. Every cut he received burned like true flesh wounds. The line between reality and illusion was smudged to nothing.

HUUUU

"This is hard..." Breathing hard, Han Yu leapt back, scanning them.

He realized his mistake. His instincts told him to look at their movements, their shadows, the way the ground trembled beneath their steps. But the illusions were too perfect. There was no break in their rhythm, no obvious flaw.

And yet… Han Yu still had one advantage.

Closing his eyes briefly, he sank into his spirit sense. His Soul Qi stirred within him, threads of perception spreading out like spider silk. His awareness brushed against the chamber, probing deeper than mere sight. His soul's power burned as he pushed it to its limit.

'Sure enough...'

And then he felt it.

Among the dozens of puppets, a handful pulsed faintly. Like candles in the darkness, he could sense the flickering presence of true souls. The others were hollow phantoms, constructs with no essence behind them.

"There you are…" Han Yu muttered, lips curling in grim satisfaction.

The nearest puppet lunged, its blade aimed for his throat.

Han Yu sidestepped, channeled his soul qi, and unleashed a pinpoint strike.

A shimmering silver thread darted out,the Soul Needle. It shot out, piercing the puppet's head. The creature froze, jerking violently as if struck by lightning. In that instant of weakness, Han Yu slashed with his halberd, cleaving it apart. Unlike the others that dissipated into mist, this one collapsed into fragments of real wood and metal.

A surge of exhilaration ran through him. 'It works. The ones with souls... those are the true threats.'

With renewed focus, Han Yu cut through the hall like a tempest.

Each time he extended his spirit sense, he struck down the genuine enemies, beasts with lurking souls, puppets driven by some animating essence. The false ones he ignored, weaving through their phantom strikes until they dissolved.

But it wasn't without cost.

Illusions bled into reality, and more than once, he reacted to the wrong threat. A false wolf bit into his arm, only for its teeth to vanish into smoke. The real danger struck from the other side, a puppet's blade leaving a long slash down his back.

Slick!

"Ugh!"

His robes grew damp with blood, but he gritted his teeth and endured.

"Han Yu!"

A faint cry reached him again, warped and distant. He realized now that the chamber wasn't just casting illusions on individuals, it had scattered them into separate cages, each one fighting their own private nightmare. The screams of his companions overlapped with phantom echoes, making it impossible to tell which were real.

But Han Yu's spirit sense revealed more than just enemies.

Beyond the mist and phantoms, he caught glimpses of glowing barriers.

Walls of illusion that partitioned the chamber into separate segments. Behind one, he saw She Ming staggering, her large fan flailing wildly at endless wolves. Behind another, Fatty Kui was curled defensively, shielding himself from a rain of phantom arrows.

'So that's it. We're all fighting alone, separated by false walls. If no one breaks them, some of us will die here without ever seeing the others again.'

Han Yu's arm hummed as he gathered qi.

He swung with force, unleashing his Emotion Severing Slash.

SHUA

The slash of Soul qi tore forward, not just cleaving space but cutting into the intangible fabric of the illusion itself. The barrier in front of him rippled violently, then shattered like glass, revealing She Ming.

She gasped, blinking at him in disbelief, then redoubled her stance beside him. "Han Yu?! How—"

"No time!" he barked, parrying another puppet's strike. "Stay close and focus on those that bleed essence. Only those that have vitality are real. Ignore the rest!"

She didn't understand, but the urgency in his tone pushed her to obey. Together, they carved through enemies, her Fan striking where he pointed, each kill thinning the illusions further.

He moved on, tearing down barrier after barrier.

He had to be rather careful though, as Eight Emotions Slash consumed a lot of Soul Qi, even when he was trying to limit it the smallest possible input. He had to break multiple barriers, as such could deplete his Soul Qi more than he wanted at this point.

Trying to stay prudent, he struck another barrier.

KACHA

Fatty Kui stumbled into the open next, his round face pale, robes torn. Relief flooded his features when he saw Han Yu. "Brother Han! I thought I was a goner—"

"Keep your head low and don't trust what you see," Han Yu snapped, dragging him along before the boy could collapse.

By the time Han Yu had freed half the group, his breathing was ragged, his wounds mounting. But slowly, the tide shifted. The more barriers shattered, the more the chamber's power waned. The illusions thinned, cracks appearing in the false scenery.

Finally, one by one, the Core Condensation realm disciples burst free of their prisons. Senior Sister Xuan Qing's aura exploded as her sword qi flared, dispelling swaths of false enemies in a single stroke. Senior Brother Duan emerged bloodied but unbroken, crushing a real puppet beneath his fist.

The chamber shuddered as their combined strength tore through the illusions. What remained of the phantoms dissolved like mist in the morning sun.

The group staggered together in the center of the massive hall, battered and bloody, but alive.

Han Yu kept his expression carefully neutral.

None of them had seen his soul techniques. The illusions had hidden his methods perfectly. To the others, he had simply cut through barriers with stubborn willpower and halberd skills.

But deep down, Han Yu knew the truth. Without his soul sense, at least half of them would have fallen here. And though he had kept his secret safe for now, this trial had shown him something else—

—if this was only the beginning of the repository, the dangers ahead would make this hall of illusions look like child's play.