Slaying a Ranked Barbarian with One Saber! Overwhelming Strength!

"Brother Bei... Brother Bei, what do we do? Are we going to die?"

Chen Niu's voice trembled so badly it was nearly incoherent.

"Quiet! Everyone, stand against the wall!"

Jiang Bei frowned and said in a low voice.

The others hurriedly scattered, pressing their backs tightly against the damp earthen walls.

Jiang Bei also retreated several steps, gripping the Horizontal Saber tightly in his palm, his eyes fixed on the wooden boards overhead. "The moment they come down, we strike..."

The villagers turned their faces toward the earthen walls in terror, not daring to look directly. Wang Tong, Chen Niu, and the others forced themselves to steady their nerves, clutching their sabers as their heartbeats quickened.

"Bang!"

At that moment, the cellar hatch was suddenly thrown open, and blinding white light poured down.

"Damn it, why is there no one? Could this cellar have a secret passage?"

"Go down and take a look!"

The rough voices came again.

Jiang Bei's chest heaved violently, his eyes locked onto the ladder, waiting only for the moment the Barbarians appeared!

"Creak—"

A faint sound came from the ladder as a Barbarian's figure slowly descended.

The instant he saw Jiang Bei and the others, his eyes abruptly widened.

"Squelch!"

Before he could cry out, Jiang Bei's Horizontal Saber shot forth like a venomous serpent, instantly piercing the Barbarian's chest.

Jiang Bei seized the Barbarian by the leg and viciously dragged him down onto the ground.

You killed an utterly evil Barbarian. Merit Points +2

"There's an ambush! They're hiding in here!"

Another Barbarian poked his head in and saw the grisly scene in the cellar. His face turned deathly pale as he spun and fled. "Get people over here, quickly!"

"Move!"

Jiang Bei roared and was the first to climb the ladder.

Chen Niu, Wang Tong, and the others did not dare hesitate, charging out of the cellar after him.

Once they rushed out of the house, they saw that the village was already awash in blood.

These Barbarians murdered, wounded, and plundered without restraint. More than half of Sunset Village's villagers had been killed or injured.

"Where are the horses? Where are our horses?"

"Forget the horses! Get out of the village first!"

Just as they were about to break through, a furious roar exploded in their ears—

"You killed my men and still want to run?"

"Boom!"

A thick wooden stake tore through the air, slamming a soldier at the front so hard that he spat blood and flew backward.

Jiang Bei spun around sharply and saw five Barbarians charging out from around the corner. Their leader wore leather armor, his body as brawny as a bear's, his arms knotted with muscle and crisscrossed by scars.

This man was the ranked Barbarian who had heavily injured the original owner of this body—Tie Muler!

"You're tough to kill, huh? You took one of my palms and didn't die?"

Tie Muler's gaze settled on Jiang Bei, a vicious grin curling across his lips.

Then he swept out an arm. "Slaughter them!"

"Kill—!"

In an instant, the Barbarians beside him charged toward Jiang Bei and the others.

"I don't want to die in this damned place!"

Wang Tong's face went pale as he turned to flee. But before he could take more than a few steps, two Barbarians had already closed in like ghosts. Two long spears stabbed through the air with piercing shrieks.

"Bang!"

"Pfft—!"

Wang Tong hastily raised his weapon to block, but the tremendous force split the web between his thumb and forefinger.

One spear punched through his chest, while the other brutally pierced his shoulder blade.

With savage grins, the Barbarians sent him flying with a kick. Blood traced a miserable arc through the air as he was hurled several zhang away.

"There's no escape. We can only fight to the death!"

Jiang Bei clenched his five fingers, and the Horizontal Saber hummed in his palm.

A cold gleam flared in his eyes, killing intent around him almost taking solid form. Facing the two Barbarians rushing at him, he stomped the ground and shot forward like an arrow loosed from its bow.

The force of Ninth Rank Minor Training surged through his meridians as the blade ripped through the air with a shrill whistle.

"Swish!"

Blade light flashed like a strip of silk. One Barbarian had no time to react before he was cleaved diagonally in two from shoulder to waist.

Jiang Bei twisted his wrist and slashed again. The other Barbarian's leather armor tore apart like paper, and blood immediately gushed from his abdomen like a fountain.

Though he had never learned a saber technique, the power of Ninth Rank Minor Training was still more than enough to deal with these ordinary Barbarians!

You killed an utterly evil Barbarian. Merit Points +5

You killed... a Barbarian. Merit Points +6

In the blink of an eye, he had killed two men in succession.

Tie Muler froze. This brat had possessed some strength before, but he had definitely not been this powerful.

How had he suddenly become so strong?

Not only had he survived Tie Muler's heavy blow, he had actually grown stronger?

How was that possible?

"Interesting! I'll have a go at you myself!"

Tie Muler laughed in rage, the muscles all over his body swelling like stone. He swung his war saber, its edge carrying a howling gale as it came crashing down. "I'll chop you to pieces with my own hands!"

Jiang Bei raised his saber to meet it.

"Clang—!"

The two sabers collided, scattering sparks in every direction.

Amid the deafening ring of metal striking metal, the ground beneath both men's feet sank.

"Ninth Rank Minor Training? You hid yourself well!"

Veins bulged across Tie Muler's forehead.

"J-Jiang Bei reached the rank?"

In the distance, Wang Tong, who had struggled to climb back to his feet, witnessed the scene. His expression changed dramatically, his eyes filled with stunned disbelief.

When had Jiang Bei reached the rank? How had Wang Tong not known at all?

He had actually done it even faster than Wang Tong!

"What tremendous strength!"

Jiang Bei frowned, likewise sensing Tie Muler's power.

These Barbarians were born warlike and massive in stature, naturally stronger than ordinary men.

With a thought, he hurriedly opened the panel.

Martial Art: Xing Tian Gong (First Layer +)

Realm: Ninth Rank Minor Training

Merit Points: 15

Martial art discovered: Xing Tian Gong. Can be upgraded. Requires 15 Merit Points. Upgrade?

After killing three Barbarians in a row, his Merit Points had accumulated to fifteen.

"Since Ninth Rank Minor Training can't kill you, then I'll break through to Major Refinement!"

"Upgrade!"

Jiang Bei shouted inwardly.

In an instant, fifteen Merit Points transformed into a surging torrent of heat, washing through every limb and bone like a rushing river.

Xing Tian Gong instantly broke through to the second layer, and his realm directly entered Ninth Rank Great Training!

His strength soared in an instant!

"Boom!!"

The two had originally been evenly matched, but then a thunderous explosion erupted.

Tie Muler's war saber flew straight out of his hand, and he staggered backward while spraying blood.

"H-How is this possible?! How could his strength suddenly surge so much?!"

Tie Muler retreated seven or eight steps before barely steadying himself, stormy waves crashing through his heart.

In that split second, he had clearly felt Jiang Bei's strength abruptly rise!

It was as if... he had broken through in the middle of battle?!

Before he could recover his senses, Jiang Bei's figure had already shot toward him like an arrow released from the bow!

"Not good!"

Tie Muler's expression changed drastically. His heartbeat raced, but it was already too late to dodge.

"Squelch!"

Blood sprayed as a massive head flew through the air.

You killed Tie Muler. Merit Points +15

"Alpha wolf!!"

The remaining two Barbarians were still fighting the other soldiers. At the sight, their faces went ashen.

And it was not just them—the soldiers were utterly horrified as well.

"Brother Bei... Brother Bei killed a ranked Barbarian? When did he become this strong?"

Chen Niu swallowed with difficulty, finding the sight before him impossible to believe.

Wang Tong was also dumbstruck, his eyes wide and his tongue tied.

Jiang Bei reaching the rank had already been shocking enough, but killing Tie Muler in an instant left him even more horrified.

One had to know that at the same realm, Barbarians were naturally stronger!

Hadn't Jiang Bei been heavily injured by Tie Muler before? How had he suddenly become so powerful?

Could it be... he had been enduring all along? Had he only been injured before because he had underestimated his opponent and been caught off guard?

Good thing I didn't clash with him in the cellar back then. Otherwise... one slash might have been enough to take my life!

A wave of lingering fear rose in Wang Tong's heart, and he could not help feeling several degrees more afraid as he looked at Jiang Bei.

He had indeed harbored considerable resentment toward Jiang Bei over what had happened today, but now that he thought about it, that resentment had been utterly foolish. Fortunately, Jiang Bei had not held it against him!

Naturally, Jiang Bei did not let the final two Barbarians go either.

Those were all Merit Points!

He rushed forward, saber in hand, and killed them all.

At this point, every Barbarian in Sunset Village had been completely wiped out!

"W-We won! We won!"

"We can go back to camp!"

The soldiers were overjoyed, overcome by the feeling of surviving a catastrophe.

Back in the cellar, they had thought they were doomed to die today.

Yet against all expectations, they had escaped danger.

One by one, they looked at Jiang Bei with awe and reverence. They knew clearly that without him today, none of them could possibly have survived!

Meanwhile, Jiang Bei was cleaning up the battlefield and collecting the spoils.

He searched the corpses one by one, not overlooking a single Barbarian's body.

If he did not even get some loot out of this, wouldn't all that effort have been wasted?

At that moment, he picked up the war saber Tie Muler had used earlier.

A notification suddenly popped up before him, making him freeze.

Item discovered: Blood Wolf Saber. Can be refined. Requires 5 Merit Points. Refine?

Note: Refining grants martial art: Blood Wolf Saber Technique