Crimson Sakura Honkai Beast

The idea was excellent, but putting it into practice was extremely difficult.

Muramasa of Bizen would obediently enter the weapon storage, but it would not appear in his hand in the state Han Jiang had envisioned.

That meant Han Jiang still had to adjust the weapon's orientation, disrupting the flow of his attacks.

To use this newly developed function proficiently, he could only rely on practice.

But this was not a place for training; accidents could happen at any moment. Han Jiang stopped practicing.

As usual, he began cleaning up the battlefield, collecting every scrap of harvestable material into the system inventory.

Halfway through the cleanup, something suddenly shifted beneath his feet.

The floor began moving like a conveyor belt, while the walls of the room contracted to either side.

Han Jiang gripped his twin blades tightly and carefully observed his surroundings.

A minute later, the floor carried Han Jiang to the edge of a room, and the wall behind him extended, cutting off his retreat.

In the center of the room floated a Rush-class Honkai Beast.

This Honkai Beast had more flame patterns across its body, and its eyes seemed to hold a trace of intelligence. It did not attack Han Jiang the moment it saw him.

As the Tenshukaku guarded by the Yae Family for generations, it imprisoned far more than just low-level Deadwalkers.

Han Jiang warily watched the Honkai Beast before him, and it seemed to be observing him as well.

In an instant, Han Jiang felt dizzy.

The Honkai Beast in the center of the room suddenly appeared beside Han Jiang. He could only watch helplessly as it moved; his own body would not respond, as if time had been frozen.

"Time-Space Blink!"

Han Jiang instantly realized what he was facing. A Honkai Beast had actually used a skill similar to "bullet time."

Han Jiang's body could not keep up with his thoughts. He could only watch helplessly as the Honkai Beast drew near.

"Bang!"

Han Jiang began circulating the Honkai Energy within him at full force. St. Freya High School's combat armor was equipped with the [Burst Mode]—Burst System.

Han Jiang's Honkai Energy possessed explosive properties, and with the combat armor, those explosive attributes were amplified tremendously.

After the blast, the Rush-class Honkai Beast was forcibly driven back by Han Jiang's erupting Honkai Energy.

It was at that moment that Time-Space Blink ended. Han Jiang seized his twin blades and slashed at it.

Then he flipped through the air, landed on the Honkai Beast, and drove a blade down beside its head.

But at that exact moment, the "fly" abruptly retreated a great distance, causing Han Jiang's blade to miss.

"Damn it, I nearly got screwed over!" Han Jiang cursed as he charged at the Honkai Beast.

Like birds, Rush-class Honkai Beasts had sharp wings and the ability to float. If he could not kill it in one strike, it would flee far away.

Han Jiang's Gun Fu was currently only Level 1, so he could not use a Time-Space Blink skill for the time being. He could only rely on his own speed to close the distance.

A bugged skill like Time-Space Blink had to come with severe limitations, whether for humans or Honkai Beasts.

Han Jiang concluded that this Honkai Beast could not use it a second time anytime soon, but he could not drag things out for too long either.

If this Honkai Beast used it again, Han Jiang did not have enough Honkai Energy left to erupt like before.

So Han Jiang kept fighting at close range, delivering vicious blows whenever an opportunity arose.

No matter how strong a lower-tier Honkai Beast was, it had its limits. Through Han Jiang's constant efforts, he finally figured out this Honkai Beast's dodging pattern.

After closing in to attack once more, the Honkai Beast began dodging backward. Han Jiang threw the Tang Dao in his hand, wrapped in Blade Aura, and it viciously stabbed into the Honkai Beast's body.

The next moment, Han Jiang lunged forward. Muramasa of Bizen appeared in his hand once more, and the two blades slashed simultaneously at the Honkai Beast from left and right.

The Honkai Beast would not simply wait to die. It drew in its tail feathers, spun in a circle, and attacked Han Jiang with its sharp tail feathers.

Faced with this, Han Jiang gritted his teeth and charged forward.

He was gambling on whether the armor on his body was sturdy enough. The longer the battle dragged on, the greater the threat to him became. This Honkai Beast had mastered Time-Space Blink.

"Die!"

Han Jiang shouted as his twin blades closed in and slashed into the Honkai Beast.

Pink blood began spraying from the Honkai Beast, while Han Jiang's body was forced backward again and again by its attacks.

The armor on Han Jiang's body was cut by the tail blade, leaving the clothing below his chest hanging around his waist.

His black trench coat had also been sliced open down the middle, with only a small portion still hanging on.

Han Jiang's strike had inflicted tremendous damage on the Honkai Beast. It was already at death's door as it collapsed to the ground.

"Ding: Crimson Sakura Honkai Beast killed. Evolution Points +20, Crystals +15."

Hearing the system notification, Han Jiang finally let out a breath of relief. As expected of a Honkai Beast suppressed within the Tenshukaku—it even gave Crystal rewards.

He wondered how Yae Sakura and Theresa were doing. Their combat strength should be enough to handle these Honkai Beasts with ease.

After Han Jiang rested for a long while, the room began changing again.

This time, only the walls changed. The wall before Han Jiang split open down the middle.

Yae Sakura and Theresa watched the opening wall warily. Han Jiang held his twin blades tightly and looked across from them. Once they realized they were teammates, all three breathed a sigh of relief at once.

"Han Jiang, how did you get so badly hurt?" Theresa asked in surprise as she looked at his miserable state.

Han Jiang lowered his head and examined his clothes. His armor was over thirty percent damaged, and his body was covered in wounds like blade marks.

Those had all been left behind during his final fight against that Crimson Sakura Honkai Beast. The Deadwalkers from before had not been capable of injuring Han Jiang.

"I got caught off guard and suffered a small loss. How about you two?" Han Jiang asked a pointless question.

Both said they were fine; they had simply encountered slightly more Honkai Beasts.

"After we split up, Honkai Beasts started appearing. I fought all the way to the main hall and killed around twelve Honkai Beasts, I think." Theresa said, counting on her fingers.

"Twelve?" Han Jiang froze. "Why so many?"

Yae Sakura nodded. "I encountered the same number of Honkai Beasts as Theresa. Only the Honkai Beast in the main hall was a little stronger."

Theresa nodded. "That Honkai Beast was barely close to Emperor-class. I don't know how you managed to lock it up back then."

Hiyori slowly floated to the center of the three and pointed at the Honkai Beast on the ground. "Those Honkai Beasts were not this strong at first. It was that evil guy on the seventh floor who made them stronger."

"Close to Emperor-class?" Han Jiang asked as he quickly walked toward the Honkai Beast behind the two girls.

Even the Scythe Queen's weapon could yield Titanium Alloy. Could a Honkai Beast close to Emperor-class really have nothing good on it?

The Honkai Beast lying on the ground had a somewhat peculiar build. It looked very much like a bear, with one side of its body exceptionally muscular and the other looking somewhat malnourished.

"Ding: Rare energy of the Child of the Night detected. Collect to obtain 50 Crystals. Collect? Yes/No."

"This Honkai Beast carries a trace of Ashwatthama's aura. I don't know if I'm mistaken." Theresa said with a frown as she stood beside Han Jiang.

Thanks to [Mou Fa] for the 200 reward!!! And thanks to [Names Can All Go Die] for the 100 reward!!!