Blade Master

"Rumble!"

Pitch-black Blade Qi slashed out again and again, felling trees wherever it passed with thunderous crashes.

At the sound, the Purple Beast practically leaped with all four legs. It hurriedly tucked its tail and sped up.

"Bastard, stop right there! You've got the nerve to steal my roast meat, so why don't you stop running?!" Ling Li's entire body was wrapped in a layer of thick, venom-like Dou Qi. Black mist continually rose from him, making him look like a demon envoy from hell.

Seeing this display and hearing Ling Li's furious roar, the Purple Beast did not dare stop. Its four stubby little legs moved even faster.

This human was terrifying!

"Die!"

Ling Li roared and slashed dozens of times through the air. A dense swarm of Blade Qi flew forth. Although many were intercepted along the way, quite a few still reached the Purple Beast's rear.

Just as the Blade Qi was about to strike the Purple Beast, it vanished strangely once more.

This time, in broad daylight, Ling Li saw it clearly. The instant the Blade Qi struck the Purple Beast, the surrounding space solidified into a thin membrane that caved inward, cushioning the blow and directly blocking the Blade Qi.

The distorted space might still inflict some damage on the Purple Beast, but most of the force had been absorbed by that spatial membrane. In other words, no matter how much Blade Qi Ling Li unleashed, it posed no lethal threat to the Purple Beast.

"Hm? Attacking it actually gives Experience Points!" Ling Li looked at the system panel before him and saw that the Blade Arts section had gained another 2 Experience Points!

"One point came from the earlier Swallow Return. The other must have come from those few slashes just now!" After gaining Blade Arts experience, Ling Li looked at the Purple Beast differently. In his eyes, it had become a living, breathing experience pack!

If it had been an ordinary fifth-rank magical beast, how could it let Ling Li chase after it and hack away without fighting back? This magical beast had probably put all its skill points into defense.

From what Ling Li currently understood, he had to attack monsters stronger than himself to quickly gain experience. The Purple Beast before him seemed like a very fine experience pack!

"Since you ate my lunch, you'll have to pay the price!" Ling Li licked his lips and slashed out a cross-shaped Blade Qi that howled toward the Purple Beast.

"Hiss!"

The sharp Blade Qi tore up a small patch of turf not far behind the Purple Beast's hind legs. Under the corrosion of dark-attribute Dou Qi, the green grass quickly withered, while the soil changed from earthy yellow to a dead gray.

"Awoo~"

The tremor in the ground made the Purple Beast lose its footing. It curled itself into a purple ball and rolled across the ground.

"Be a good little experience pack and stay put!" Ling Li stamped his foot. With an explosive boom, he shot forward, and Dark Night in his hand came crashing down without mercy.

"Thump."

Just as Ling Li had expected, the moment Dark Night came down, a thin, invisible "spatial membrane" formed around the Purple Beast. The strike landing on it felt like hitting a soft sponge. By the time Dark Night reached the Purple Beast, all its force had been dispersed. Even its sharpness had lost effect, as if the Purple Beast wore a suit of golden-threaded jade armor.

"Awoo~"

The instant Dark Night touched it, the Purple Beast let out a miserable shriek. Yet there was not a single wound on its body, and its mouth continued frantically gnawing on the roasted magical beast without pause.

Though his first slash had failed, Ling Li did not stop. Instead, he grew even more excited. This meant he would not be able to hack this experience pack to death anytime soon!

"Thump, thump, thump..."

Experience +1

Experience +1

Experience +1

The dull impacts rang out without end. Roughly sixty ordinary slashes—less than a second's time—earned him one point of Blade Arts experience. This rate was tens of thousands of times faster than Ling Li practicing by swinging at thin air! The temptation of Blade Arts experience made Ling Li's eyes turn red, and Dark Night never stopped moving.

Ling Li slashed so quickly that his movements could no longer be seen. The Dark Night in his hand and the arm wielding it seemed to vanish from thin air. Only the constantly denting "spatial membrane" around the Purple Beast proved that Ling Li's attacks had never ceased.

Meanwhile, the Purple Beast shrieked miserably as though it were suffering tremendous pain, yet it did not slow its gnawing on the roasted magical beast in the slightest. With every bite, it seemed not even to need to chew before a huge chunk vanished from the roasted beast.

In barely over ten seconds, a roasted magical beast more than four meters long was completely devoured by the Purple Beast.

After finishing the roasted magical beast, the Purple Beast seemed to regain its wits. Dou Qi Wings sprouted from its back as it prepared to flee the scene of the crime.

But how could Ling Li let such an experience pack escape? He ran along the surrounding tree trunks, trying to ride onto the Purple Beast's neck and keep farming experience.

The Purple Beast was no fool. It dodged several times in midair and rapidly climbed higher, ruining Ling Li's plan. Ling Li leaped between branches instead, attacking from afar with Blade Qi.

"Here's a final gift for you!"

"Swallow Return!"

The Purple Beast climbed quickly, reaching a height beyond Ling Li's attack range within seconds.

With a heavy stomp, a branch as thick as a bucket snapped sharply. Borrowing the force, Ling Li shot upward, half-turning in midair like a fully compressed spring.

With one slash, three streams of Blade Qi trailing black mist merged into a spiral and howled toward the Purple Beast in the sky. Ling Li did not care whether the strike hit. He stopped pursuing and descended by stepping from branch to branch.

The moment Ling Li landed, the system's notification suddenly sounded:

Congratulations, Host! The Blade Arts skill has been raised to Master!

Current Blade Arts skill level: Master (0/1000).

"Awooooo~~~"

At the same time, an extended, miserable howl rang out from the distant sky.

As the system notification ended, Ling Li felt his mind suddenly become clear. He seemed to have gained an additional connection with Dark Night in his hand. He felt as though Dark Night had its own breath, its own heartbeat—as though it were alive. Advanced techniques he had been unable to attempt in the past now felt easy to execute.

Ling Li tried slashing out a stream of Blade Qi with Dark Night. The Dou Qi it consumed decreased by around a tenth, while the Blade Qi became thinner and longer. Both its flight speed and cutting power improved considerably.

"What a wonderful magical beast. Too bad it has a mouth. Otherwise, it wouldn't be bad to keep it as a pet..." Ling Li sighed as he looked toward the empty sky.

If he could truly raise that magical beast as a pet, its terrifying defense alone would provide Ling Li with enormous help. Even if it merely accompanied him in practicing his blade every day, it would still greatly improve him.

But he had gone too hard on it just now. That Purple Beast probably would not dare come near him again, would it?

I got so carried away that I forgot to hold back. Otherwise, I could have used roasted magical beasts to lure it over next time and make it a long-term experience pack... Ling Li thought regretfully.

Still, he had gained more than ten points of Blade Arts experience in just over ten minutes, raising Blade Arts from Proficient to Master. Ling Li was already satisfied. If he had trained on his own, he estimated that overcoming this hurdle would probably have taken another seven or eight months.