This Hand is Stable

Outside Langyu County.

The woods were cut off by the river, the wind was calm and the waves were still, with occasional bird songs.

Lu Bei stood in an open space by the river. Perhaps he had caught the fishing bug from Lin Yu, but his first thought upon seeing the river was that it held big fish and he wouldn't come back empty-handed.

Not far behind him, She Xuan stood by a tree, her eyes now reptilian, her body reflecting light and distorting it, creating a visual form of invisibility. In terms of perception, her breathing was calm, her heartbeat lowered to a minimum, like a hibernating viper, concealing her aura to the point of being undetectable.

Constrained by her own bloodline, She Xuan's path as a Monster Cultivator had been quite difficult. During her trip to the Monster Cultivator's cave dwelling, she obtained the source of her bloodline and refined it for half a month, integrating it into herself. Her essence underwent a complete transformation, and her strength increased dramatically, making her incomparable to her former self.

This was just the beginning. All the conditions for a gradual yet explosive increase in power were met, and her strength would continue to advance by leaps and bounds in the coming period.

To use an inappropriate analogy, She Xuan's previous situation was similar to a player with a very high main profession level who never allocated experience points to skills. Her output was weak, her defense was fragile, and apart from her level, she was useless – a standard liability of a teammate.

This was also the reason for She Xuan's confidence. Her strength had increased significantly after a month of arduous training. In contrast, even with Lu Bei's considerable talent, it was impossible for him to have improved that much.

When rounding the numbers, this battle was a sure win!

Filled with strong confidence, She Xuan decided to take the initiative. Gripping a short dagger in reverse, she silently approached Lu Bei from behind. Her reptilian eyes scanned his carotid artery, and she slowly pressed the blade against it.

"There's killing intent!"

Lu Bei let out a low shout, shifted his stance, and using his front foot as a pivot, rotated his body and kicked out with his back foot.

Divine Dragon Swings Tail!

The wind howled, and the kick was powerful and heavy, the air being struck with violent force, emitting a piercing tearing sound.

She Xuan was slightly startled and bent down to dodge the kick. Seeing the grass debris flying up from the ground and the wind roaring overhead, she couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

This scene was exactly like the one in the Monster Cultivator's cave dwelling, where the near-dead Lu Bei went berserk, killing multiple enemies, and she, unable to defeat him, was injured and fled.

Mere brute force!

She Xuan thought it was no big deal. With her experience and her subsequent analysis of Lu Bei, she was certain that he couldn't maintain high-output attacks for long.

All she needed to do was to temporarily avoid his sharpest attacks. Once Lu Bei became weak and powerless, this battle would be hers.

"Snake Aunt, your killing intent is too strong!"

Lu Bei clasped his fists and slammed them down towards the open space in front of him.

Boom!

A burst of energy erupted, and the ground beneath his feet rippled like water for an instant, sending a large amount of soil mixed with grass flying into the sky.

She Xuan felt an astonishing force sweep over her, causing her to retreat several steps before stopping under the shade of the trees.

She dispelled her aura-concealing technique, her brows furrowed in concentration. "You can see through my magic?"

"I can't see through it, but the killing intent guides me, so finding you isn't difficult."

"I don't have killing intent."

"Then it's resentment!"

Lu Bei said helplessly, "Snake Aunt, the past is in the past. You're a mature woman, and you should know that our relationship can't go back to how it was. Let it go, don't dwell on it. We all need to look forward."

What he said is true, but is this how you should express it?

She Xuan snorted, "That's right, it's killing intent."

"There, you see."

Lu Bei clenched his fists and strode towards She Xuan. Once the skill 'Blood Rage' was activated and the lock-on successful, he accelerated with a dash and threw a punch straight at She Xuan's face.

A gale whirled around him, and he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, leaving a trail of wind. Streams of air enveloped his fist, and in an instant, he reached the base of the tree.

The familiar sense of cowardice washed over She Xuan. She couldn't tell if Lu Bei had cast a spell on her or if being beaten twice had planted a seed of fear in her heart, despite her outward defiance.

Seeing that his fist was too powerful to confront directly, she flipped over and dodged again. However, to her surprise, Lu Bei was right behind her, closing the distance with a swift step. He raised his clenched fist and swung it towards her face.

So fast!

No, so slow!

She Xuan was horrified. According to her calculations, Lu Bei shouldn't have been able to last long. He should have been out of stamina by now and at her mercy.

In this critical moment, she spat out a poisonous needle, blocking the area where his fist was about to land. Then, her lower body transformed into a snake's tail, and she whipped it fiercely towards Lu Bei's side.

The wind tore through the afterimages, and the gale kicked up by the attack made Lu Bei's clothes flutter wildly.

"Good!"

Lu Bei's eyes lit up. Just as he expected, She Xuan's strength had increased after her bloodline advancement. Her underestimation had given him an opportunity for close-quarters combat.

If that was the case, he wouldn't be modest.

He raised his hands to block the heavily striking snake tail, his feet plowing through the ground as he took three steps back. When the force of the snake tail gradually subsided, he stomped his feet heavily on the ground, kicking up dirt and grass to stabilize himself. With a reverse grip, his fingers embedded into the fine scales, and he held the long tail firmly in his hands.

"Heh heh."

Lu Bei grinned, and his sinister smile made She Xuan's face change drastically. The next second, immense force spread up from her tail, causing her bones to tremble. Her vision spun wildly.

Lu Bei spun around more than ten times on the spot, flinging She Xuan into an afterimage, before aiming her at a giant tree and throwing her.

He missed, as expected.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

She Xuan shot out like a cannonball, bouncing several times after landing before finally stopping, carving a deep gully in the mud.

This guy is truly hateful!

She Xuan's serpentine body trembled, not yet recovered from the numbness in her bones and muscles. The golden bracelet on her wrist, which had transformed from a golden-scaled little snake, slowly slithered, awaiting its master's command.

Hiss, hiss, hiss—

It wasn't the sound of a flickering tongue, but a sharp tearing sound that struck. She Xuan only saw a flash of black light before her eyes, and a Black Gold Straight Saber appeared on her cheek.

Blood trickled down, carrying the familiar taste of memory.

Bitterness, helplessness…

And unwillingness to accept defeat.

Losing this time was too unfair!

[You have defeated She Xuan, gaining 40,000 experience]

"Forty thousand…"

Lu Bei walked up to She Xuan, sheathed his saber into his Qiankun Bag, and then extended his hand to her with a smile.

He retracted his previous words; she was a good woman. In terms of contributing experience, no one was more proactive than her.

She Xuan ignored Lu Bei's outstretched hand, withdrew her demonic transformation, and stumbled to her feet, leaning against a tree for support. "What's going on? What happened to you these days? Last time in the Monster Cultivator's cave, did you gain something?"

"No particular gains. It's just that two days ago, my Eldest Senior Brother from far away in Yuezhou came to visit. Seeing my low cultivation, he tutored me for two days," Lu Bei replied truthfully.

She Xuan was envious upon hearing this, but she didn't say it. She raised her hand and brushed away the bloodstain on her cheek. To Lu Bei's astonishment, she peeled off a layer of skin.

Her face was the same as before, but after removing this layer of human skin, the scars on her face vanished without a trace.

With her bloodline advancement, any injury that wasn't a severed limb could be rapidly healed through shedding her skin.

This was for now. As her cultivation improved, even if she lost a limb, she could regenerate it perfectly after shedding her skin.

To be even more exaggerated, once her divine soul reached a certain level, she could reattach her head even if it was severed.

"Amazing!"

Lu Bei clicked his tongue in wonder and asked, "Snake Aunt, aren't you wearing pants under your skirt? Why is it that every time you sprout your tail, I don't hear the sound of your clothes ripping?"

She Xuan: "..."

"No way, I wear pants when I go out. After all, it's broad daylight and..."

"Shut up, I wear them... It's none of your business whether I wear them or not."

She Xuan couldn't take it anymore and turned to walk towards Langyu County. "Twelve days later, meet me at Dasheng Pass."

"Aren't we going together?"

"I don't want to!"

"Alright then. Please prepare the equipment I need for the tomb, Snake Aunt. Thanks in advance."

Lu Bei waved goodbye to She Xuan's retreating figure. The moment he lowered his head, his playful grin disappeared as he started calculating. "Twelve days. I'll set off tonight. That's enough time for me to earn some experience in the Alchemy Room..."

"And Eldest Cousin, I need to tell him to lend me his irreplaceable chainmail for a while longer."