"At least all that work wasn't for nothing."
Wei Qing said this as he bent down and reached for the bone spike.
Just as his fingertips were about to touch it—
"Whoosh!"
The bone spike suddenly sprang up, stabbing toward Wei Qing's face like a sharp sword.
With a clang of metal striking metal, the bone spike was struck by the Soul Severing Blade.
Cracks instantly spread across the bone spike.
Wei Qing's figure flickered, and the Soul Severing Blade swept out again.
The bone spike tried to dodge, but it was ultimately a moment too late.
With a crunch, it shattered into fragments that scattered across the ground.
Immediately afterward, the surrounding environment changed again. The darkness receded, and the courtyard regained its light.
Five meters away, a snow-white two-tailed demonic cat glared furiously at Wei Qing with a pair of heterochromatic eyes, one blue and one gold.
Information about the two-tailed demonic cat before him rapidly surfaced in his mind:
Spirit Stream Demonic Cat, a spiritual-type demon, fond of consuming mental power and skilled in mental control. The number of its tails represented its level of strength. Every time it advanced by one rank, it would grow another tail.
Weakness: insufficient physical defense.
When it saw that Wei Qing's eyes had regained their clarity, the demonic cat pushed off with all four limbs and prepared to flee.
The illusion had been broken.
The puppet had been destroyed.
With both trump cards rendered useless, and facing Wei Qing's attacks head-on, it had no chance of winning whatsoever.
A streak of cold light flashed. The blade swept past the demonic cat's neck, scattering snow-white fur as its head separated from its body.
In the final instant before its consciousness dissipated, it saw its headless body still maintaining its fleeing posture, while its remaining tail gradually faded away.
Then, a red ball of light merged into Wei Qing's body.
[ Ding! Slain: Eighth-Rank Mid-Stage Spirit Stream Demonic Cat ] [Spirit +53, Strength +66, Constitution +69, Dropped Items: Mental Skull (Can Be Fused), Cultivation Method Nanke's Dream]
"Fuse!"
"[Ding! Fusion complete. Mental Power +50]"
As soon as the system's voice faded, the Mental Skull transformed into countless strands of dusky blue light that surged into his mind.
Immediately afterward, Wei Qing sensed his mental power rapidly soaring.
His vision also became much clearer. Twenty meters away, he could clearly see two ants tearing at each other over food.
Even more astonishing was the change in his comprehension—
His originally obscure and difficult-to-understand blade technique automatically broke down, continuously recombining and fusing within his mind until it finally became the plainest possible slash.
[Flowing Cloud Slash has broken through to the Perfection Realm. Ultimate Skill comprehended automatically: Lotus Flower!] [Lotus Flower: Blade speed increased by 300%; can slash intangible objects]
The spiritual cultivation method Nanke's Dream began circulating on its own, directly skipping the Initiation stage and reaching the Minor Accomplishment stage.
Wei Qing closed his eyes and focused his mind. Any disturbance within twenty zhang was clearly discernible.
[Host: Wei Qing] [Age: 16] [Realm: Eighth-grade Martial Artist (Peak)] [Spirit: 297] [Strength: 236] [Constitution: 235] [Martial Skill: Flowing Cloud Slash (Perfection) - Ultimate Skill: Lotus Flower] [Cultivation Method: Nanke's Dream (Minor Accomplishment)]
Cultivation methods were divided into four grades—Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow. Their mastery was divided into Initiation, Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, and Perfection.
Ninety percent of martial artists were stuck at Minor Accomplishment.
Those who reached Major Accomplishment could almost become invincible among those of the same rank.
Those who comprehended a technique to Perfection could fight across realms with ease.
Ultimate skills were powerful techniques that only cultivation methods of Earth grade and above possessed!
Wei Qing clenched his fist, the corners of his mouth curving upward.
"At the Ninth Rank, thirty attribute points advance one minor realm. After reaching the Eighth Rank, fifty attribute points advance one minor realm. Judging by mental power alone, I can now completely match an early Seventh-Rank Martial Artist."
"With the spiritual cultivation method Nanke's Dream, combined with the Perfection-level Flowing Cloud Slash..."
"This time, even if I face a peak Seventh-Rank or even early Sixth-Rank demon, I won't fear it."
The instant the two-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat was slain—
Far away, in a gloomy cave somewhere on Yandang Mountain, the cavern began to tremble violently, and rocks came tumbling down.
Inside the cave, a pair of scarlet eyes opened, erupting with terrifying killing intent.
"Who was it? Who killed my child?"
Accompanied by a roar that shook the heavens, a four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat standing five meters tall burst through the stone wall atop the mountain.
Every strand of its snow-white fur stood erect, while its moist nose twitched slightly.
"No matter who you are... I'll make you pay for this blood debt with blood!"
The four-tailed Spirit Stream Demonic Cat threw back its head and let out a long howl. The terrifying sound waves shook the birds and beasts within a thousand meters, causing them to burst apart one after another.
In the next moment, its figure transformed into a bolt of white lightning and sped toward Longdong Village.
"Lord Wei, are you all right?" Zhu Huan looked at Wei Qing with a face full of concern, then swept his gaze around. "After I saw you enter the door, there wasn't any movement at all."
"Could there have been a demon..."
"Pfft!"
Before Zhu Huan could finish speaking, Wei Qing suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and his face instantly turned deathly pale.
His legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.
"Lord Wei..."
Zhu Huan hurried forward to support him.
Suddenly.
A streak of cold light exploded forth, stabbing toward Wei Qing's heart.
"Clang!"
With a ringing clash of metal, the Soul Reaper Blade appeared reversed in Wei Qing's hand, accurately blocking the black-glowing dagger.
The sparks produced by the collision illuminated the astonishment in Zhu Huan's eyes.
"You're all right?"
"You finally couldn't hold back."
Zhu Huan gripped his blade and sprang backward, retreating five meters. Shaking his head, he sighed, "People from the Heavenly Realm Division really are hard to kill. It's always like this!"
"Why betray humanity?"
"Heh heh... Naturally, to obtain what I want."
"Rise!"
As he spoke, Zhu Huan's hands rapidly formed seals. One sinister black demonic marking after another spread upward from his neck, covering his entire face in the blink of an eye.
An eerie demonic eye appeared at the center of his brows.
At the same time, the aura surrounding him rapidly surged.
In the space of one breath, it broke through to the early Eighth Rank... the mid Eighth Rank...
Only after reaching the early Seventh Rank did his surging aura begin to slow.
In the end, just as it was about to break through to the mid-Seventh Rank, the aura gradually settled.
"This power... is truly intoxicating!"
Zhu Huan clenched his fist, a sickly, drunken expression of delight spreading across his face.
Wei Qing's voice was cold. "Do you know the price of this power?"
"The price?" Zhu Huan was stunned at first. Then, his eyes turning scarlet, he laughed loudly. "Hahaha, it would be best if they all died."
"Ever since they caused my mother's death, I've wished every moment for all of them to die without exception!"
"Even if the Imperial Court doesn't exterminate their three clans, after killing you, I'll send them all down there to atone to my mother."
As soon as his voice fell, Zhu Huan's figure flickered, leaving behind only an afterimage in the air.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared before Wei Qing.
His palm transformed into a claw, reaching straight for Wei Qing's throat.
Wei Qing twisted aside and dodged. The sharp claws grazed his neck, tearing a one-inch-deep fissure into the bluestone ground.
With a crack, the entire stone slab shattered outward from the point where the claws landed, sending fragments flying.
Wei Qing seized the opportunity and kicked fiercely toward Zhu Huan's dantian with his right foot.
Seeing this, Zhu Huan gave an eerie smile and forcibly endured the kick.
However, the scene Wei Qing had imagined—his opponent suffering severe injuries—did not appear.
Instead, Zhu Huan's abdomen suddenly caved inward into a strange curve, like a body without bones.