Killing Intent Soul-Slaying, Slaying the Specter!

Clang!

The long saber collided with the claws, and Gu Yang was sent flying backward.

"Thud, thud, thud~"

After staggering back several steps, a flicker of shock flashed through Gu Yang's eyes.

Just moments ago, she had been an ordinary little girl, yet in the blink of an eye, she had turned into a terrifying monster.

At that moment, Gu Yang had no mind left to hide his strength. Nearly three thousand jin of force erupted from his entire body as he swung his saber down hard at the possessing Specter before him.

"Hiss~"

The Specter let out a shriek, then lunged at Gu Yang with no regard for anything else.

Whoosh!

The saber flashed as, following the Killing Instinct in his heart, Gu Yang's blade struck the Specter's head.

Yet all it produced was a clang. The Specter was completely unharmed.

At the same time, the Specter appeared beside Gu Yang in an instant, its claws sweeping toward him.

Clang!

After reflexively blocking the blow, Gu Yang watched as the Specter began circling him at high speed.

Its claws danced in the air, blanketing every part of Gu Yang's body.

"Clang, clang, clang~"

After a succession of collisions, Gu Yang finally let out a breath of relief.

If this Specter were measured by a martial artist's strength, its power should have been at the Blood Qi Condensation stage—roughly over three thousand jin.

But its true terror lay in its incredible speed and its steel sinews and iron bones. Sabers could not harm it.

On those two points alone, the Specter could instantly kill a Blood Qi Condensation martial artist.

Fortunately, Gu Yang did not fear its speed.

No matter how fast it moved, it could not be faster than Gu Yang's saber swings.

Following his Killing Instinct, Gu Yang pushed himself to the limit and caught every attack from the Specter.

As immense force crashed against immense force, Gu Yang's hands rapidly began to go numb. Yet the killing intent in his eyes only surged higher and higher.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Killing intent churned in his mind. This was the first time in his life that Gu Yang had experienced such intense emotion.

Toward the Specter—no, toward the one lurking behind the scenes.

But for now, this furnace-hot killing intent could only be vented upon the Specter before him.

"Clang, clang, clang~"

The long saber whirled, and every instant brought another collision between Gu Yang and the Specter.

Seeing Gu Yang hold back the Specter, one Martial Academy disciple immediately shouted, "I'll help you!"

The next moment, however, he flew back the same way he had pounced forward.

Boom!

The long saber fell away as his body slammed heavily into the ground. The disciple immediately spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning deathly pale.

When the Specter turned its head, intending to chase after him, Gu Yang hurriedly slashed down with his saber and dragged its attention back.

At the same time, he shouted, "Stay back. This thing isn't something you can handle. I can't hurt it either—I can only barely hold it off."

In truth, he did not need to warn them. No one was foolish. Seeing that disciple get sent flying by a single blow from the Specter, unable even to withstand one strike, they had already abandoned any thought of helping.

That disciple's strength had not been weak. He had even been publicly acknowledged as one of the top five among them.

So just how strong was Gu Yang?

Watching Gu Yang, who seemed to be in danger yet had remained unscathed despite the Specter's relentless attacks, a thread of doubt rose in everyone's hearts.

Was the gap between them and Gu Yang really this great?

Gu Yang had no energy to spare for anyone else's thoughts. Every ounce of his focus was devoted to dealing with the Specter before him.

Fortunately, among these civilians, there was only this one fish that had slipped through the net. No second Specter had descended, so the other civilians and disciples were not in danger.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Master Liao had already gone all out, madly bombarding the three Specters surrounding him.

Yet for Master Liao, while the Specters were weak, they were extraordinarily difficult to kill.

With his strength at the initial stage of the Leakless Realm, the only way to destroy them was to slowly grind them to death with Blood Qi.

Even while fighting three Specters at once, however, he still had enough leeway to watch the others.

When he saw Gu Yang unleash his strength and stop the fourth Specter, he could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Luckily, Gu Yang was here. Otherwise, how many of the Martial Academy's promising seeds would survive today was truly impossible to say.

At the same time, he was deeply shocked by the strength Gu Yang had displayed.

If it were not for the lack of any phenomenon showing condensed Blood Qi around him in battle, Master Liao might even have believed Gu Yang had already achieved Blood Qi Condensation!

But thinking about it from another angle, possessing such strength without condensing Blood Qi only made Gu Yang's terror stand out all the more.

For a moment, he actually lost focus.

He recalled what Dean Hong had told him before they entered the mountains: protect Gu Yang well. Gu Yang might one day earn Canglong Island's "genius" rating!

At the time, he had not paid much attention to it. After all, the title of "genius" was not so easily obtained, and true geniuses would not encounter danger in a trial of this intensity.

But now, it seemed Dean Hong's eye for talent had truly been flawless!

Boom!

After taking another claw strike from the Specter, a great mass of text suddenly appeared before Gu Yang's eyes.

Skill "Life-Slaying Saber" proficiency +5

Skill "Azure Dragon Dance" proficiency +2

...

Skill "Life-Slaying Saber" proficiency +7

Skill "Life-Slaying Saber" has broken through. Developing potential...

Potential development complete. Talent "Killing Intent Soul-Slaying" successfully manifested!

...

Line after line of text flashed past his eyes, but Gu Yang paid them no heed, concentrating wholly on dealing with the Specter's attacks.

But in the very next instant, the killing intent in his eyes suddenly began to flow.

Surging, turbulent killing intent gathered upon the long saber in his hand, finally clinging to the blade and condensing into a translucent black edge.

Gu Yang slashed once more, following a strange trajectory as the blade descended upon the Specter's head.

Clang!

"Hiss~"

As the blade struck the Specter's forehead, it actually let out a shriek as though it felt pain.

At the same time, a black, frost-like mark had appeared on the Specter's gray-white skin at some unknown moment.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~"

Gu Yang's long saber danced. His face was neither sorrowful nor joyful as he threw himself into blocking every attack from the Specter. From time to time, he also launched attacks of his own.

Every strike of his landed upon the Specter's forehead—the exact same spot.

The Specter's shrieks grew increasingly fierce, while the black mark on its forehead deepened further and further.

Boom!

Elsewhere, Master Liao finally killed one Specter. The pressure upon him greatly lessened, and dealing with the remaining two became increasingly easy.

He believed that he would soon kill the other two Specters and take over for Gu Yang. He only hoped Gu Yang could hold out a little longer.

Time passed. Master Liao showed no mercy in his attacks, and the two Specters were killed in succession.

Just then, Gu Yang's saber descended upon the Specter's head once more.

Pfft~

The blade plunged directly into the Specter's forehead.

"Screech!"

A piercing howl rang out. The whites of the girl's eyes reappeared, and the nails on her hands retracted.

At the same time, a wisp of gray smoke rose from above her forehead and vanished into thin air.

But her skin remained gray-white. In truth, she had already died the instant the Specter possessed her!

Clang~

The long saber slipped from Gu Yang's hand. He dropped to one knee, gasping heavily.

He was exhausted—so exhausted that he could fall asleep the moment he lay down.

The next moment, an ocean of notification prompts flooded before his eyes, finally drawing his focus back slightly.

Skill "Life-Slaying Saber" proficiency +9

Skill "Azure Dragon Dance" proficiency +3

...

Skill "Life-Slaying Saber" proficiency +6

Skill "Life-Slaying Saber" has reached perfection.

Skill "Life-Slaying Saber" and talents "Killing Intent Perception," "Killing Instinct," and "Killing Intent Soul-Slaying" can be fused. Fuse?