Sword Qi Condensed into Physical Form?

On the ground was a terrifying furrow more than ten meters long, shocking to behold, as though some immense force had violently plowed it open.

At the end of the furrow lay the corpse of an enormous wild boar.

And standing before the Wild Boar King was a young man.

He was the reckless fool they had seen on the hillside earlier, the one who had seemed to be rushing to his death.

At that moment, Yang Yu's face was unusually pale from activating Bloodthirsty Battle Intent. Fine beads of sweat covered his forehead, and his breathing was slightly labored.

To Leng Yuan and the young man, his appearance perfectly confirmed their suspicions.

This kid had definitely been scared senseless by what had just happened!

"Sister Leng Yuan, th-this is over already?"

Lu Fei stared at the Wild Boar King's corpse as it gradually dissipated, his voice filled with incredulous shock.

From the moment they sensed the Elite BOSS's energy fluctuations to the instant those fluctuations vanished, it had probably taken less than twenty seconds altogether!

Twenty seconds to kill a Level 10 Elite BOSS?

What kind of joke was that?

Even if the two of them joined forces, with excellent equipment and mastery of their skills, they would still need at least ten minutes of prolonged combat while going all out—and even then, it would involve considerable risk.

"Such speed..."

For once, a trace of gravity appeared on Leng Yuan's usually icy face.

She ignored Lu Fei and walked straight toward the Wild Boar King's corpse. Squatting down, she carefully inspected the battle marks left on the ground.

Lu Fei, meanwhile, walked over to Yang Yu and put on what he believed was a kind and approachable expression.

"Hey, newbie, don't be afraid. Did you see who killed this Wild Boar King just now?"

His tone was like that of someone questioning a passerby still shaken by fright.

How could he possibly think Yang Yu had done it?

Don't be ridiculous.

Look at how pale the kid was, like he had been completely drained. He had obviously been frightened stupid by that battle.

The fact that he could stand there without wetting himself already showed remarkable mental fortitude.

Yang Yu lifted his eyelids and swiftly glanced at him.

His heart was utterly calm, utterly free of Non-Existence. He even wanted to laugh a little.

Admit that he had killed it?

But these two clearly would not believe him.

And he had no interest in explaining.

Besides, the first rule of wilderness survival was that Professionals were the greatest threat.

Though these two did not look like the sort of villains who killed for loot, he had just used Bloodthirsty Battle Intent and was currently in a weakened state. It was better to keep a low profile.

After all, an Elite BOSS's drops were surely worth a fair amount of money.

He had no desire to test human nature.

So, Yang Yu cooperatively shook his head. The movement was slight, his gaze blank, perfectly replicating a high school student who had been scared witless.

"Tsk!"

Seeing Yang Yu's vacant expression, Lu Fei's face immediately took on an I-knew-it look.

He turned to Leng Yuan with regret on his face. "Sister Leng Yuan, this kid was probably scared silly. He didn't even see who killed it."

But Leng Yuan paid his words no heed.

Half-kneeling on the ground, she used the slender fingers of her black tactical gloves to trace several smooth slash marks on the earth with intense focus.

"To kill the Wild Boar King so quickly, before we could arrive..."

Leng Yuan's voice was low, carrying an incredulous solemnity.

"Such strength... Non-Existence of sound or trace, coming and going like the wind... Since when had our Linhai City beginner zone hidden someone like this?"

Seeing that Leng Yuan ignored him, Lu Fei felt a little awkward, but he immediately followed her train of thought and began analyzing the situation.

"Could it be that arrogant guy?"

A figure carrying a massive axe, with a face full of fierce flesh, immediately surfaced in his mind.

"Tan Lang from the Tan Lang War Band? He's the highest-level person in these woods."

"Impossible."

Leng Yuan rejected the idea without hesitation and finally raised her head.

She stood up with crisp movements, walked straight to the Wild Boar King's corpse, and pointed at several smooth wounds on its body.

"Look here!"

Lu Fei hurried over. The moment he saw the wound, his pupils suddenly contracted.

It was not an ordinary tear caused by a sharp weapon, but an incredibly thin, deep, smooth cut, as though it had been sliced by a laser!

Deep within the wound lingered a trace of condensed, razor-sharp presence that made even his skin prickle faintly.

"Th-this is?!"

Even his voice changed, filled with unbelievable horror.

"Sword Qi?! Sword Qi condensed into physical form?!"

"That's right."

For the first time, Leng Yuan's voice revealed irrepressible excitement and nearly reverent admiration.

Her fingertips wanted to touch the wound and savor it carefully, yet she feared damaging this artistic slash.

"The source of this aura... is a Warrior's basic skill, Blade Draw Slash!"

Yang Yu's eyelid twitched almost imperceptibly.

Damn! What sharp eyes!

This official lady was no simple person. She could even recognize released Sword Qi?

"Blade Draw Slash?!"

Lu Fei's face was full of disbelief, and he nearly jumped up.

"What kind of joke is this? A basic skill everyone has? It can have this kind of power? It can even slash out Sword Qi? Sister Leng Yuan, have you worked so much overtime that your eyes are playing tricks on you?"

"Why is it impossible?"

Leng Yuan abruptly turned to him. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and burning light flickered in her eyes.

"When a skill is practiced a hundred thousand times, a million times, it can Transcend the limitations of the skill itself and undergo a qualitative transformation!"

Her tone was filled with undisguised worship.

"I could never be mistaken! This is the unique effect one can comprehend only after training Blade Draw Slash to Level 10: Sword Qi Release!"

"This is a threshold only those true monsters in the military, who have crawled out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, are qualified to touch!"

"Tan Lang?"

A deeply disdainful curve appeared at the corner of Leng Yuan's lips, as though she were discussing trash by the roadside.

"If he possessed the resolve to polish his fundamentals to such an extreme, why would he still be unable to break through the First Job Transfer and merely strut around this beginner forest?"

"Even in the military, people like that are exceedingly rare!"

"He isn't even worthy of carrying such a person's shoes!"

Yang Yu's mouth twitched slightly.

Ahem... A million times was a bit exaggerated... Though with normal practice, it would only take tens of thousands of repetitions.

And my talent is even more special. I only need a few hundred times.

Her evaluation of him was so high that he felt a little embarrassed.

Lu Fei was left dumbfounded by Leng Yuan's string of fervently admiring words. The breath he sucked in nearly choked him.

Training a basic skill to the extreme? A million times?

What kind of joke was that?

Where would there be so many monsters for people like them to slaughter?

Could it be a Beast Tide?

Skills honed by defending against Beast Tide after Beast Tide?

That would be utterly terrifying.

The reason the two of them were investigating the anomaly here was, to some extent, to prevent Beast Tide from forming.

Although the monsters here were very low-level, if there were enough of them, they could still cause no small amount of trouble for Linhai City.

He swallowed with difficulty and looked at the unprecedented light in Leng Yuan's eyes.

Then he teased her.

"Sister Leng Yuan, y-your eyes... don't tell me... you've started admiring this person?"

"Tsk, tsk. It's rare to see you praise anyone so highly! This evaluation is even higher than the one you'd give our captain!"

Leng Yuan was stunned by his teasing, and the blush on her face seemed to deepen.

But she immediately stiffened her expression, returning to her usual coldness as she glared fiercely at the young man.

"What nonsense are you talking about! I'm only stating the facts! Reverence for true strength is a basic quality!"

Yet her gaze kept unconsciously drifting back toward the Sword Qi cut, exposing her true thoughts.

Yang Yu nearly failed to keep his expression under control.

Hey, hey, brother, you can see through it, but don't say it out loud!

He watched his nose, his nose watched his heart, and he struggled to maintain the expression of someone scared silly. Yet inwardly, he did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Being mistaken for a hidden expert... felt rather strange.

Just then.

A burst of chaotic footsteps and loud voices came from somewhere not far away in the forest.

"Move faster, all of you! Damn it, if someone else steals the BOSS, I'll skin every last one of you!"

A rough, arrogant voice drew closer and closer.

Then, a large group of figures appeared in the clearing among the trees.

At the front was a burly bald man with a fierce, fleshy face. A thick gold chain hung around his neck, and his eyes were vicious. He was Tan Lang, the leader of the Tan Lang War Band.

Beside him stood a handsome but gloomy young man, wearing equipment lined with wild boar fur on his arm, along with dozens of vicious-looking War Band members carrying all kinds of weapons.

The moment they saw Leng Yuan's group of three in the clearing, as well as the Wild Boar King lying on the ground, their expressions instantly turned extremely ugly.