Return Home and See an Old Friend

Luo Heng moved through the dense forest, heading deeper into Beast Horn Field.

The farther he went, the denser the trees became, and the light gradually dimmed.

The air was filled with the faint stench of Demon Beasts, and from time to time, low beast roars echoed in the distance.

This was already a forbidden zone of the Hunting Tournament. Ordinary Body Tempering Realm martial artists would never dare venture this deep, for the Demon Beasts living here were mostly at the Earthen Yuan Stage or even the Heaven Yuan Realm.

"Perfect. Time to test myself."

A flicker of excitement flashed through Luo Heng's eyes. Ever since breaking through to the Heaven Yuan Realm, he had yet to truly fight an opponent or Demon Beast of the same realm with all his strength.

Although he had defeated Yue Feng in Flame City before, that had been a complete crushing victory. It had not satisfied him at all.

As for that Middle Heaven Yuan Realm bandit from Black Wind Stronghold, he had been too weak. Another crushing victory.

He needed a real battle to test the limits of his current strength.

His Spiritual Power spread out like spilled mercury, taking in every movement within three miles.

Suddenly, Luo Heng stopped and turned his gaze to the left.

There, a powerful aura caught his attention.

That aura was violent and savage, thick with the scent of blood. It had clearly reached the Middle Heaven Yuan Realm!

"You'll do."

The corner of Luo Heng's mouth curled up. With a flicker of his body, he shot toward that direction.

After passing through a thicket of thorn-covered bushes, the view before him suddenly opened up.

A naturally formed cave came into view. Its entrance was three zhang high and two zhang wide, with many scattered white bones around it—some belonging to Demon Beasts, others to humans.

A dense, foul stench rushed out from within the cave, accompanied by heavy breathing.

"Roar—!"

As though it had sensed someone approaching, a deafening roar erupted from inside the cave.

Then, a massive creature slowly emerged.

It was a jet-black Demon Beast shaped like a giant bear. It stood two zhang tall, its body packed with knotted muscles and covered in thick black scales. Its blood-red eyes stared fixedly at Luo Heng, fangs bared and saliva dripping as it radiated a terrifying ferocity.

"Black Scaled Berserk Bear, Middle Heaven Yuan Realm. Extremely strong defense, astonishing strength. Its weakness is relatively slow speed..."

Information about this Demon Beast swiftly flashed through Luo Heng's mind. He had seen it in a Demon Beast atlas at the Symbol Master Association's Library.

When the Black Scaled Berserk Bear saw the "tiny speck" before it, the vicious light in its eyes intensified. Its front paw slammed heavily onto the ground, making the earth around it tremble.

"Roar!"

It opened its gaping maw and let out a threatening roar. The sound waves shook the surrounding leaves loose, sending them rustling down.

Luo Heng remained unhurried. His right hand closed around empty air, and the Silver Feather Sword appeared in his grasp.

The blade trembled lightly, letting out a clear hum.

"Come on. Let's see how many of my swords that armor of yours can withstand."

Before his words had even faded, Luo Heng moved!

Flowing Cloud and Soaring Goose Steps: Soaring Goose Style!

His speed erupted to its limit. He became a streak of azure lightning and lunged straight at the Black Scaled Berserk Bear!

Seeing this "tiny speck" actually dare to attack first, the Black Scaled Berserk Bear's eyes flashed with violence. Its enormous bear paw swept down at Luo Heng with a howling gust!

If that blow landed, even a human martial artist at the Late Heaven Yuan Realm would be injured!

Yet Luo Heng's movement technique was simply too fast. Just as the bear paw was about to strike him, his body twisted in an eerie motion, and he slid beneath it.

At the same time, the Silver Feather Sword darted out like a venomous snake, stabbing toward the Black Scaled Berserk Bear's abdomen!

Tai Xu Swordplay: Void Blade!

A faint spatial rift silently extended from the sword tip.

"Clang!"

The sword tip struck the black scales with a crisp sound like metal colliding with metal!

The Black Scaled Berserk Bear's scales were indeed tough. The sword only pierced half an inch in before it could go no farther!

But the strange part of Void Blade was that its attack was not limited to physical penetration.

The instant the spatial rift touched the sword tip and scales, it silently slipped into the scales and began destroying their structure from within.

"Roar!"

A sharp pain came from the Black Scaled Berserk Bear's abdomen. Though not fatal, it only made the beast even more enraged.

It abruptly turned, and its other bear paw swept sideways, intending to smash Luo Heng into pulp.

Luo Heng had anticipated it. His feet stepped in rapid succession as he used Soaring Dragon Steps. His body slipped like a wandering dragon through the gap beneath the sweeping bear paw, instantly circling behind the Black Scaled Berserk Bear.

"Again!"

The Silver Feather Sword stabbed out once more, this time aimed at the back of the Black Scaled Berserk Bear's neck!

The same Void Blade, the same spatial rift.

"Clang!"

Another crisp sound rang out. The scales remained hard, but Luo Heng could clearly feel that the sword had pierced half an inch deeper than before.

"It works!"

Joy flashed through Luo Heng's eyes. Tai Xu Swordplay's Void Blade truly had an exceptional effect against defenses.

The Black Scaled Berserk Bear was completely enraged. It spun around wildly, swiping and biting in an attempt to tear this nimble "tiny speck" apart.

But Luo Heng's movement technique was far too profound. Flowing Cloud and Soaring Goose Steps combined perfectly with Soaring Dragon Steps, allowing him to weave around the Black Scaled Berserk Bear like a ghost, evading every attack by the narrowest margin.

Meanwhile, his sword clung to the beast like a festering wound, continuously leaving shallow cuts across its body.

Those wounds seemed insignificant, but Void Blade's destructive power kept accumulating within them.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!"

The Black Scaled Berserk Bear's roars became increasingly frenzied, but its movements gradually began to slow.

Dozens of wounds now covered its body. Every one of them penetrated beneath its scales. Though they were not fatal, they made it feel its strength constantly draining away.

What terrified it even more was that an eerie force at those wounds was preventing them from healing, even continually corroding its flesh and blood!

"Almost enough."

A cold gleam flashed through Luo Heng's eyes. His body suddenly shot backward three zhang, opening the distance.

Thinking its opponent was trying to flee, the Black Scaled Berserk Bear roared furiously and prepared to pursue.

But at that moment, the Silver Feather Sword in Luo Heng's hand suddenly erupted with dazzling silver light!

Within his Niwan Palace, the Myriad Law Seal spun rapidly as Spiritual Power poured madly into the sword.

At his dantian, the dark gold Yuan Core Phantom trembled, and pure Primal Energy surged forth like a rushing river.

Tai Xu Swordplay: Void Blade, Three Blades as One!

This was Luo Heng's highest comprehension of Void Blade over the past three months.

He layered three spatial rifts upon a single point, tripling their power!

"Slash!"

Luo Heng gave a low cry and lightly thrust the Silver Feather Sword forward.

The thrust appeared utterly ordinary, without even stirring the slightest breeze.

Yet at the sword tip, three tiny spatial rifts silently fused together, becoming an almost invisible blade of nothingness. It instantly crossed the distance of three zhang and sank into the Black Scaled Berserk Bear's brow!

"Ssh!"

The Black Scaled Berserk Bear's massive body abruptly froze, and the vicious light in its eyes instantly solidified.

The next moment, a thin line of blood appeared on its brow. It rapidly spread, piercing through the entire skull.

"Boom!"

The Black Scaled Berserk Bear's mountain-like body crashed to the ground, throwing dust into the air.

The Middle Heaven Yuan Realm Demon Beast, the Black Scaled Berserk Bear, was dead!

Luo Heng stood with his sword in hand, breathing slightly heavily.

That Three Blades as One attack had consumed nearly thirty percent of his Primal Energy and Spiritual Power, but its might had far exceeded his expectations.

"If it were an ordinary Middle Heaven Yuan Realm martial artist without any special defensive means, they probably couldn't withstand that sword either."

Luo Heng now had a clearer understanding of his own strength.

He walked to the Black Scaled Berserk Bear's corpse, extracted its Demon Spirit, then stripped away the more valuable materials from its body and stored them in the System Space.

After finishing everything, Luo Heng raised his head and looked deeper into Beast Horn Field.

"It's still early. I'll find a few more to practice on."

He moved again, disappearing into the depths of the dense forest.

That day, several Heaven Yuan Realm Demon Beasts in the depths of Beast Horn Field suffered misfortune.

Only when night fell did Luo Heng finally stop, still wanting more.

Over the course of that day, he had slain three Early Heaven Yuan Realm Demon Beasts and two Middle Heaven Yuan Realm Demon Beasts.

His combat experience, his use of Tai Xu Swordplay, and his coordination between Primal Energy and Spiritual Power had all improved greatly.

"Time to head back."

Luo Heng looked toward the center of Beast Horn Field. The final showdown of the Hunting Tournament should have already begun there.

With a flicker, he became a streak of azure light and sped in that direction.