The Nine Solitary Swords, Mysteries of Fast and Slow (Seeking Follow-ups)

"40 energy points per kill? Not bad at all."

Looking at the system notification before him, a faint smile curled at the corners of Linley's mouth. However, in his Dragon Transformation state, his entire body was covered in scales, making that smile look somewhat ferocious. Fortunately, there was no one else around. Only Doehring, who was in soul form. And Lin Ke could only stay inside the System Space. As for Beibei, he was still young and a Magical Beast by nature. As for the Tooth Wolves—Linley had just slaughtered their packmates, so they couldn't care less about ferocity. What could a mere two-legged beast do to them?

"Indeed, choosing Linley as the host was the right decision!" Inside the System Space, Lin Ke watched Linley immersed in slaughter, a smirk tugging at his lips. "But Linley's Destruction Talent is a bit troublesome." He tapped his fingers on his knee, frowning slightly. "Killing Magical Beasts earns energy points, and Linley's future kills will be plenty. What if he kills his way to becoming a god of Destruction?" In the original story, Linley's path to transcendence was already set. If he accidentally gained a Destruction God Clone, what then? Four Soul Mutations was already the sole exception in the entire Coiling Dragon Universe over a thousand epochs. Five Soul Mutations? How many energy points would he have to spend to help Linley through that? Just a rough calculation nearly knocked Lin Ke out with the astronomical number. "Better keep it under control," Lin Ke quickly shook his head. "Try to keep Linley on the original path. Four Soul Mutations is enough."

Outside, Linley watched his steadily increasing energy point balance, his grin widening. The surrounding Tooth Wolves were mostly Level 3 and Level 4, but there were plenty of them—at least forty or fifty. Linley's Level 7 strength in Dragon Transformation was enough to slaughter them all. However, what puzzled him slightly was that even after killing nearly twenty or thirty Tooth Wolves, the rest showed no sign of fleeing.

"Awooo~~~"

Another wolf howl rang out.

"Rustle rustle~~"

In the distance, the sound of bushes shaking reached Linley's ears. More and more Tooth Wolves appeared around him. But they didn't attack—they only formed an encirclement, trapping Linley in. Linley stopped and scanned the pack. Most were Level 4, with a few Level 5 and Level 6 mixed in.

"Not good, Linley. Get ready to run," Doehring said nervously. "The Wolf King of this pack is definitely Level 7, maybe even Level 8." Doehring was tense. He feared Linley would get hurt. Linley's strength wasn't weak, but his combat experience was far behind. If he fought someone of equal level, Linley would lose for sure. Linley swept his gaze across the area—at least a hundred Tooth Wolves. For a moment, he hesitated. If he killed them all, his strength would skyrocket quickly.

"Brother Lin Ke," Linley finally decided to try. "Is there any way to boost my strength fast? Right now would be best." Linley's words made Lin Ke frown. Linley's current energy point balance wasn't enough for a breakthrough. Besides, Dragon Transformation had its limits. Right now, Linley's human form was Level 3, and after transformation, he was Level 7. Even if he broke through to Level 4, his transformed state would only reach mid-Level 7. Only when his human form reached Level 6 would his transformation hit Level 8. And clearly, Linley didn't have enough energy points. "Right, if raw strength won't cut it, then boost soft power!" Lin Ke slapped his forehead. "Linley can't afford laws right now, so let's go with combat techniques and weapons."

Lin Ke thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers on his right hand. A book and a sword appeared before him.

"Linley, take a look at the mall."

Lin Ke spoke, and Linley quickly opened the Combat Mall. Two new items appeared on the screen.

Nine Solitary Swords · Sword-Breaking Stance (Beginner): 400 Green Energy Points

Black Iron Heavy Sword: 400 Green Energy Points

"Brother Lin Ke, even if I had combat skills now, there's no time to learn them!"

Linley couldn't help but feel a bit helpless.

Hadn't he just said he wanted a way to quickly boost his strength?

Learning combat skills right now was simply too late!

"Kid, do you think four hundred Energy Points are for nothing?" Lin Ke couldn't help but chuckle. "This includes the price of infusion. Once you purchase it, you'll instantly master this combat skill."

Lin Ke's words made Linley's eyes light up, and he quickly checked his Energy Point balance.

Energy Points: 910 Green, 17 White

He had just killed quite a few third- and fourth-tier Tooth Wolves.

A third-tier one gave 40 Green Energy Points, a fourth-tier one gave 50 Green Energy Points.

Now Linley had more than enough Energy Points.

"Brother Lin Ke, I want to exchange for the Nine Solitary Swords and the Black Iron Heavy Sword."

Linley didn't understand why this combat skill had such a strange name as Nine Solitary Swords.

But over the past month or so, Linley had come to trust Lin Ke completely.

Nothing exchanged from the system was ever simple.

And as Linley's words fell, a massive amount of information was instantly transmitted into his mind.

Nine Solitary Swords · Sword-Breaking Stance: Wind-type combat skill, centered on the Mysteries of Fast and Slow. As long as one comprehends a trace of either the Fast or Slow Mystery, one can begin.

The information in his mind took only an instant, and Linley had fully learned it.

What the Mysteries of Fast and Slow were, Linley didn't know.

But in that single instant just now, Linley felt as if he had grasped something different.

"Awooo~"

At that moment, a Tooth Wolf noticeably larger than the others appeared.

With a wolf howl, the Tooth Wolves surrounding Linley immediately charged.

"Brother Lin Ke, extract the Black Iron Heavy Sword!"

Linley's heart tightened, and he quickly communicated with Lin Ke.

Then, Linley felt his right hand grow heavy. A giant sword, a palm's width wide and weighing several hundred jin, appeared in his hand.

At that moment, a sixth-tier Tooth Wolf had already charged in front of Linley, its fangs aimed at his neck.

"Looking for death!"

Linley's blood-red eyes focused, and his right hand exerted force.

In his vision, the speed at which Linley raised his right hand and swung the sword seemed incredibly slow.

Yet, strangely, it also felt impossibly fast.

"Puchi~"

In an instant, the sixth-tier Tooth Wolf pouncing at Linley was split in two from the forehead by the Black Iron Heavy Sword.

The two halves of the corpse fell on either side of Linley.

But Linley did not stop.

The system's infusion had only allowed Linley to comprehend the Sword-Breaking Stance of the Nine Solitary Swords.

However, now that Linley was in battle, the residual insights did not dissipate immediately.

"It seems... it can be applied to more than just swordsmanship?"

Linley recalled the insights from just now and moved his feet.

It looked as if Linley was casually lifting and placing his steps.

But the next moment, Linley had already appeared beside another sixth-tier Tooth Wolf.

"Sword-Breaking Stance~"