Heaven-Swallowing Python

On the seventh night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse.

The Thunder Blade Squad settled on the roof of a fifteen-story hotel by the canal. This building was the tallest in the vicinity, offering an expansive field of vision that overlooked the surrounding area for several kilometers. More importantly, it was surrounded by water on three sides and land on one, providing both a vantage point to observe movements in the water and a clear path for retreat.

Lin Zheng chose the largest room on the top floor as a temporary camp. Shen Yang set up surveillance equipment on the roof, Leng Bao and Luo Fang laid simple traps at the stairwell, and Liu Xu took charge of the first watch.

Lin Yun leaned against the window, using the moonlight to practice the force-generating techniques of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade over and over. He had already mastered the second layer, but he was still far from Lin Zheng's requirement of it being "as natural as breathing." When the three layers of force overlapped, the second crisp sound still lagged behind the first by a split second. Although ordinary people couldn't hear it, Lin Zheng could, and so could Liu Xu.

"Still practicing?" Luo Fang poked her head in from the next room. "We have to travel tomorrow, get some rest."

"I'm sleeping now." Lin Yun sheathed his blade, sat in the corner across from her, and closed his eyes.

But he didn't fall asleep; instead, his consciousness entered a state of Meditation. His body in the Coiling Dragon World began to meditate in synchronization, with magic power flowing slowly and Spiritual Force recovering rapidly through the Dual World Resonance. Ever since arriving in the Wilderness Area, he had spent every night this way—one body rested while the other cultivated; one body accumulated fatigue while the other restored energy. The time in both worlds was utilized to the absolute limit.

The night deepened.

Moonlight spilled onto the surface of the canal, shattering into a patch of silvery light. A few howls from Monsters drifted from the distance, echoing in the night breeze before gradually dissipating. The entire ruined city fell into an eerie silence.

Liu Xu stood at the edge of the roof, her hand resting on the railing as her gaze settled on the canal in the distance. The night wind ruffled her short hair, revealing the sharp lines of her profile. She had held this posture for a long time, as if watching the scenery, or perhaps lost in her own thoughts.

In her mind, she replayed the scene from earlier that day—when Lin Zheng guided Lin Yun in practicing the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade, he had rarely let slip a faint smile. She hadn't seen that smile in a long time, so long that she thought she would never see it again. Yet, that smile wasn't directed at her; even when she approached, the smile vanished instantly, replaced by his usual cold indifference.

"Captain..." Liu Xu murmured to herself, her voice so low that even she could barely hear it.

She didn't know what she was holding onto. For three years, Lin Zheng's attitude toward her had shifted from distant to avoidant, and from avoidant to silent. They used to talk about everything, but now there was nothing left but task-related communication—"Liu Xu, left flank," "Liu Xu, cover," "Liu Xu, retreat."

She wanted to tell him that she didn't mind the leg. She wanted to tell him that she liked the person he was, not his leg, not his strength, and not his blade technique. She wanted to tell him that for the past three years, she had waited every single day for him to look back at her just once.

But she couldn't say anything. Because every time she tried to get close, he would retreat. Like a wounded beast, he hid himself in the deepest cave, refusing to let anyone touch him.

Liu Xu took a deep breath, forcing back the moisture in her eyes. Now was not the time for such thoughts. She was on watch; she was responsible for the safety of the entire squad.

Her gaze turned sharp again, scanning everything around her. The canal surface was as calm as a mirror, the ruins on both banks cast long shadows under the moonlight, and the distant building clusters were pitch-black, like rows of silent tombstones.

Everything was normal.

But Liu Xu always felt that something was wrong. She couldn't put her finger on the feeling—no sound, no movement, no signs of anything abnormal. But her intuition was telling her that something was approaching.

She gripped the sword in her hand, her eyes locked onto the surface of the canal.

The water remained calm.

Too calm.

Liu Xu's pupils contracted sharply. She finally realized what was wrong—the surface of the canal was far too calm. They had hunted over a dozen Water Pythons there during the day, and the smell of blood should have attracted more. But the water tonight was completely still, without even a small fish in sight.

It was as if... something at the bottom of the water had scared all the living creatures away.

Liu Xu's hand pressed against the hilt of her sword, about to shout a warning—

The water surface exploded.

A massive black shadow lunged out from the water, moving so fast that Liu Xu's naked eye could barely track it. It was a snake, an absurdly large snake. Its body was three times thicker than the High-Level Beast General Water Python they had encountered during the day, and the portion emerging from the water alone was over ten meters long. Its scales shimmered with a ghostly blue light in the moonlight; these weren't ordinary snake scales, but ones with a strange camouflage effect that shifted colors in the moonlight, as if they were alive.

The most terrifying part was its head—not the triangular shape of a common Water Python, but a flat, fan-like shape resembling a cobra. Two vertical pupils glowed with an eerie golden hue, shining like lanterns in the dark, emitting a cold and cruel light.

Heaven-Swallowing Python—High-Level Lord Level!!

Liu Xu's reaction was incredibly fast. The moment the Heaven-Swallowing Python burst from the water, she had already drawn her sword and retreated, opening her mouth to shout: "Ene—"

She didn't finish the sentence.

The Heaven-Swallowing Python was too fast. Its body left a trail of afterimages in the air, and its massive head had already reached the edge of the roof. It didn't use its fangs or its tail; it simply—rammed into them.

The gargantuan head struck Liu Xu like a runaway truck.

"Bang!"

Liu Xu's body was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, smashing through the concrete railing of the roof and tumbling into the top-floor room. Her sword flew from her hand, hitting the floor with a crisp metallic clatter. Blood seeped from her forehead and the corner of her mouth, staining her combat uniform.

If she hadn't gritted her teeth and spent most of her savings before this trip to upgrade the tactical vest inside her uniform to a Grade 9 high-end item, this impact would have cost her her life. But even with a Grade 9 tactical vest, under the direct impact of a High-Level Lord Level Monster, it had only barely saved her life. She could feel that at least three ribs were broken, the bone in her left arm was shattered, and her internal organs felt as if they had been pulverized.

"Liu Xu!"

Lin Zheng's voice exploded in the darkness. He was the first to wake—not because of the sound, but because of an instinct. For three years, his body had been accustomed to waking the moment danger arrived.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the silhouette of the giant python in the moonlight, saw Liu Xu's figure being sent flying, and saw the blood at the corner of her mouth.

In that instant, Lin Zheng's mind went blank.

Then, an emotion he thought had long since died erupted from the deepest part of his heart—not fear, not anger, but a frantic, reckless impulse, a willingness to trade his own life for hers.

"Liu Xu!"

He charged out, moving with a speed that even he couldn't believe. His prosthetic leg made a rapid "clack-clack-clack" sound on the floor, each step pushing it to its limit. His right hand had already gripped his short blade, the blue light on the blade exceptionally piercing in the darkness.

The Heaven-Swallowing Python seemed to notice this little bug rushing toward it. Its massive head turned toward Lin Zheng, opening its maw to reveal two rows of saw-like teeth. A foul, fishy stench rushed toward him, nauseating in its intensity.

Lin Zheng did not dodge.

He charged straight into the gaping maw of the Heaven-Swallowing Python, the blue light on his combat blade surging to its limit—this was the mark of the fourth layer of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade pushed to its peak, his absolute state of the past three years. At this moment, he forgot about his leg, forgot that he was a "crippled man," and forgot all the self-doubt and retreat of the past three years. He only knew one thing—

Liu Xu was there, Liu Xu was hurt, and Liu Xu needed him.

"Thunder Blade! Fourth Layer!"

The short blade slashed out, four layers of force overlapping as 3.5 times the power erupted from the edge. The blade light collided with the scales of the Heaven-Swallowing Python, producing a deafening, crisp metallic ring.

A scale on the Heaven-Swallowing Python's lower jaw shattered, and dark blue blood seeped from the crack. However, given its massive size, this was merely a trivial flesh wound. The absolute limit of Lin Zheng's full-powered strike was nothing more than shattering a single scale.

The Heaven-Swallowing Python, feeling the pain, let out a sharp hiss. Its body contracted violently, and its thick tail swept out, slamming heavily into Lin Zheng.

Lin Zheng was sent flying, crashing into the rooftop water tank and leaving a deep dent in the metal. His prosthetic limb detached during the impact, and he collapsed to the ground, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. Yet, gritting his teeth, he struggled to climb back up, standing on one leg with both hands gripping his blade, shielding Liu Xu.

"Come on!" His voice was hoarse, his eyes burning with a near-maniacal light.

Shen Yang, Leng Bao, and Luo Fang rushed out at this moment. Shen Yang raised his sniper rifle and fired at the Heaven-Swallowing Python's eyes. The bullets struck its scales without even leaving a white mark. Leng Bao's spear thrust forward but was swatted away by the python's tail. Luo Fang's short blade slashed at its body, but the edge simply skidded off the scales.

To a High Lord Level Heaven-Swallowing Python, attacks from ordinary War General Rank warriors were not even the equivalent of a mosquito bite.

The Heaven-Swallowing Python seemed enraged. Its entire body rose from the water, revealing its full form—a massive, thirty-meter-long frame with scales that shifted colors under the moonlight, resembling a moving mountain. Its vertical pupils locked onto Lin Zheng, and it opened its maw, revealing two rows of serrated teeth.

Lin Zheng stood before Liu Xu, supported by one leg, covered in blood, his short blade trembling slightly. Yet, there was no retreat in his eyes.

"Come on!" he shouted again, his voice even hoarser than before.

The Heaven-Swallowing Python launched its final strike. Its head plummeted like a meteorite, its mouth opened to the limit, large enough to swallow Lin Zheng whole.

Just then, a silver light tore through the night sky.

Not one, but nine.

Nine throwing knives flew out from the darkness simultaneously, each carrying a piercing whistle. Like nine meteors, they shot precisely toward the Heaven-Swallowing Python's head. They were so fast that even the Heaven-Swallowing Python could not fully evade them.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft—"

Three knives pierced the Heaven-Swallowing Python's left eye, two pierced the right, and the remaining four nailed themselves into its forehead and jaw, embedding deep into the cracks of the scales Lin Zheng had previously shattered. Dark blue blood gushed out. The Heaven-Swallowing Python let out a scream of extreme agony, its body twisting wildly, its thick tail smashing the rooftop's concrete floor into dust.

Everyone was stunned.

They turned to look in the direction the knives had come from—Lin Yun stood at the room's window, his arms slightly spread. An invisible pressure radiated from him; it was the distinct aura of Spiritual Force unleashed at full power.

"A Spiritual Master..." Shen Yang muttered, his eyes wide.

"And not an ordinary one at that." Luo Fang's voice was trembling. "This level of control... this kind of power..."

Leng Bao said nothing, but his pupils contracted violently, and the knuckles of the hand gripping his spear turned white.

Lin Zheng stood his ground, watching the nine throwing knives dancing in the air. A flash of shock crossed his eyes, but he quickly snapped out of it—no matter what Lin Yun's identity was or how much strength he had been hiding, the most important thing now was to survive.

"Lin Yun!" he roared. "Can you kill it?"

Lin Yun stared fixedly at the Heaven-Swallowing Python. There was no panic of a young warrior in his eyes, only a calmness and composure that transcended his age.

"It's going to be difficult!" he said. "It's trying to run."

The Heaven-Swallowing Python sensed a fatal threat. Although its eyes were blinded, as a High Lord Level monster, its sensory abilities far exceeded those of ordinary beasts. It clearly understood that the human standing at the window possessed the power to kill it. The monster's instinct told it one thing—flee.

The Heaven-Swallowing Python's body contracted sharply, sliding off the edge of the roof and crashing heavily onto the street below. Its thirty-meter-long body writhed rapidly through the ruins, fleeing toward the canal.

"It's escaping!" Shen Yang shouted.

"I'll pursue it. You all find a safe place to hide." Lin Yun's voice was calm. He leaped from the window, a shield held tightly beneath his body by his Spiritual Force, while the nine throwing knives circled around him. He became like a streak of silver light, chasing the Heaven-Swallowing Python as it vanished into the night.

"Lin Yun!" Liu Xu struggled to stand, but the intense pain caused her to collapse back down.

Lin Zheng pressed down on her shoulder. "Don't move. Trust him."

His gaze remained fixed on the direction where Lin Yun had disappeared, a complex expression flashing in his eyes. Fifteen years old, a War God-level Spiritual Master... just how many more secrets was this boy hiding?