While flying through the air, Garen curiously opened the System Panel for a look. He still didn't know what it had become after he comprehended the Laws and Mysteries.
Warrior Level: Level 8 (110,228/200,000 EXP) Wind Element Laws and Mysteries: "Mysteries of Wind Element" (820,000/20,000,000 EXP)
"Damn, that's an insane amount of experience. It takes a full 20 million?"
Garen did a quick calculation. Killing a Level 8 Magical Beast earned him around 600 EXP, while a Level Nine Magical Beast gave him only a little over 1,000. He'd have to kill more than 30,000 of them to max out the Wind Element. Wouldn't that mean wiping out every Level 8 and Level Nine Magical Beast in the Magical Beast Mountain Range?
It seemed he couldn't put all his hopes on killing Level 8 and Level Nine Magical Beasts. He'd have to find out how much experience Saint Realm Magical Beasts were worth. He couldn't let up, either. This initial comprehension had earned him over 800,000 EXP; perhaps his own insights would be the main source of progress from now on.
A few thoughts raced through his mind as the Golden Sun Eagle reached the Skin-Shattering Beasts' territory, circling through the sky.
Garen looked down at the black giants below. They were more than twenty meters long and over ten meters tall, with black hides, razor-sharp claws, and rows of pointed teeth. A group of them lay resting at the foot of a nearby mountain.
"Stay up here. I'll be back in a bit."
After sending a Soul Transmission to the Golden Sun Eagle, Garen turned his gaze to the group of Skin-Shattering Beasts below.
"Let me show you what my slaughter looks like after comprehending the Laws!"
Garen vanished from the Golden Sun Eagle's back and appeared among the Skin-Shattering Beasts hundreds of meters below. Before they could react, streaks of blue light crisscrossed through them. In an instant, more than fifty Skin-Shattering Beasts had been decapitated.
Fast. Very fast. Blades went wherever the wind went. More than fifty strikes in a second—now he was finally starting to look like a transmigrator. Using the Laws and Mysteries to kill Level 8 Magical Beasts was like using a butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken.
He'd earned more than 30,000 EXP, a Primary Enhancement Stone, a Level 1 Moonstone, and a Primary Experience Card. The Moonstone could increase his defense when socketed.
Garen was very pleased with the efficiency and haul. He easily collected the Skin-Shattering Beasts' Magic Crystal Cores.
Knowing that a group of Level Nine Black Dragons and a Saint Realm Black Dragon King lived not far ahead, Garen didn't dare let his guard down. But he couldn't bear to give up all that experience, either, so he dug a cave into the mountaintop and began studying his moves.
If he couldn't turn his comprehension of the Laws into suitable techniques, he wouldn't be able to bring out their power.
The Black Dragon clan were Level Nine Magical Beasts by nature. Even after reaching the Saint Realm, they weren't among the strongest Saint Realm Magical Beasts. They were probably about as strong as a human who had just reached the peak of the Saint Realm.
"Linley could take down a Four-Winged Angel at the Saint Realm Mid-Stage when he was only at the peak of Level 9. I've also made an initial breakthrough as a Tiger-Striped Warrior and comprehended the Wind Element. Even if I can't beat the Saint Realm Black Dragon King, I should be able to escape."
After thinking it over, Garen decided to develop a finishing move first.
The greatest strengths of the wind element were speed and powerful single-target attacks.
The Mysteries of Wind Element could be considered the foundation of the wind element, so he tried to develop a technique focused on speed and single-target attacks.
From then on, Garen would climb to a rock near the mountaintop and study the wind, working out a technique of his own. He often drew his sword to demonstrate the moves, then returned to the cave at night to cultivate his Tiger-Striped Battle Qi.
Two months passed in a flash. Garen spent each day refining his ideas and deepening his comprehension, almost forgetting the passage of time.
"Swish!"
Looking at the hole before him, Garen was very pleased.
He'd cut straight through a thousand-meter mountain with a single slash, leaving a hole more than a meter wide that went from one side to the other.
"Even a Saint Realm Magical Beast would be injured if it took this attack. I sliced straight through a mountain with one strike. I'll call this move Wind-Splitting Slash."
After creating this technique, Garen felt he finally had what it took to fight someone in the Saint Realm. He called back the Golden Sun Eagle, which had been out hunting.
"Let's go. Take me to where the Black Dragons gather."
After sending a Soul Transmission, Garen flew onto the Golden Sun Eagle's back.
The wind howled around him as Garen set off in high spirits.
They hadn't yet reached the Black Dragons' territory when Garen spotted a group of them in the distance. There were more than two hundred, soaring through the sky without a care.
"I don't see the Saint Realm Black Dragon King. This is the perfect chance to ambush them."
Garen told the Golden Sun Eagle to keep its distance, afraid it might get caught up in the fight when he faced the Saint Realm Black Dragon King.
After becoming a Tiger-Striped Warrior, Garen had comprehended the Wind Element. With two Level 2 Black Gems boosting his speed, he was now twice as fast as the Golden Sun Eagle at the peak of Level 9. Casting the Level 7 Magic Extreme Speed on himself increased his speed by less than ten percent.
He shot toward the group of Black Dragons.
The Black Dragons saw a tiny white figure approaching and sensed that Garen's Battle Qi was only at Level 9. They didn't take him seriously and continued flying about at their leisure.
It wasn't until he was close that some of the nearby Black Dragons reacted.
"How can that little thing be moving so fast?"
The thought had barely crossed their minds when Garen was already in front of them.
He drew the God-Slaying Blade.
"Swish, swish, swish..."
One after another, hazy blue sword lights rapidly reaped the Black Dragons' lives.
In the blink of an eye, more than ten Level Nine Black Dragons had been slain, their bodies tumbling down.
Only then did the other Black Dragons react. Nearly a hundred of them roared and spewed black dragonflame at him all at once.
The Tiger-Striped Battle Qi shield around Garen crackled and shattered in an instant.
But that split second was all he needed. Garen had already reached the other side and continued his slaughter.
He was three times faster than the Level Nine Black Dragons. The enormous dragons were like fools, getting led around in circles with no way to land a hit.
"In this world, speed is what makes you untouchable."
After slaying another dozen or so Level Nine Black Dragons, a terrifying dragon's aura suddenly rose from below.
"Roar!"
"Who dares to run wild on the territory of Sabellian, King of the Black Dragons?"
The voice drew closer, and a black dragon a hundred meters long appeared before Garen.
"A human? You've got some nerve, killing my people on the territory of the great Sabellian. It's the most foolish decision you'll ever make."
"Hey, big guy, why all the talk? If you want to fight, then fight."
The Saint Realm dragon's aura affected Garen, keeping him from reaching his full speed, but he remained undaunted.
"You're looking for death!"
The Black Dragon King opened his mouth and breathed dragonflame at Garen.
Garen had seen the dragonflame of Level Nine Black Dragons before and didn't dare be careless. The moment he saw the Black Dragon King open his mouth, he had already moved away from where he'd been standing.
"Whoosh!"
The Black Dragon King immediately pursued him, moving just as fast as Garen. Under the influence of the Saint Realm dragon's aura, Garen's speed had dropped by twenty percent.
Garen had no intention of running. He turned and slashed.
"Wind-Splitting Slash!"
He went straight for his finishing move. Not knowing how powerful a Saint Realm Magical Beast's attacks were, he didn't dare take any chances.
A massive dragon claw collided directly with the God-Slaying Blade.
"Bang!"
The strike, infused with the Mysteries of Wind Element, shattered the layer of black energy shielding the Black Dragon King's body and landed solidly on his claw.
"Clang, clang, screech!"
The collision rang out like metal striking metal.
After the black Battle Qi absorbed part of the God-Slaying Blade's power, the blade clashed with the dragon claw and only managed to scrape off a little skin.
Black Flame covered the Black Dragon King's claw. In moments, the wound was reduced to a faint mark.
The force of the impact sent Garen flying back hundreds of meters, his blood and energy surging inside him.
"If the Tiger God Armor hadn't blocked most of the attack, I'd have been badly injured, if not killed. So this is the strength of a Saint Realm Magical Beast? I really did underestimate it."
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