Battle the Pig Demon

Liu Chen had begun practicing martial arts at five. He trained through the bitter cold of winter and the scorching heat of summer, never daring to slack off in the slightest for twenty years.

At eighteen, he had been selected by the Demon Suppression Bureau and had thought himself one of the dragons and phoenixes among men.

But just now, beneath the Pig Demon's blood-mist divine ability that blanketed the heavens and earth, he had realized he was merely a frog at the bottom of a well.

But...

Liu Chen raised his head and looked at the girl bathed in the blood-red glow of the tiger phantom, his heart churning like storm-tossed seas.

Her figure was slender, and she looked several years younger than him.

Yet she...

How had she dared?

How had she dared to face a Bone Resonance Realm Great Demon alone?

It was not just him. Even Xu Nian, who was struggling to hold on nearby, wore a face full of disbelief.

Yet his attention was not on the girl herself.

It was on the blade hanging at her waist.

The Pig Demon stared fixedly at the approaching figure, all its earlier arrogance and savagery swept away.

It scrutinized Jiang Yuechu from head to toe, as though it wanted to see straight through her.

There was something vaguely familiar about this girl...

Wait...

As it realized something, its eyes flew wide open.

"It's you!!!"

"You killed my child!"

Clang—

There was no probing, nor was there any pointless chatter.

The blade rose, and the phantom of the Blood-Colored Fierce Tiger behind her roared along with it.

The qi and blood within her body surged violently, all of it pouring into the blade.

Fierce Tiger Quickblade, Supreme realm!

The next instant, a shrill blood-red blade light descended like a fierce tiger coming down the mountain, carrying the force of ten thousand jun, slashing fiercely toward Zhu Yan's neck!

Driven by its instinct for life and death, the countless blood-red tentacles contracted tightly, instantly gathering before Zhu Yan into a thick, viscous shield of flesh and blood.

Boom—

The blood-red blade light collided violently with the blood-mist tentacles.

A dull, teeth-grinding sound rang out, as though the blade had sunk into some kind of sticky gelatin.

With Fierce Tiger Quickblade at the Supreme realm, enhanced by [Tiger Dharma Heaven-Bestowed], even ordinary stone should have been cleaved in two.

Yet when it struck those blood-red tentacles, it did not feel like cutting through melons and vegetables at all.

A tremendous rebounding force traveled up the blade, making Jiang Yuechu stagger back several steps before she barely managed to stop.

Her brows knit slightly. Her palm was numb from the impact, and a trace of surprise flashed through her eyes.

This was the first time she had encountered such a bizarre method.

But from the very first glance she took at the Pig Demon, she had known.

The Pig Demon before her had to be the father the two fools had spoken of earlier.

Although it had not been present when she killed those two little demons.

Who knew whether demons possessed some strange means of tracking down their enemies?

Her identity had yet to be resolved. Not only did she need to evade the authorities' pursuit, she had no desire to be targeted by a Great Demon whose sons had died.

The tentacles of blood mist slowly unfurled, revealing the unharmed body of the Pig Demon.

"Such methods... such blade techniques..."

"So it was you... who killed my son like this."

Jiang Yuechu silently raised her blade a little higher.

Silence was the best answer.

"Good..."

"Good!!!"

Zhu Yan threw back its head and howled. Its already bloated body swelled again, as though countless flesh worms beneath its skin were writhing madly.

The blood-mist tentacles around it also expanded at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In an instant.

Blood mist flooded the long street.

Countless crimson tentacles shot toward Jiang Yuechu like mad pythons bursting from their den, blotting out the sky and covering the earth!

The few surviving Imperial Guards had already turned pale with fright.

Against such a spectacle, even if ten more of them came, they would only add a few more dishes to the demon's drinking feast.

But in the next instant.

Xu Nian gritted his teeth, and a glint of resolve flashed through his eyes.

He suddenly shoved the injured Liu Chen beside him away. Instead of retreating, he advanced, charging fiercely toward the utterly crazed Pig Demon!

"Lord Xu!"

Liu Chen's face changed drastically.

But Xu Nian did not hear him.

Since ancient times, how could the Demon Suppression Bureau stand by and watch while a wanderer of the martial world faced a demon alone?

With no subordinates left for him to protect, Xu Nian no longer had any reservations.

The qi and blood within him burned madly at an unprecedented rate. The ringing of his bones joined into one, clear and resonant as a bell!

"Come and die!"

This strike contained every bit of his Bone Resonance Realm cultivation, determined to defeat the enemy in a single blow.

Golden blade light rose once more.

This mad action was also a warning to everyone.

If he could kill this Pig Demon, then all would be well.

But if he could not...

He only hoped the girl and Liu Chen would be clever enough to seize the chance and flee for their lives.

Like rushing thunder, the blade light cleaved straight toward the Pig Demon's face.

Zhu Yan merely let out a savage grin and sent dozens of blood-red tentacles forth like a great net to meet that golden blade light.

Zhu Yan's eyes were full of contempt. Before Xu Nian could react, it raised one thick leg and struck later despite moving first.

A muffled thud rang out.

Xu Nian flew backward as though struck by a massive hammer.

But in that instant of opening.

Jiang Yuechu moved.

She pushed off with her feet, shooting forward like an arrow loosed from the bow, leaving an afterimage across the long street.

Then she kicked off hard and leaped high into the air. Midair, she gripped the hilt with both hands and raised the blade over her head.

"Die!"

She gave a sharp cry.

This strike descended from above, carrying the force of thunder, and chopped straight toward the Pig Demon's neck!

Zhu Yan had clearly not expected the woman to be this fast. In its haste, it only had time to twist its neck.

Splurt!

Blood burst forth.

Dozens of blood-red tentacles snapped apart, and the blade's remaining force did not diminish as it sank deeply into Zhu Yan's fat neck!

"Roar—"

The searing pain drew an earthshaking howl from Zhu Yan.

But there was not the slightest joy on Jiang Yuechu's face.

The blade had entered the flesh, yet it was firmly stuck!

The muscles and sinews in the Pig Demon's neck suddenly clamped down, making it impossible for her blade to advance another inch!

Wracked with pain, Zhu Yan's eyes grew even more vicious. It completely ignored the blade lodged in its neck, swung its fist, and sent a foul wind roaring toward Jiang Yuechu's face!

Jiang Yuechu's pupils contracted.

She had no time to pull out her blade. She simply released one hand, while her other hand pressed fiercely down on the hilt. Borrowing that force, she lifted her foot and viciously kicked Zhu Yan in the pig face.

Using the rebound, she flipped backward through the air, spun once, and barely landed on her feet.

Jiang Yuechu steadied herself and looked at the Pig Demon with her saber embedded in its neck, yet with none of its viciousness diminished. She cursed inwardly.

Not only were this Pig Demon's methods bizarre, its fleshly body was powerful to such an extent!

Her full-powered strike had not even managed to sever its neck!

Enduring the excruciating pain throughout his body, Liu Chen rolled and crawled over to the fallen Xu Nian.

"Lord Xu! Lord Xu!"

There was a bloody, mangled hole in Xu Nian's chest. He drew more breath than he released, and with every breath, bloody foam spilled from his mouth and nose.

He struggled to open his eyes and looked toward the crazed Pig Demon. "Retreat..."

"My lord!"

"Take the brothers... retreat!"

An immense sense of helplessness swallowed Liu Chen whole.

If only...

If only he had been stronger.

Even if, at this very moment, he could share even a fraction of Lord Xu's burden...

"Ahhhhhh—"

Under the warm sunlight.

He threw back his head and let out a grief-stricken roar. He slammed his fist heavily into the ground, then finally could no longer hold himself up. His knees gave way, and he collapsed to them.

Not far away.

The girl slowly propped herself up, spat out a mouthful of blood-tainted stale air, and straightened her body.

In a daze.

The terrified Imperial Guards of the Demon Suppression Bureau saw.

A tiger's paw reach out from thin air and interlock its fingers with the girl's hand.