The meditation room was in disarray.
Chen Tong and the others lay sprawled across the floor, blood trickling from their mouths, their eyes filled with shock.
Liu Ke most of all.
He struggled to prop himself up, but his qi and blood churned in his chest. His throat went sweet, and he spat out another mouthful of blood.
How could this be...
He was practically at Bone Resonance!
Among the younger generation across the entire Longyou Circuit, he was considered quite talented. How could he have been defeated so easily?!
He stared at the black bear. Though demonic qi surged around it, its aura had yet to truly enter the Bone Resonance Realm.
At most... at most, it was at the same level as him, practically at Bone Resonance!
It was true that demons and monsters were stronger than human martial artists at the same cultivation realm.
But the difference shouldn't have been this great!
What's more, their side had the advantage in numbers!
Never mind the others; even that fat monk was genuinely on the verge of Bone Resonance. Chen Tong might have been slightly weaker, but he was still an expert in the Later Realm of String-Hearing!
With a lineup like that, they'd actually been wiped out in a single move!
"What? You still aren't leaving? Do I have to show you out?"
The black bear waited a moment, but the figure at the doorway remained where she was, and it grew impatient.
However.
The figure standing in the doorway seemed not to have heard.
The loose hair over the girl's forehead hid the look in her eyes.
Her hand rested on the hilt at her waist, trembling faintly.
As someone who had crossed into this world, she had seen the dead and killed with her own hands.
She had even witnessed firsthand the devastation wrought by demons and monsters in Shangpan Village.
But no matter what...
No matter what, she still couldn't calmly accept a scene like this.
She really wanted to throw up.
Not because of the bloodshed, but because of a loathing that came from the depths of her soul.
But she had to keep it under control.
Only by staying calm could she chop the beast before her into mincemeat, one stroke at a time.
After a long while.
At last, she let out a long breath, as if releasing something within her.
Her faintly trembling hand steadied completely.
She walked slowly forward.
Seeing her advance instead of retreat, taking a step toward it, the black bear's eyes blazed with murderous intent.
Boom—
Demonic qi, even more violent than before, exploded from the black bear once again!
"You're courting death!"
"Since attaining the Dao, I've spent hundreds of years stuck in the String-Hearing Realm, all to hone my foundation until it was flawless!"
"Now I'm just one step away from Bone Resonance!"
In other words.
Below Bone Resonance, he was invincible!
As soon as the words left its mouth.
Its enormous body sank, then shot straight at Jiang Yuechu!
But Jiang Yuechu had already drawn her blade.
Humm—
The blade rang softly.
Her cultivation in the Bone Resonance Realm burst forth without the slightest restraint!
Dong... clang...
A clear, resonant sound rang from within her, like metal striking stone, or a temple bell tolling.
Her sinews and bones sang in unison!
The Bone Resonance Realm!
The sinister grin on the black bear demon's face froze instantly.
Even Chen Tong, Liu Ke, and the others, lying on the ground and struggling to rise, stared in astonishment.
Her qi and blood flowed freely, and all her bones rang together.
This was undeniably the Bone Resonance Realm!
But...
But this Team Leader Jiang looked no older than seventeen or eighteen!
A seventeen- or eighteen-year-old in the Bone Resonance Realm?!
What the hell... was this some kind of joke?!
Alarm bells rang in the black bear demon's heart, but now that the arrow was on the string, it had no choice but to loose it!
It roared. Demonic qi swirled around its sharp claws as it swiped fiercely at Jiang Yuechu's head!
At that moment.
Tiger Roar Demon Suppression Blade!
The blade slashed forth with fierce momentum. The phantom tiger behind her had become several times more solid than before!
More terrifying still, as the blade cleaved through the air, a soul-shaking tiger's roar rang out!
"Roar—"
Waves of sound surged straight into its soul!
The black bear roared inwardly. The tiger's roar shook it so badly that the demonic qi within its body stalled, slowing its movements by half a beat!
It no longer dared to underestimate her. Its scattered demonic qi abruptly drew back, and it crossed its claws, guarding its chest with all its might!
Clang—
Blade met claw in a brutal collision!
Sparks flew!
The black bear felt an unimaginable force crash into its claws. It slid backward uncontrollably for several yards, its feet gouging two furrows in the ground.
Before it could steady itself,
the slender figure was already upon it, following close like a shadow!
The second strike.
It crashed down with savage force!
Splurt—
A flash of blood.
The black bear's thick right paw, along with half its forearm, was severed cleanly!
Rank, foul demon blood gushed out like a fountain.
"Graaah—!"
Clutching its severed arm, it stared at the figure in disbelief as its massive body crashed to its knees.
The pride and arrogance in its eyes were utterly replaced by fear.
"Spare... spare me!!!"
It screamed in terror. "Mercy, my lord! Mercy!!!"
Faced with the bear demon's frantic pleas, she showed no emotion.
She simply walked, step by step, slowly toward the black bear kneeling before her and begging for mercy.
Then she raised her blade.
"Don't... don't!"
Sensing the icy killing intent, the black bear was scared out of its wits. It scrambled backward.
Splurt!
Another flash of blood.
The black bear's remaining left arm shot into the air as well.
"Graaah—!"
Overcome with agony, the black bear's huge body rolled wildly across the ground, its foul blood staining the floor black.
Jiang Yuechu paid it no heed. Her Horizontal Blade came down again.
In the blink of an eye, the once-invincible Great Demon had become a writhing chunk of flesh in a pool of blood.
Blood gushed from the stumps of its four limbs, and the searing pain nearly drowned its senses.
But what drove it to despair most of all was this:
The girl's hand still didn't pause for a moment.
She crouched down. With her Horizontal Blade, she carved into its body like a master butcher breaking down an ox, calmly slicing off its flesh, one piece at a time.
The black bear's screams had grown hoarse.
"Kill... kill me..."
"If you've got the guts, kill me!"
Blood droplets spattered across the girl's pale face.
She looked up with a smile, her voice soft. "I thought you monsters would enjoy this."
If they didn't enjoy it, why else would these monsters torment humans like this?
Chen Tong and the others watched, their throats bobbing as they swallowed, utterly dumbstruck. Their mouths had gone dry.
He had never seen anyone who could wear a smile while doing something like this, as the girl before him did.
Such composure—and such... matter-of-factness.
"Amitabha..."
"To protect life, one takes life; to end karma, one does not kill people..."
Bujie murmured under his breath and slowly closed his eyes, as though he couldn't bear to watch.
In the pool of blood, the black bear's screams had weakened to a mosquito's buzz.
In its eyes, once so full of ferocity, nothing remained but endless pleading.
The smile slowly faded from Jiang Yuechu's face.
She stood up and looked down at the heap of mangled flesh beneath her feet. At last, she brought her blade down on its face.
Splurt.
The blade flashed and vanished.
[Killed a being in the String-Hearing Realm. Obtained 360 years of its Dao Cultivation.]
Before you continue