Battle the Wolf Demon

At the Green-Shirt Wolf Demon's command,

the little demons behind him, poised and ready, hesitated no longer.

Low whines escaped their throats as they dropped to all fours and charged fiercely at Jiang Yuechu.

The morning wind was bleak, sweeping up clouds of dust.

Chen Qingyuan and the others felt their hearts leap into their throats.

Then, at that very moment,

the girl's long, slender fingers had already closed around her sword hilt.

Clang—

The Horizontal Blade left its sheath.

She did not even glance at the Wolf Demons rushing toward her. Her cold eyes remained fixed, from beginning to end, on the Green-Shirt Wolf Demon.

The perfected intent of Fierce Tiger Quickblade erupted without reserve.

From above, she brought her blade down in a single savage chop.

The blade rose in the morning light and fell into the dust.

The instant that blade emerged, an incomparably ferocious killing aura burst forth. Even the air around them seemed to turn cold.

Chen Qingyuan and the dozen or so Flying Eagle Sect men behind him saw only a blur before their eyes, while a faint tiger roar like wind and thunder seemed to ring in their ears!

The Green-Shirt Wolf Demon, who had worn a slightly mocking expression moments ago, was even more terrified.

Every instinct in his body told him—

He could not withstand this strike!

In that flash of lightning and flint, he did not even have time to dodge. He merely reached out instinctively, seized a companion who had just charged up beside him, and hurled him forward.

Driven by a tremendous force, that little demon flew straight into the dazzling blade light.

The blade flashed, then vanished.

The Wolf Demon used as a shield had not even realized what had happened.

From the crown of his head down to his crotch,

a line of blood burst forth.

The next moment, his entire body split cleanly into two halves.

Scalding demon blood and entrails splashed across the ground.

What a vicious blade.

What a swift blade.

What a Demon Suppression Bureau!

Chen Qingyuan and the others stood rooted to the spot, so stunned that they forgot to step forward and help!

The several Wolf Demons about to pounce also braked sharply amid the dust.

Their four claws scraped the ground, kicking up a trail of dust.

Whimpers rose from their throats, while their furry wolf tails unconsciously tucked tightly between their hind legs.

Yet the blade-wielding girl did not pause in the slightest after bringing down that strike.

With a stomp of her foot, she shot forward once more like an arrow loosed from the bowstring.

Her blade traced a shrill arc.

A horizontal sweep!

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Three more massive wolf heads flew into the sky.

Scalding demon blood spurted several feet from their headless necks.

From beginning to end, it had taken no more than the blink of an eye.

The Green-Shirt Wolf Demon watched helplessly as, in the space of an instant, over half of his offspring had died.

The remaining Wolf Demons had been scared out of their wits by that blade. Cowering, they no longer dared to advance.

He stood there blankly.

When he finally came to his senses, shock and fury had already filled his heart.

Cultivation was difficult for the Demon Race to begin with.

Setting aside those who had encountered fortunate opportunities and evolved from wild mountain spirits and strange creatures after gaining intelligence,

Demon Race members with bloodline inheritances like his found reproduction and propagation especially difficult.

Over the decades, with so many dying young, his entire line—including himself—amounted to only this handful.

And today, they had actually perished here!

"Stop right there!!!"

But the blade-wielding girl acted as though she had not heard him.

Her blade tip hung at an angle. A drop of demon blood slid down the edge and seeped into the dust beneath her feet.

She slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Morning mist drifted from her lips.

"Isn't the strong eating the weak simply the way of heaven?"

Jiang Yuechu raised her eyes and looked calmly at him.

"I thought you had spoken so eloquently just now. Clearly, you agreed with that principle."

"So why are you so angry now?"

At those words, the Green-Faced Wolf Demon's long robe tore apart as suddenly bulging muscles stretched it taut.

"You—are—dead!!!!"

The next instant, the Wolf Demon lowered himself onto all fours, his hind legs suddenly exploding with force.

The ground cracked.

A green shadow, carrying a stench-laden wind, lunged straight for Jiang Yuechu's face.

As that green shadow reached the middle of its leap, rolling black baleful aura began to billow from its body.

Clearly, this was no technique an ordinary demon could wield.

Yet faced with such an attack, the girl neither dodged nor retreated.

With an angry shout, she leaped high into the air.

In midair, her blood and vitality surged explosively as though by instinct.

Behind her, the phantom image of a Variegated Blood Tiger condensed!

Roar—

A tiger's roar shook the wilderness!

One high, one low.

One above, one below.

The two figures collided head-on in the middle of the village road!

The blade sank into a shoulder and neck.

Wolf claws tore through flesh.

The dense black baleful aura and crimson phantom separated at the first touch, then merged, before both finally dissipating.

The two figures flew backward in opposite directions and crashed heavily to the ground.

Jiang Yuechu gave a muffled groan. A mouthful of sweet, bloody fluid surged into her throat, but she swallowed it back with all her strength.

The black garment over her abdomen had been torn open by three claw marks, and blood continued to seep out.

She had never learned any exquisite martial arts. This blade technique obtained from the Tiger Demon was broad and powerful, pressing forward without hesitation—but that was all it was.

The Green-Shirt Wolf Demon staggered to his feet, his left shoulder blade nearly severed by that strike.

Yet the brutality in his eyes made him forget such wounds entirely.

Only then did the dozen or so Flying Eagle Sect men behind her snap awake as though from a dream.

Chen Qingyuan was the first to react. Pale-faced, he shouted, "Protect my lord!"

With a rustle,

more than a dozen men drew their weapons and scrambled forward, surrounding and shielding that wavering figure.

Blades and swords left their sheaths, all aimed at the Green-Shirt Wolf Demon as though they faced a great enemy.

Meanwhile, farther down the village road, the few remaining little demons were terrified by the gruesome sight.

With a wail, they tucked their tails and fled even farther away, no longer daring to come any closer.

After all, seeking gain and avoiding harm was the instinct of every living creature.

Birds and beasts were like this; demons and devils were no different.

But humans would restrain that instinct to seek gain and avoid harm for certain things.

That was the difference between people and beasts.

With everyone shielding her, Jiang Yuechu finally had time to calculate inwardly.

Though the Green-Shirt Wolf Demon before her had also entered the String-Hearing Realm, he did not possess the Tiger Demon's strange and unpredictable divine abilities.

His strength... was certainly below that of the Tiger Demon.

Her ability to kill that Tiger Demon with a single stroke back then had probably owed more than half to luck, thanks to its already grievous wounds.

But even so,

only in this battle did she realize that demons of the String-Hearing Realm truly could not be underestimated.

With her current strength alone, even if she could kill him, she would clearly suffer serious injuries herself.

Under ordinary circumstances, that would have been one thing.

But her identity was sensitive now. She absolutely could not afford grievous injuries.

At a thought, the Ancient Scroll flickered through her mind.

[Dao Cultivation: 152 years.]

The original twenty-five years, added to the little demons she had slain,

had brought her Dao Cultivation to a considerable amount once more.

She slowly exhaled a blood-tinged breath of turbid air.

Tsk...

She still had to cheat.

Jiang Yuechu hesitated no longer. With a movement of her mind,

all one hundred and fifty-two years of Dao Cultivation surged like floodwaters released from a breached dam into the Tiger Demon Scroll.

Boom—

Everything around her—whether Chen Qingyuan's cries or the Wolf Demon's roar—receded entirely at that moment.

Heaven and earth seemed to contain nothing but black and white.