A Star Level Four warrior was as fragile as a scrap of paper in a storm before Su Zhe's domain.
The assassin had intended to kill the squad leader and retreat, but his plan had failed. As he fled, he tried to kill a vicious beast that was in his way, only to run into Su Zhe.
Just as the assassin's short blade touched Su Zhe—
Bzzzt!
An invisible field of black flames erupted around Su Zhe!
"What?!"
The assassin's face filled with terror. He hadn't expected to meet his end in a place like this. His whole body felt as if it were mired in a swamp, his movements growing incredibly sluggish. Even the Genetic Origin Energy within him was constantly dissipating!
What was going on?!
"A domain?!"
The four members of the squad chasing him came to a horrified halt just outside Su Zhe's domain. The fury on their leader's face instantly turned to alarm, and he exclaimed in terror.
People who possessed a domain at the Star Level were exceedingly rare, even in this World of World Lords. Now that they had encountered one, the four squad members' anger over being ambushed faded, and they all thought of fleeing.
"Is this the Domain of Fire? But why does it feel... wrong?"
The squad leader fell into thought.
Meanwhile, the vicious beast that was Su Zhe twisted abruptly at the center of the domain and, in the blink of an eye, resumed human form.
He casually raised his right hand and spread his fingers—
Hiss! Hiss!
There was no need for complicated moves. The black flames filling the domain seemed almost alive as they turned into countless tiny venomous snakes and instantly coiled around the assassin!
"No—!"
The assassin managed only a brief, despairing scream.
The Level One Force Battle Suit covering his body was like paper before the Void Devouring Flame. It burned straight through.
Su Zhe quickly moved to his side. His right arm turned into a blade, black flames coiling around it, and he slashed down!
Flowing Fire Blade, Third Form!
Su Zhe's blade pierced the assassin's body. To everyone's horror, the assassin was devoured and digested on the spot, without even a speck of dust left behind!
Su Zhe casually picked up the weapon the assassin had dropped. It was a Level Two Force Weapon. Though it was only low-grade, it was still worth tens of millions of Black Dragon Coins—a decent haul.
[Devoured a Star Level Four warrior. Gained 20,480 Devour Points] [Warrior level increased: Star Level Two]
The cold notifications appeared. Su Zhe turned his gaze toward the four squad members standing frozen in place. Everything had happened far too quickly for them to react. The assassin was already dead.
Su Zhe extended his Domain of Fire, instantly enveloping the warriors.
Thump!
The weakest member of the squad, a Star Level Two warrior, was the first to buckle. His legs gave way, and he fell to his knees, his face as pale as paper.
The other two were also chattering their teeth, cold sweat streaming down their foreheads. Only their Star Level Five leader could barely remain standing, though the arm gripping his broad saber trembled, his eyes filled with fear.
Su Zhe had no intention of sparing them and was about to strike again when their leader suddenly spoke.
"P-please spare us, senior!" the leader stammered with difficulty. "We meant no offense! That man was our enemy. He ambushed us, and we only wanted to..."
Su Zhe frowned slightly, his cold gaze sweeping over them.
If he killed all of them, he might be able to reach Star Level Three right away.
But they were being so polite that Su Zhe almost felt bad about killing them.
"Hand over the Wind Horn Stones."
After a moment's thought, Su Zhe decided to let them live for now.
The leader shuddered, instantly understanding.
This expert with the terrifying domain had clearly heard what they'd said earlier!
He didn't dare hesitate or bargain. Almost immediately, he took more than ten Wind Horn Stones from his Space Ring and respectfully presented them with both hands.
The other three squad members could only watch helplessly, not daring to move.
An expert with a domain could defeat enemies of a higher level. Taking on all four of them at once would be no great challenge, either. They had all seen how the Star Level Four assassin had been killed in an instant.
Su Zhe swept over the Wind Horn Stones with his Psychic Power and collected three of them. They were only required for the examination, so he just needed enough to meet the requirement. More would be useless; he couldn't sell them.
After taking the Wind Horn Stones, Su Zhe ignored the group and continued deeper into the mountains.
The four squad members were left staring at one another.
"Looks like... we'll have to go back."
In the end, the leader sighed helplessly.
The other three silently nodded.
If Su Zhe had merely possessed a domain, that would have been one thing. What truly stopped them from attacking was the strength and strange ability he had just displayed.
Deep in the mountains.
Su Zhe crouched near a lake more than a hundred kilometers across.
Three days had passed since he'd killed the assassin.
The lake before him was called Demon Moon Lake.
The abundant water had attracted several groups of vicious beasts to the area, including the Single-Horned Iron Rhinos Su Zhe needed.
"Master, there's a vicious beast about eleven kilometers to the right," Auxiliary Intelligence Xiao Yu said in his ear.
Su Zhe nodded slightly. This time, he'd brought a detector from the Black Ink Star Ship. It could scan a radius of twenty thousand meters. Even a World Master would find it difficult to hide from the detector, let alone Star Level vicious beasts.
"Any Single-Horned Iron Rhinos?"
"Not yet... Wait, Master!" Xiao Yu said. "A herd of Single-Horned Iron Rhinos has appeared nineteen kilometers to the left. But they're heading in another direction. They might just be passing through."
"Good. Mark their location in real time."
Su Zhe leaped down from the treetop and hurried toward the place Xiao Yu had indicated.
A short while later.
One hulking creature after another, each the size of a truck, came into view.
The Single-Horned Iron Rhinos had skin as thick as rock, and the horns on their heads were as sharp as curved blades. Yet their eyes were clear, almost vacant.
The Single-Horned Iron Rhino was, at heart, a very simple-minded vicious beast.
Vicious beasts were called vicious beasts because they had little intelligence. They mostly relied on instinct and expressed only simple emotions. Some might not even be as clever as cats and dogs on Earth.
There were thirteen Single-Horned Iron Rhinos before Su Zhe.
To complete the task, Su Zhe only needed to kill one of them.
But devouring vicious beasts could also increase his strength.
Su Zhe considered the possibility. Could he raise his strength all the way to Star Level Nine in the Thunder World?
The Thunder World was a chaotic place, crowded with powerful vicious beasts and human adventurers. There were countless numbers of them.
If he killed them all, Su Zhe's strength would surely increase tremendously!
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