New Spell Art Entry: Dragon Bane

At this moment.

In a cold pool deep in the mountains.

Jiang Li's hollow voice rang out.

The three-inch sword light condensed from three hundred and twenty Spirit Stones slashed down.

The sword's shadow was like an aurora, turning sky and light into one color.

Then...

It came crashing down.

The dazzling pale-white sword radiance shot forth like lightning.

In an instant, it cut across the Poisonous Serpent's body.

The Poisonous Serpent's hard serpent body, which it had always taken pride in, was as fragile as thin paper beneath this world-shaking sword radiance.

It pierced straight through without the slightest effort.

The slash's remaining force struck the tranquil lake surface.

The lake water parted.

Waves rose in a thousand layers.

Splash.

A crisp sound drew everyone's attention.

At some point, a tiny ring-shaped wound had appeared on the upright serpent body of the Poisonous Serpent. The wound continued splitting apart until its serpent head finally fell off.

It rolled several times across the ground.

Its enormous serpent body also crashed down at that moment.

Blood sprayed across the sky.

Forming a pool of crimson.

The Qi Refining Level 7 Poisonous Serpent was dead.

At that moment.

The scene was so quiet it was absurd.

A falling needle could be heard.

Rogue Cultivator Huang Fei's eyes were wide, his face filled with disbelief.

The two Qi Refining stage disciples lying severely injured on the ground had their mouths hanging open as well, as though they had seen a ghost.

Slaying a dragon with one sword.

Had some storybook tale come to life?

Though the Poisonous Serpent was not a True Dragon in the strictest sense, it still belonged to the dragon kind. With the cultivation of Qi Refining Level 7, it had suppressed both them and their master. Its black scales could not even be broken by spell arts.

In terms of strength, the Poisonous Serpent was absolutely a top-tier demonic beast among those in the Qi Refining stage.

No cultivator below the Foundation Establishment Realm could defeat it.

And now...

What had they witnessed?

A youth around their age, whose cultivation was likewise merely Qi Refining Layer 4, had used only one sword strike to break through the Poisonous Serpent's defenses and sever its head.

It was too shocking.

It was a perfect reenactment of the dragon-slaying feat from storybooks.

To the point that they felt it was unreal.

As though all of this was merely a dream of yellow millet before their deaths.

For a time.

The scene was deathly silent.

Meanwhile.

Jiang Li, standing atop the flying Spirit Boat, stared fixedly at that sword strike.

He could not help drawing a sharp breath.

Even he found the effect of this attack utterly breathtaking.

It also allowed Jiang Li to glimpse the strength he would possess in the future.

With merely the Mana value of Qi Refining Level 7, no one below the Foundation Establishment Realm could block a single sword strike.

And this...

Was merely the beginner stage of the Dragon Slaying Sword.

Beyond it lay four great realms: proficient, minor mastery, major mastery, and perfection.

He did not dare imagine just how terrifying the power of this strike would become if he used peak Qi Refining cultivation to wield the Dragon Slaying Sword at the perfection realm.

Slaying Foundation Establishment cultivators against the odds was no mere theory.

As he was thinking.

A cold mechanical electronic voice pulled Jiang Li's thoughts back to reality.

Ding. The spell art "Dragon Slaying Sword" has slain a Poisonous Serpent with its sword, bathed in dragon blood, thoroughly comprehended its own true meaning, redefined the words "dragon slaying," and entered the Enlightenment State.

A new entry has been obtained.

Additional Entry: Dragon Bane.

Dragon Bane: Damage against dragon-kind creatures +50%.

Ding. Option Mission completed.

Completion reward: Minor Mastery of spell arts.

As the system notifications faded.

Jiang Li regained control of his body.

He was overjoyed.

Minor Mastery of spell arts was already the greatest harvest, yet he had not expected the spell art Dragon Slaying Sword to rise to the occasion itself, enter the Enlightenment State, and obtain an Additional Entry.

Double happiness had arrived at the door.

No.

It was threefold joy ushering in prosperity.

A Qi Refining Level 7 Poisonous Serpent was treasure from head to toe.

Its flesh and blood could be used for pill refinement, its scales could be used for artifact refinement, and every part of it could be taken apart and sold for a good price.

Not only could the four hundred Spirit Stones spent on this trip be fully recovered, he could even make a fortune on top of that.

With that thought.

Jiang Li formed a hand seal with his Mana.

He stored the Poisonous Serpent's body in his Storage Bag.

After finishing all this.

He nodded in satisfaction.

Then turned and left.

There was no other reason.

He wanted to keep a low profile.

He had already sensed a group of cultivators approaching from nearby.

They were most likely the cultivators stationed in Frostfeather City.

Although Frostfeather City was a city under the Cloudmist Dynasty's jurisdiction, it was still not far from the Heavenly Mystery Holy Land. He had no desire to become famous outside just after making a name for himself in the Holy Land.

Who knew if some Holy Land disciple might spread word of his deeds out of sheer gossip.

Jiang Li thought, the system could be as wild as it pleased, but he still had to keep his head down.

That was the self-cultivation of an undercover agent.

Just then.

Rogue Cultivator Huang Fei finally recovered from his shock.

Seeing Jiang Li preparing to leave, he hurriedly called out, "This little... Fellow Daoist, thank you for intervening. If not for you, the three of us, master and disciples alike, would have perished at the Poisonous Serpent's hands."

"Great kindness needs no words of thanks. Please accept a bow from Huang."

Huang Fei solemnly bowed to Jiang Li.

Though he was several rounds older than Jiang Li, and his cultivation exceeded Jiang Li's by several minor realms, he knew deeply that this young man was a True Dragon of the nine heavens, one who would surely shake the entire Cultivation World in the future.

He, meanwhile, was merely a Rogue Cultivator nearing the end of his lifespan. Whether he could even reach Foundation Establishment in the future remained uncertain.

The gap between them was like clouds and mud.

This bow was one of awe.

Jiang Li's expression shifted slightly.

But he did not avoid it.

He merely waved a hand.

"It was a small matter, not worth mentioning."

After saying that.

He turned away with easy grace.

Riding his Spirit Boat, he vanished into the distance.

Leaving the three of them only with a mysterious and carefree silhouette.

It left all three of them somewhat dazed.

"Master, who exactly was he?"

The male disciple among the two could not help asking.

Huang Fei stared for a long while before coming back to himself. With a sigh, he said, "If I'm not mistaken, he should be a prodigy of the Heavenly Mystery Holy Land. Your master once wished to join the Heavenly Mystery Holy Land as well, but my aptitude was insufficient. Left with no choice, I became a Rogue Cultivator and drifted through half my life, eventually reaching Qi Refining Level 9."

"With such cultivation, I have already been treated as an honored guest in mortal dynasties. Countless times, I thought that if the Heavenly Mystery Holy Land had given me a chance to prove myself back then, my achievements today would never have been limited to this."

"But now I understand. Compared to the true favored children of heaven from the Heavenly Mystery Holy Land, this little achievement of mine is completely beneath mention."

The male disciple opened his mouth, wanting to say that his master should not belittle himself.

But the words reached his lips and were swallowed back down.

Before the feat of slaying a Poisonous Serpent with one sword at Qi Refining Layer 4, every defense seemed so powerless.

That was a true prodigy.

Not someone Rogue Cultivators like them could compare to.

At this moment.

Huang Fei seemed to make up his mind.

"He'er, go to the Heavenly Mystery Holy Land. Rogue Cultivators have no future, and shallow waters cannot raise a True Dragon. You need a greater stage. You must follow that Fellow Daoist's example."

The tranquil young girl named He'er lifted her bright, lively eyes and silently looked in the direction Jiang Li had departed.

His silhouette seemed reflected in her eyes.

On the other side.

By the time Jiang Li returned to the Heavenly Mystery Holy Land, night had already fallen.

Because he had deliberately kept a low profile, few people knew of this trip.

Everything was as it usually was.

The calmness put him at ease.

Jiang Li eagerly began testing the Dragon Slaying Sword at the minor mastery realm.

Mana surged around him.

A tangible silver-white sword aura condensed in his palm, a full zhang in length. Faint dragon-scale patterns appeared on the sword aura itself.

Jiang Li fell silent.

For a long time, he could not tear his gaze away.

He reopened the copied Dragon Slaying Sword manual.

And turned to the section on the minor mastery stage.

At minor mastery of the Dragon Slaying Sword, Mana transformed into sword aura. It was six chi long, its blade silver-white and colorless, existing in a semi-solid state.

Damn.

It was not that he had remembered incorrectly.

Rather, the Dragon Slaying Sword he had cultivated truly differed from the normal version.

Other than Mana transforming into sword aura, not a single detail matched.

And judging from the two versions, his Dragonscale Sword Aura looked more like the sword aura that should be cultivated from a spell art called the Dragon Slaying Sword.

This was bad.

The system had led this spell art astray.

It was changing toward the true meaning of the words "Dragon Slaying Sword."

For a moment, Jiang Li did not know what to say.

Because he also felt that the current Dragon Slaying Sword truly lived up to the words "Dragon Slaying Sword."