The monster had a wolf's head and a human body, its form half-man, half-wolf. A mane grew over its shoulders, its hands retained their human shape, its nails were long and sharp, and its bushy tail swished behind it.
Bzz—
A breeze brushed Han Yu's hair.
The monster's eyes bulged. It opened its mouth as wide as it could, but not a sound escaped. Its vision began to spin. Its wolf head separated from its body, and several sword auras sliced its body into fragments that littered the ground.
"It's a Wolf Bandit. Sigh, there's no saving them." Gu Rong gritted his teeth, his tone tinged with regret.
On Douluo Continent, humans and Soul Beasts were completely separate species. They could only have children together if a Soul Beast transformed into a human and cultivated to the Soul Saint level.
Yet there was one naturally lecherous kind of Soul Beast that didn't need to reproduce with its own kind. Instead, it actively abducted human women to expand its population. After the offspring were born, it would cruelly murder their mothers and turn them into nourishment.
These Soul Beasts, hated by both gods and men, were the Wolf Bandits.
"Wolf Bandits are highly intelligent. Once they realize the gap between them and their enemies is too great, they'll slaughter the human women they've abducted." Gu Rong took a deep breath and shook his head.
Han Yu clenched his fists, his chest rising and falling faintly.
His gaze swept over the houses pushed down along the roadside. Amid the bloodshed, the corpses lay arranged in a strangely orderly way. There were about thirty of them, perhaps more. He didn't know why he was paying attention to the number of bodies. He only felt a nameless rage welling up in his chest.
The wolf howls carried on the wind pierced Han Yu's ears, twisting into wild laughter as an ancient city wall collapsed. Han Yu abruptly bit his tongue and awoke from the massacre buried in his memories.
His eyes gradually cleared, and killing intent filled them.
Chen Xin watched Han Yu regain his senses after only a brief daze and nodded with satisfaction.
This was a trial every Soul Master had to face. When confronted with such a bloody scene for the first time, most people needed a long time to steady themselves. Yet Han Yu had come around in only a moment—and had become brimming with killing intent instead. He truly was a prodigy.
After signaling to Gu Rong, Chen Xin vanished from the spot and sped through the village, killing the Wolf Bandits.
Han Yu and Gu Rong followed the trail toward the threshing ground outside the village.
At the edge of the threshing ground, a long, narrow gap had been cut into a pile of dry rice stalks. A Wolf Bandit ripped the stalks apart, pulled out the woman hiding inside with one hand, grabbed her by the head, and pressed it hard against the pile. It tilted its head as a hoarse, halting sound rumbled in its throat. "Don't... move."
The woman let out a faint sob, her eyes filled with terror.
"Second Soul Skill: Overload. First Soul Skill: Thunder Flash."
Han Yu appeared behind the Wolf Bandit almost as if he'd teleported. Without pausing, he swung the Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords into its lower back, flinging out Evil-Warding Divine Thunder without restraint and blasting it away.
He became a streak of golden lightning, scooped up the woman, and returned to Gu Rong's side.
"Awooo—!"
The Wolf Bandit, its whole body charred black, let out an enraged roar. It stomped a crater into the ground, its eyes bloodshot, and charged at Han Yu.
"Han Yu, this Wolf Bandit is at the ten-thousand-year level. That's too risky." Gu Rong frowned, casually glancing at the woman beside him, then earnestly tried to dissuade him.
"Don't worry, Teacher. I'll be careful." Han Yu's heart was still as water, his gaze cold.
Gu Rong clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. He sent the woman off in the direction of safety, then concealed his presence and slipped into the shadows, staying close behind Han Yu and ready to intervene at any moment.
"The old one's a stubborn relic, and now you're a little relic too. You just have to imitate his single-mindedness, don't you?" Gu Rong muttered under his breath.
Wolf Bandits were so vile that heaven and earth would not tolerate them; everyone had a right to kill them. What did it matter who did it?
But Chen Xin and Han Yu were both stubborn mules who insisted on doing it themselves. On the way here, Han Yu had already killed several thousand-year Wolf Bandits, and Gu Rong hadn't been able to talk him out of it.
Man and beast were about to collide.
Feeling how weak Han Yu's Soul Power was, the ten-thousand-year Wolf Bandit grinned cruelly and raised its shining right claw high.
"Godspeed."
Dragging his sword in his right hand, Han Yu stepped forward to meet it. His eyes swept across the Wolf Bandit's joints. Then he abruptly stopped, pushed off with his left foot, and took a stance as if to swing his sword upward.
"First Soul Skill: Thunder Flash."
The Wolf Bandit's claws touched the blade, but met none of the resistance it expected. It could only watch as its target shattered into afterimages.
Han Yu held the Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords horizontally, gathering Evil-Warding Divine Thunder along one side. He streaked past the Wolf Bandit's right side like a bolt of golden lightning, his tremendous destructive force striking its waist again and making it grimace in pain.
Unexpectedly, a fierce glint flashed in the ten-thousand-year Wolf Bandit's eyes. Instead of using the impact to evade further injury to its waist, it instantly spun around. Wind-type Soul Power surged through its legs, and it burst forward at twice its previous speed, both claws reaching for Han Yu's back.
Gu Rong's gaze sharpened at the sight, Soul Power gathering in his hand, ready to strike.
"Second Soul Skill: Accumulate Power." Without even looking back, Han Yu spoke confidently as dark scales appeared behind him.
Clang!
The Wolf Bandit's claws struck Han Yu's scales, sending sparks flying but leaving not a mark. Instead, the shock numbed both its hands. Its pupils trembled violently, its face full of disbelief.
Before it could react, golden patterns appeared across Han Yu's scales, their light shimmering. His body surged with power. Gripping his sword in both hands, he swung a solid half-circle, pivoting from the waist.
The Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords split into two green sword-images in midair, both crashing toward the Wolf Bandit's head.
The Wolf Bandit's eyes blazed with fury. Clutching its waist, it desperately tried to move its numbed lower body, watching the three-foot blade rapidly grow larger in its eyes.
Han Yu landed, his dark scales receding. He held his long sword and dropped to one knee, panting heavily.
"Human! I'll... kill you..." The ten-thousand-year Wolf Bandit clutched the quarter of its wolf head that had been sliced away, its eyes burning with rage. Its right fist clenched tight, blood dripping from its claws.
Looking at the Wolf Bandit's pitiful state, Han Yu laughed in exhilaration and straightened his spine. He flicked the Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords lightly. At last, the anger in his heart had been released. It was as if hundreds of thousands of joyous voices were cheering for him in his ears. He closed his eyes, and his aura surged.
A thick aura of slaughter rose around him.
"Killing Sword Intent!"
Han Yu leveled his sword and snapped his eyes open. Terrifying pressure instantly descended upon the ten-thousand-year Wolf Bandit. His killing intent was almost tangible, leaving it unable to move.
Fear filled the ten-thousand-year Wolf Bandit's eyes. It wanted to turn and flee, but sturdy white bone hands clamped around its legs.
"Giant Sword Technique."
Han Yu shot the Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords into the air, where they became countless sword-images.
The countless green sword-images merged together, forming an enormous light-sword streaked with interwoven golden patterns and jade-green hues. It hung in the air, a full zhang long.
Han Yu's face was cold as frost. With a light point of his finger, the giant sword silently descended from the sky, carrying the force to cleave the Wolf Bandit apart in a single stroke.
A thunderous explosion rang out. The ten-thousand-year Wolf Bandit held on for only a moment before letting out a wail and being torn to pieces.
With nothing left to stop it, the giant sword struck the ground without slowing, blasting open a deep crater more than ten meters wide.