Unless You Apologize to Me

A few days later.

Zhuang Hong held an Iron Sword as he sparred with Dancer in an open area.

Their figures darted swiftly back and forth, sword light flashing.

Every move targeted the other's vital points, yet each held back, stopping at the slightest touch.

They traded blows like this, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Suddenly, Dancer's skirt swayed, blocking Zhuang Hong's vision. Her other hand's longsword slid along his blade and stabbed out at an angle, only to change midway as her wrist gave a sharp shake.

Clang!

Zhuang Hong felt a powerful force travel through the sword in his hand. The entire longsword trembled violently, nearly slipping from his grip.

"Vibration Sword Style?"

Zhuang Hong reacted instantly. Dancer was trying to shake his longsword from his hand, but how could he let her succeed so easily?

His grip abruptly tightened.

Buzz!

Violent power surged from Zhuang Hong's body and into the longsword. The trembling blade immediately steadied.

Zhuang Hong sharply shook his wrist just as Dancer had.

Clang!

The two swords collided.

The tremendous force sent Dancer's longsword flying from her hand. It clattered to the ground.

Zhuang Hong stepped forward, flicked his sword, and pointed it directly at Dancer's ample chest. He chuckled. "Looks like I won this time."

Dancer took a step back, unable to suppress her amazement again. "Zhuang Hong, your swordsmanship has improved far too quickly. You're the most talented person I've ever seen. Even this Vibration Sword Style can only be learned by a handful of people in the world, yet you could put it to practical use after only a little practice. Unbelievable."

She admitted that Zhuang Hong had always been powerful, but not long ago, he had truly been a Secret Sea Warrior who knew almost nothing about the path of Martial Dao Cultivation. He had not even mastered the most basic sword techniques. His fighting ability was not weak, but it was exceptionally crude, as though he had developed his combat skills through fighting and groping his way forward alone.

Yet such a person had broken through to become a Sky Bridge Warrior in less than two months and mastered a polished set of sword techniques. His overall strength had improved by an unknown amount.

What shocked Dancer was not how strong Zhuang Hong had become, but how quickly he learned.

Such learning speed could no longer be described merely as talent.

Dancer looked at Zhuang Hong with increasingly heated eyes. "I really am very satisfied with you. Won't you consider having children with me? A child born from our union would surely be the most gifted person in this world."

"Stop, stop, stop. We can talk about that later!"

Zhuang Hong picked up Dancer's fallen longsword and handed it back to her. "Besides, you have a long lifespan. You're still young. Wait a little longer, there's no rush..."

It was not that Zhuang Hong did not like beautiful women. It was just that the age gap between him and Dancer was indeed rather large, and he was destined not to remain in this world for long. How could he have children with her?

Was he supposed to sow his seed across endless worlds?

Just thinking about it sounded absurd.

Besides, his constitution was extremely unusual. He would not casually lay eggs with girls.

What if the child they had also possessed the ability to attract Void Spirits? Wouldn't that leave him with another burden to drag around?

Therefore, Zhuang Hong remained fairly restrained when it came to women. At the very least, he had to wait until he could protect himself and those around him.

Seeing his attitude, Dancer covered her mouth and laughed softly.

She accepted the longsword and said, "Since your heart is as hard as iron, then forget it. Your foundational sword techniques are already proficient and thoroughly understood. You merely need more experience in battle to wield them with complete mastery, so there is nothing more I need to teach you. As for blade techniques and whip techniques, when one method is understood, all methods follow. Blades and whips differ from swords, but if you use them according to sword techniques, you will be close enough."

During this time, Dancer had already taught Zhuang Hong the tricks of using blade techniques and whip techniques. Once he had mastered swordsmanship, he would naturally pick up the other two weapons quickly.

Zhuang Hong thanked her. "I still have to thank you for your guidance, Dancer. Without you, I wouldn't have learned so quickly."

Dancer's eyes curved into crescents as she smiled.

Zhuang Hong added, "Dancer, aside from sparring with you today, I also came to say goodbye."

Dancer's smile froze. "Goodbye?"

"Yes. I've troubled you a great deal during this time. It's time for me to leave. Of course, if I encounter any problems in my Martial Dao Cultivation in the future, I may return to ask you for advice. I only hope you'll still remember me then."

"Where are you planning to go?"

"I don't know yet. I'll wander and see. My cultivation is different from yours. My cultivation is always on the road."

Just as Zhuang Hong was about to say something else, his heart suddenly jolted. He sharply turned his head toward the lake nearby.

Woof woof woof!

At almost the same moment, Xiao Bai reacted as well. It immediately barked wildly at the lake, as if some great terror lurked within its waters. As it barked, it hid behind Zhuang Hong.

The moment Zhuang Hong saw it, his pupils constricted. Every muscle in his body tensed, and he instinctively drew the Dragon Tendon Sword from his back, staring vigilantly at the monster.

Splash—

The lake water rippled faintly as a massive beast slowly rose from its depths. At the same time, a pleasant female voice like a bird's chirp rang out. "A Sky Chasing Hound pup? Hehe, quite perceptive. You actually discovered my ambush! But what surprises me even more is running into a Core Combination Insect. It seems my opportunity to advance into a True Spirit lies here."

Dancer was dumbstruck, her small mouth slightly open. "What is that?"

It was an enormous beast. Its room-sized body crouched on the ground like a spider, with four jointed limbs extending from each side like massive steel pillars, supporting its huge body as it emerged from the lake. Yet it moved with astonishing lightness.

Its body and limbs were covered in dense steel spikes, making it look exceptionally savage. It was not hard to imagine the consequences of being struck by its body—one would surely be pierced into a honeycomb.

Most horrifying of all, the monster's head bore a woman's upper body, as though it had been cut in half and attached there.

At that moment, the woman's innocent and beautiful face smiled sweetly at Zhuang Hong.

Furthermore, a faint purple glow emanated from within this massive, bizarre monster, bringing Zhuang Hong a lethal sense of danger.

Zhuang Hong's expression became exceptionally grave as he slowly said, "Purple Rising Spirit Beast..."

The sight of the monster shook Dancer to the core. She gripped her longsword tightly and stared at it vigilantly.

She had lived for over sixty years. Though she had heard that monsters occasionally appeared throughout the world, she had never expected to see one with her own eyes. Seeing it now dealt her a tremendous shock.

"Large monsters really do exist..."

The Spider Monster had barely revealed herself before immediately raising two jointed limbs toward Zhuang Hong.

The next moment, the steel spikes on her limbs shot out explosively, blanketing Zhuang Hong and the others.

Puff puff puff!

"Watch out!"

Zhuang Hong shouted and immediately stepped forward, wielding the Dragon Tendon Sword in an impenetrable blur.

Most of the incoming steel spikes were blocked by him.

Some, however, shot toward Dancer, and Zhuang Hong was already too late to help her block them.

Dancer was extremely strong, and her reaction was not much slower than Zhuang Hong's. She swung her longsword to defend herself.

Clang clang clang!

Several steel spikes were knocked aside by her blade, but two still passed through her defense, embedding themselves in her left shoulder and right waist.

Dancer grunted and staggered back two steps, staring in disbelief at the gray steel spikes lodged in her body. "How could this be..."

Her sword had been incredibly fast. She had clearly blocked those two steel spikes, yet they had passed through her longsword.

This reminded her of her recent sparring experiences with Zhuang Hong. Could this monster also possess the same phantom ability as Zhuang Hong?

Zhuang Hong flashed in front of Dancer and said quickly, "Dancer, you can't handle this monster. Leave first. I'll lure it away."

He could sense that some of the steel spikes fired by the Spider Monster carried spatial properties. Though Dancer was extremely strong, she would find it difficult to block such spikes.

Ordinary people of three-dimensional space had no chance at all against Void Spirits.

A stunned expression appeared on the Spider Monster's innocent face. She pointed at herself in disbelief. "You actually called me a monster? I'm so beautiful, yet you still call me a monster?"

"Unforgivable..."

Among Void Spirits, she was a beauty who eclipsed all others. Yet now, a tiny Core Combination Insect had called her a "monster." It nearly drove her mad.

In contrast to the Spider Monster's fury, Dancer remained very rational. She knew she truly could not handle this monster, so the moment Zhuang Hong finished speaking, she turned and ran.

Watching Dancer flee, the Spider Monster laughed brightly. "You want to lure me away? I refuse to do as you wish. That Female Mayfly is important to you, isn't she?"

As she spoke, the Spider Monster's eight jointed limbs began moving as she chased after Dancer. She laughed as she pursued her. "Regret it! Regret calling me a monster. Unless you apologize to me, I won't forgive you!"

Zhuang Hong said, "You Spider Monster, you sure talk a lot. Are you stupid?"

Spider Monster: "?!!!"