10: Kill the Bull Madman

The moment Xiao Zhuo stepped into the City Lord's Mansion!

The demon named Niu Kuang was firmly clutching the dark-red blood crystal, which had shrunk to the size of a palm, with his dark giant hand! The crystal's surface was swirling with an eerie bloody glow, emitting a terrifying evil energy fluctuation that made one's heart palpitate.

"Human Race?" Niu Kuang's giant, bell-like eyes suddenly turned to the doorway, his voice like rolling thunder. "What an unexpected surprise! This remote, tiny Human Race land can actually produce a Martial Artist like you?!"

"You can also speak human language?" Xiao Zhuo's saber tip touched the ground, and the bluestone slab cracked into a spiderweb pattern in response. "Baleful Rank demon?"

"Baleful Rank?" Niu Kuang snorted thick white air from his nostrils, a trace of a sinister smile on his face. "Soon, it won't be!"

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly opened his fanged, blood-red mouth and swallowed the eerie blood crystal whole!

"Boom—!!!"

A terrifying wave of Qi exploded! The entire City Lord's Mansion plaza was instantly swept by a hurricane, and the pillars groaned under the unbearable pressure!

A thick, blood-red mist rose around Niu Kuang's body. Beneath his dark skin, dark-red streams of light, like magma, surged and expanded, and a suffocating, terrifying power seemed about to burst his demonic body!

The hurricane, carrying shattered stones and tiles, scraped across Xiao Zhuo's cheek like blades, leaving a trail of blood.

His robes and hair were torn and whipped wildly by the gale!

Xiao Zhuo's eyes suddenly narrowed, his face displaying an unprecedented gravity.

A huge, deadly sense of crisis, one he hadn't felt before, coiled around his spine like a cold venomous snake!

"He's grown stronger! That blood crystal... is the key to his advancement!" Xiao Zhuo's heart pounded. Seeing Niu Kuang's aura still climbing frantically, he didn't hesitate—he would strike first!

"Kill!"

The bluestone beneath his feet shattered! Xiao Zhuo's figure transformed into a streak of azure light tearing through the air, shooting towards Niu Kuang! On his meteorite iron long saber, the black Qi was unprecedentedly thick and viscous, and faint, profound Eight Trigrams runes condensed and shimmered on the blade!

"Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, Dui, Eight Extremes Return to Void! Slash!"

The azure shadow erupted! The long saber hummed, fiercely unleashing a swirling Eight Trigrams formation!

Eight-colored Protective Aura instantly condensed into a ten-zhang long destructive giant blade, accompanied by the roar of wind and thunder, tearing through space as it slashed down!

Niu Kuang, who had originally been arrogant, even with a sneer on his lips, instantly froze! The deadly sense of threat made him break out in a cold sweat. He could no longer bother with posturing!

"Roar!" With a roar, a viscous, dark-red stream of Qi surged wildly from his chest, instantly covering his entire body, then rapidly converging towards his crossed, blocking arms—all changes happening in a flash of lightning!

"Clang—!!!"

The deafening clang of metal made people's eardrums feel like they would split! As the giant blade slashed down, the thick bluestone slabs beneath Niu Kuang's feet shattered and collapsed inch by inch like tofu!

The dark-red light Sha condensed on his arms only lasted for a breath before it utterly disintegrated!

"Rip—!!!"

The giant blade was no longer obstructed, fiercely shattering the remaining light Sha, severing his crossed arms, slicing off a ferocious bull horn, and finally tearing open a massive, bone-deep wound on his robust chest!

Pale white bone shards and a giant, frantically beating heart were instantly exposed to the foul-smelling air!

The giant blade formed by the Eight Extremes Return to Void Slash also dissipated at this moment, its energy exhausted!

However, Xiao Zhuo's killing move was not over! At the exact moment the giant blade disintegrated, his figure appeared like a phantom before Niu Kuang's chest!

The long saber, moving from bottom to top, transformed into a deadly black line, lightning-fast as it slashed towards the demon's thick neck!

"Clang—!!!"

Sparks flew! Just as the blade was a mere fist's distance from Niu Kuang's neck, a demonic claw covered in newly grown black scales clamped down firmly on the blade! Xiao Zhuo's pupils contracted—super-fast regeneration!

At the same time, Niu Kuang's other regenerated demonic fist, carrying immense power, tore through the air and fiercely slammed towards Xiao Zhuo's ribs!

"Hmph!" Xiao Zhuo let out a cold snort, stomping his right foot forcefully. He used the momentum to spin in mid-air!

The long saber swept along, its blade coiling like a venomous snake around the blocking demonic claw, carving a bone-deep blood groove in Niu Kuang's shoulder!

The two figures met and separated in an instant, creating a distance of over ten meters!

Looking at the monstrous wound on the demon's chest, which had already healed by more than half, Xiao Zhuo showed no fear, only extreme focus!

Deep in his eyes, a blazing flame burned fiercely—that was the indomitable fighting spirit of a Martial Artist!

"State your name!" Dark-red light Sha once again emanated from Niu Kuang's body. Although his aura was slightly chaotic due to his injuries, it was still powerful and intimidating. "Today is the first battle of my Breakthrough to Baleful Rank! Later, I will devour you, bones and flesh, alive!"

Xiao Zhuo remained silent as an abyss, ignoring the provocation.

Niu Kuang's response was a sharp saber edge that once again tore through the air!

Niu Kuang also moved! The layer of black-red light Sha completely covered his body, and hard, diamond-shaped black scales rapidly grew on his dark skin, as if he had instantly donned a ferocious demonic armor!

"Bang bang bang bang bang—!!!"

A series of dense, rain-like clangs of metal wildly exploded in the plaza! Sparks flew everywhere! The two figures were as fast as phantoms, leaving trails of afterimages. Each collision stirred up violent waves of Qi, sending hard bluestone slabs flying and shattering!

Xiao Zhuo's Innate True Qi within his body had been pushed to its limit!

But without using his ultimate techniques, his ordinary saber slashes were completely unable to shake the seemingly thin but incredibly tough black-red light Sha on Niu Kuang's body!

Let alone harm the scaled demonic body!

In dozens of exchanges, Xiao Zhuo's saber struck Niu Kuang countless times, but each time it was either deflected or parried by the strange demonic Sha light curtain, emitting a grating, teeth-aching friction sound.

"Human! Why aren't you using that move from before?!" Niu Kuang bared his teeth, letting out a harsh taunt. "Without that move, you can't even break through my body-protecting demonic Sha! Useless!"

A cold glint flashed in Xiao Zhuo's eyes, catching the information in the other party's words—demonic Sha!

Memories from his previous life surged: demons often feared thunder! He wondered if this demonic Sha also feared it?

His thoughts raced, and the black Qi on his long saber surged again!

Seeing this, a hint of undetectable smugness flashed in Niu Kuang's bull-like eyes!

He had long seen that Xiao Zhuo needed a brief period of charging to unleash that terrifying killing move. In such close-quarters combat, if Xiao Zhuo dared to use it, he would surely seize that fleeting weakness and deliver a fatal blow!

The seemingly intense exchange just now was actually mostly him passively taking hits!

Xiao Zhuo's speed was a touch faster than his, and his movement technique was even more elusive. Relying on the advantage of his weapon, he simply didn't give Niu Kuang a chance to clash head-on and overwhelm him with strength!

The few times Niu Kuang's heavy punches were unavoidable, they were parried and dissolved by the opponent's exquisite saber techniques.

Niu Kuang seemed to have a defensive advantage, but in reality, he was extremely anxious!

This blood sacrifice was hastily initiated and not during a full moon, so the blood crystal purification was insufficient.

Coupled with the incident in Peng City causing a large number of Human Race to flee prematurely, the effect of the blood sacrifice was greatly reduced!

Although he had forcibly broken through to Baleful Rank with the blood crystal, his Realm was extremely unstable.

Even worse, he had been severely wounded by Xiao Zhuo's world-shattering saber earlier, and most of his newly generated demonic Sha had been consumed for limb regeneration and repairing fatal injuries!

If he couldn't end the battle quickly, once the demonic Sha was exhausted, his Realm would inevitably fall—that would be a price he could not bear!

Just as Niu Kuang was fully focused, preparing to catch Xiao Zhuo's charging weakness—

"Rip—!!!"

A blinding, scorching white lightning bolt erupted from the saber's edge without warning!

It instantly tore through the scales and light Sha on his chest, leaving a charred wound!

"What?!" Niu Kuang's eyes bulged, his bull-like face filled with incredible horror! The power of thunder?!

"Eight Directions Demon Slaying Saber—Shocking Thunder · Awakening of Insects Form!"

Xiao Zhuo's saber momentum was like a fierce storm! Every swing of his saber was accompanied by a dazzling lightning flash that tore through the darkness!

The power of thunder, which restrained evil, seemed to be the natural nemesis of demonic Sha!

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle—!!!"

Countless fine, charred wounds exploded all over Niu Kuang's body! The tough body-protecting demonic Sha crumbled and disintegrated inch by inch under the thunderous saber light like fragile glass!

"Surprised?" Xiao Zhuo's cold voice rang out, mocking for the first time. "Did you really think this turtle shell had no weaknesses?!"

"Roar—!!!"

Niu Kuang was completely enraged! His eyes were blood-red! He let out a furious roar that shattered tiles, and his demonic body swelled wildly as if being inflated!

In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a terrifying bull-headed giant ten meters tall! His gnarled, dark muscles were like cast iron, exuding a destructive sense of oppression!

He completely lost his mind, and his giant demonic fists, like siege hammers, carrying terrifying wind pressure that tore through the air, wildly smashed down towards the area where Xiao Zhuo was!

"Thud! Thud! Thud! Boom! Boom! Boom!!!!"

The earth groaned! Smoke and shattered stones shot into the sky, obscuring half of the plaza!

Bang—!

Under the chaotic, indiscriminate barrage of punches, Xiao Zhuo was ultimately unavoidable! He could only block with his saber!

A colossal, irresistible force struck! The meteorite iron long saber let out a mournful cry!

Xiao Zhuo was sent flying dozens of meters like a stone hurled by a catapult, crashing fiercely into a wooden house! The wooden house collapsed with a crash, burying him in the rubble!

"Die—!!!" Niu Kuang's giant demonic body trampled the earth, charging wildly towards the smoke-shrouded ruins! His foot, as large as a door, carrying immense force, stomped down fiercely! He wanted to crush that hateful Human Race into meat paste!

"Cough cough... demons are demons after all!" Xiao Zhuo's cold voice, tinged with suppressed pain, clearly pierced through the smoke and into Niu Kuang's ears. "Truly... foolish!"

This taunt was like a splash of ice water! Niu Kuang instantly awoke from his rage! Immediately after, an unprecedented, bone-chilling sense of deadly crisis, like a venomous snake, tightly gripped his heart!

The demonic Sha within him—it was completely exhausted! The giant transformation was his last trump card, and his defensive power was now far weaker than before! And that Human Race... after being sent flying, he hid in the ruins... could it be?!

No sooner had the thought arisen than the answer appeared!

A giant True Qi blade, even larger, more condensed, and exuding a destructive aura than before, suddenly rose from the rolling smoke!

Where the blade pointed, space itself seemed to twist!

"Slash—!"

Accompanied by Xiao Zhuo's suppressed roar, that terrifying giant blade, like a judgment from heaven, lightning-fast, slashed down towards Niu Kuang's giant demonic body!

"Pfft—!!!"

The muffled sound of a sharp blade cutting through flesh and blood was chillingly clear!

The strong wind stirred up by the Saber Qi instantly dispersed the sky-filling smoke!

Xiao Zhuo stood leaning on his saber, breathing heavily, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, covered in dust, but his eyes shone astonishingly bright, as if burning with stars!

Niu Kuang's massive giant demonic body remained frozen in its stomping posture.

The next moment, a straight line of blood, running diagonally from his left neck to his right lower abdomen, quietly appeared.

"Crack... crunch..."

The upper half of his demonic body slowly slid along the bloodline, crashing to the ground and stirring up a cloud of dust!

Niu Kuang's giant bull-like eyes were filled with endless unwillingness and malice.

He had only just stepped into the Baleful Rank, and the power to look down on all beings was right before him... How could he... encounter such a Human Race monster?!

His aura was strange (fluctuating between Meridian and True Qi), and his fighting style was both elusive and deadly, never revealing the slightest weakness... He even... suspected that the final punch that hit the opponent was also a weakness the opponent deliberately exposed!

Traps! All traps!

"Human Race... you..." His remaining will let out a final hiss.

"Swoosh—!"

His answer was a black shadow descending from the sky! Xiao Zhuo's boot heel fiercely crushed his remaining head!

The meteorite iron long saber, entwined with residual black lightning, like a spear of judgment, precisely and coldly pierced his glabella!

Niu Kuang's consciousness completely sank into eternal darkness.

"Ding! Slayed one Baleful Rank Bull Demon, gained 113 Attribute Points."

The cold system prompt sounded in his mind, and Xiao Zhuo's nerves, stretched to their limit, finally relaxed.

This battle was extremely perilous!

His True Qi was less than twenty percent remaining, and the hidden danger of insufficient Physical Body Foundation from prolonged, high-intensity True Qi operation completely erupted—his entire body's Meridians felt like they were being scorched by fire, and his flesh, blood, and bones groaned under the unbearable strain!

At this moment, his entire skin was fiery red like a branding iron, and wisps of white steam rose from his pores, like a shrimp or crab just pulled from a furnace, looking grotesque and terrifying.

If he hadn't finally lured Niu Kuang into a furious rage to expose a weakness, he himself might have been the first to collapse!

However, effort always yields rewards.

On the panel, his Attribute Points had jumped to 541 points!

This battle, where he used all his trump cards and barely escaped death, yielded a rich reward!

More importantly, Peng City was now an ownerless dead city... Xiao Zhuo slowly drew his long saber, his gaze like lightning, sweeping towards the deep, secluded halls of the City Lord's Mansion, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes...