46: Kill the demon with one sword

Lin Xiao did not go home.

He was flying his Flying Sword ten thousand meters high, the fierce winds blocked by the Flying Sword's protective shield.

Below, the continuous city lights resembled a river of stars fallen to earth.

In one direction was his home.

However, he had already cut ties with his father.

Lin Xiao changed the direction of his Flying Sword, flying towards another brilliantly lit city.

Gusu.

A few days ago, when Han Li was shouting in the dormitory, he mentioned a University Town where man-eating monsters had appeared, and it was there.

Slaying demons and monsters, protecting the human world.

This was the Dean's order.

And it was also the direction Lin Xiao, as a student of Kunlun Academy's Sword Cultivation Department, should wield his sword... Gusu University Town, snack street.

At ten o'clock at night, it was still bustling with people, filled with the cumin scent of grilled skewers and the youthful hormones of young people.

Lin Xiao, dressed in ordinary casual clothes, blended into the crowd, appearing inconspicuous.

He had just finished a bowl of wontons and was wiping his mouth.

Just then, his eyebrows twitched imperceptibly.

A faint spiritual energy fluctuation came from a nearby alley.

It was very chaotic, very weak.

Like a few fireflies, futilely flickering their pitiful light in the dark night.

He put down a few banknotes, stood up, and followed unhurriedly.

At the alley entrance, the points of light from cigarette butts flickered in the darkness.

Four people in black jackets gathered together, talking in hushed voices.

"Monkey, are you sure that beast is around here?" a middle-aged man with a square face asked in a low voice. He was the captain of this small team, Zhang He.

The tall, thin young man called "Monkey" was holding a compass-like Magical Artifact, its needle trembling uneasily.

"No mistake, Captain! The compass's reaction is getting stronger and stronger. That thing has been active in this area recently, and two university students have already gone missing. If we don't catch it, we'll all be disciplined!"

A cold-faced woman next to him, Li Qing, added, "The official side is almost unable to suppress it. Yesterday's posts were deleted and then reappeared. If anything else happens, the entire University Town will panic."

"Afraid of what?!" Wang Hu, the most robust young man in the team, spat impatiently, "When we find it later, I'll be the first to go, and I'll twist its neck directly!"

Zhang He glared at him: "Wang Hu, shut your mouth! That thing is very cunning, it escaped last time! This time we must follow the plan. Anyone who dares to act recklessly will be confined when we get back!"

Wang Hu shrunk his neck, not daring to speak anymore.

"Found it!" Monkey suddenly shouted, the compass needle suddenly stopped, pointing to an abandoned teaching building not far away, "It's in that building! The spiritual energy reaction is the strongest!"

Zhang He extinguished his cigarette, his expression becoming serious.

"Good! According to the original plan, Li Qing will set up a warning talisman on the periphery to prevent it from escaping. Monkey is responsible for tracking, Wang Hu, you and I will break in! Remember, our goal is to capture it alive, that thing has research value!"

"Yes!"

The four immediately acted, their agile figures blending into the darkness, sneaking towards the eerie teaching building.

Lin Xiao stood in the shadows of the alley, listening to their conversation the entire time.

A Cultivator team at the second layer of Qi Condensation, organized by the officials?

Their courage was commendable.

He didn't follow immediately, but waited a few minutes before slowly walking towards the teaching building.

Inside the abandoned teaching building, dust filled the air, and a strange smell of decay mixed with blood floated in the atmosphere.

Zhang He made gestures, leading Wang Hu and Monkey, cautiously advancing along the corridor.

The compass in Monkey's hand finally pointed to a classroom at the very end of the third floor.

The three exchanged glances and pressed against the door.

Zhang He took a deep breath, concentrating the meager spiritual energy within his body into his right leg.

"Bang!"

With a loud bang, the wooden door of the classroom was kicked to pieces by him.

The three rushed in with their Magical Artifacts, only to find the classroom empty, with only a mess on the floor and thick dust.

"Damn it, it ran away?" Wang Hu cursed.

"No!" Zhang He immediately became alert, "The smell is very strong, it's right here!"

Before he finished speaking.

"Boom—!"

The floor in the center of the classroom exploded without warning, sending cement fragments flying!

A black shadow shot out from the hole in the ground like lightning!

Its target was not Zhang He, who was at the very front, but Wang Hu, who was a step slower!

"Pfft!"

A segment of a limb, like a black scythe, instantly pierced Wang Hu's right shoulder, pinning him to the wall!

"Ah—!"

Wang Hu let out a sharp scream, and blood instantly stained the wall.

"Third Brother!" Zhang He's eyes were bloodshot.

Only then did they see the full appearance of the demon.

It was a mantis-like monster, comparable in size to a cheetah, covered in pitch-black armor that gleamed with a metallic luster, its compound eyes filled with cruelty and savagery.

"Beast! I'll kill you!"

Zhang He roared, the short blade Magical Artifact he held in his hand glowing faintly, as he fiercely slashed at the demon.

The demon let out a piercing shriek, and its other scythe-like forelimb shot up like lightning.

"Clang!"

The sound of metal clashing exploded.

Zhang He only felt an irresistible force coming from the blade, his tiger's mouth instantly split open, the short blade flew out of his hand, and he himself was shaken back seven or eight steps, falling to the ground.

"Captain!" Monkey's face turned pale with fright, and he fumbled in his in my arms for a yellow talisman, "Fire Talisman! Go!"

The yellow talisman transformed into a fireball and smashed against the demon's armor.

However, the fireball only burst into a tiny spark, unable to even leave a trace of charring on the armor.

The demon's compound eyes turned to Monkey, filled with mockery and disdain.

It slowly pulled out the limb embedded in Wang Hu's shoulder, bringing out a large piece of flesh and blood.

Wang Hu screamed as he slid to the ground, clearly not going to survive.

"Quick! Quick, send a signal! Request backup!" Zhang He roared frantically into the walkie-talkie, "We can't hold on! This thing is at the Peak of Qi Condensation! We misjudged!"

The demon seemed to enjoy their despair, approaching Zhang He and Monkey, who were slumped on the ground, step by step.

The shadow of death enveloped the entire classroom.

Just then.

A calm, even somewhat indifferent footsteps, came from the doorway.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Zhang He and Monkey turned back sharply, only to see a young man in casual clothes, hands in his pockets, slowly walking in.

"Who is it? Run! There's a monster here!" Zhang He subconsciously shouted.

Lin Xiao ignored him, his gaze falling on the swaggering demon.

"Black Armored Demon Mantis, ninth layer of Qi Condensation." He murmured softly, not taking the monster to heart.

"As a monster to test my strength, it's not bad."

The demon clearly felt threatened, it abandoned its two current preys, suddenly turned to Lin Xiao, and let out a threatening shriek.

"Get out of here! You're not..." Zhang He still wanted to say something.

But Lin Xiao had already moved.

He didn't even make a Move to draw his sword.

The standard longsword issued at the Academy simply appeared abruptly in his hand.

The demon felt a fatal threat, the muscles under its entire armor instantly tensed, turning into a black afterimage, two death scythes crisscrossing, slashing towards Lin Xiao's neck!

Fast!

So fast that Zhang He and Monkey couldn't react at all!

However, Lin Xiao merely casually raised the sword in his hand.

There were no fancy Moves, no dazzling sword light.

He simply, drew a line forward.

As if drawing a straight line in the air with a pen.

An extremely thin, extremely faint silver line flashed across the air.

Time, as if, stood still at this moment.

The fierce Black Armored Demon Mantis, maintaining its charging posture, stopped less than half a meter in front of Lin Xiao.

Then.

"Swish."

Its massive body was neatly split into two halves from the middle, the cut smooth as a mirror.

Dark green blood and internal organs gushed out, flowing all over the floor.

The two halves of the corpse fell to the left and right respectively.

The entire classroom instantly fell into a deathly silence.

Only Wang Hu's faint groans remained in the corner.

Zhang He and Monkey's mouths were wide enough to fit an egg, their eyes almost popping out.

Instantly... instantly killed?

That Peak of Qi Condensation demon that had left them helpless and plunged them into despair, was just... split in half by one sword?

Was this a dream?

Lin Xiao sheathed his sword, the blade spotless.

He didn't even look at the corpse on the ground, turning to leave.

"Wait... wait!" Zhang He finally reacted, scrambling forward, his voice filled with awe and excitement, "Senior... Senior! Thank you, Senior, for saving our lives! May I ask which Sect's Master Senior is from?"

Monkey also reacted, about to kneel to Lin Xiao's back.

Lin Xiao did not stop, merely dropping a faint sentence.

"This is just one of them."

He looked up, as if he could penetrate the ceiling and see the night sky of the entire city.

"In this area, there are many more things like this."

His Divine Sense had already swept through, and in the nearby few blocks, there were still more than a dozen chaotic and evil auras lurking.

Although they were all weak, for Mortals, they were still a fatal disaster.

Troublesome.

Zhang He still wanted to ask, but found that the young man in front of him had only taken a few steps before his figure merged into the darkness of the corridor.

He hurriedly chased after him.

The corridor was empty, with no one in sight.

As if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.

But the neatly split demon corpse on the ground, and his dying teammate in the corner, reminded him how real, and how shocking, everything that had just happened was.

"Ca... Captain..." Monkey asked tremblingly, "Who... who was he?"

Zhang He stood in place, speechless for a long time, the incredibly stunning yet incredibly simple sword strike replaying repeatedly in his mind.