9: Chapter 9 The Next Day
The next day, at five in the morning.
Click!
The sound of a door opening rang out. Fang Yuan, holding a black iron long saber in his right hand, strode into the mist, ignoring the still dark night.
The light from the flashlight in his left hand pierced through the mist for more than ten meters, illuminating the path ahead.
"Fang Yuan, do we really have to go deeper? There are monsters everywhere. On the second day, their Rank starts at Black Iron Level Three or above. We might even encounter monsters of Level Four or even Level Five..."
Lin Zhizhi, dressed in a form-fitting outfit that accentuated her curves, followed closely behind. Compared to Fang Yuan's relaxed demeanor, she was somewhat worried and nervous.
Caution flickered in the girl's eyes as she kept her senses fully open, alert to her surroundings. If danger arose, she could react instantly.
The dark mist was full of danger, and terrifying monster roars penetrated through it, reaching their ears.
Squeak! Squeak!
A series of noises came from within the dark mist, and a miniature Ghost Monkey revealed its ugly, short figure from the mist.
The sudden sound made Lin Zhizhi quickly step forward, coming to stand behind Fang Yuan's tall figure.
Looking at Fang Yuan, who was taller than her, nearly 1.8 meters, the girl's worries slowly diminished.
Feeling safe, Lin Zhizhi then had the leisure to examine the monster, less than fifty centimeters in size, in front of her. This glance, however, made her expression change.
[Little Ghost Monkey]
Rank: Black Iron Level Three.
Talent: Swiftness
A Black Iron Level Three monster. Her current Rank was also only Black Iron Level Three.
One miniature Ghost Monkey wasn't enough to make Lin Zhizhi nervous, but the twenty-three miniature Ghost Monkeys that followed, along with a Ghost Monkey over a meter tall, were.
[Ghost Monkey]
Rank: Black Iron Level Four.
Talent: Wind Blade
With a similarly simple description, the other miniature Ghost Monkeys could only be considered ordinary monsters, while this special Ghost Monkey was an elite monster, with combat power even stronger than that of a typical True Spirit Professional.
It was only the second day of the trial, and as soon as they stepped out, they encountered over twenty Black Iron Level Three monsters and one Black Iron Level Four monster. This put some pressure on Lin Zhizhi.
Squeak! Squeak!
The Ghost Monkeys possessed only simple intelligence; slaughter was their instinct. Amidst a series of sharp, chaotic screeches, all the Ghost Monkeys swarmed forward.
Their scarlet eyes glowed with Killing Intent, as if they were about to tear the two people in front of them to shreds in the next moment.
The seemingly small bodies of the Ghost Monkeys possessed terrifying strength. Their Black Iron Level Three Rank gave them over three hundred points of strength.
Under the enhancement of the Swiftness Talent, each small body moved with the speed of a leopard, instantly bursting forth with terrifying speed. In just a moment, they crossed over ten meters and arrived in front of Fang Yuan.
"Fang Yuan, be careful...!"
Lin Zhizhi let out an urgent warning. In her haste, she had forgotten Fang Yuan's terrifying strength.
Before she could utter the fifth word, Fang Yuan had already swung the black iron long saber in his right hand.
Swish!
Under the enhancement of over six hundred points of strength, the long saber cut through the air, emitting a soul-shaking whoosh.
As the sharp edge swept past, five miniature Ghost Monkeys were split in two. Scarlet blood, tinged with a grayish hue, splattered, dyeing the ground red.
[Killed Miniature Ghost Monkey]
[Origin Devouring... Physical Body reinforced by 0.01%]
...Everything was completed in the blink of an eye. In Fang Yuan's eyes, these monsters, whose speed was comparable to Black Iron Level Four, were truly slow.
Death did not cause the remaining miniature Ghost Monkeys to retreat. They still bared their fangs and claws, attacking Fang Yuan.
Swish!
With a raise of his hand and a drop of the saber, another sound, and several more miniature Ghost Monkeys were split in two.
"Be careful...!"
Just as Fang Yuan completed his second saber swing, Lin Zhizhi's warning came from behind him again. A green wind blade, over two meters long, appeared in his line of sight along with her voice.
Behind the wind blade was the Black Iron Level Four Ghost Monkey.
A cold gleam struck, and Fang Yuan instantly rotated his saber, holding it horizontally in front of him. He blocked the wind blade just before it approached.
Clang!
The collision of the two produced a crisp metallic clang. Fang Yuan, holding the black iron long saber, immediately felt a huge force coming from it.
The strength of a Black Iron Level Four was already close to five hundred points. Even with his over six hundred points of strength, he couldn't help but retreat a few steps.
The powerful impact caused the tiger's mouth on Fang Yuan's right hand to redden, with a faint sensation of pain.
Squeak! Squeak!
While Fang Yuan was blocking the wind blade, the miniature Ghost Monkeys, less than fifty centimeters in size, all swarmed forward.
Their distinct, bony claws glinted with cold light, striking at Fang Yuan from all directions.
More than ten monsters had already obscured the space in front of him, leaving no empty spots.
"Just Black Iron Level Three monsters. They're underestimating me too much."
Fang Yuan lightly twisted his right hand, and the strength of a Black Iron Rank Six instantly erupted, easily shattering the wind blade.
The terrifying power did not diminish at all, and a concise and skilled back-and-forth sweep was completed in an instant.
Lin Zhizhi, who was behind him, only saw blurred traces. All the attacking miniature Ghost Monkeys were split into two, or even three, parts.
The simple long saber sweep was the result of Fang Yuan's over ten years of daily practice.
Coupled with his immense strength, everything was completed in a short amount of time, so much so that the miniature Ghost Monkeys, which had already been split in two, were struck again, and their remains gained an additional part.
[Killed Miniature Ghost Monkey]
...Bang! Bang!
Chunks of flesh hit the ground with a series of thuds. Scarlet blood, tinged with a grayish hue, splattered onto Fang Yuan's legs, which had not moved an inch.
"Oh~."
Lin Zhizhi, who had just spoken to warn him, gaped, staring dumbfounded at Fang Yuan as he sheathed his saber.
At this moment, the girl was once again shocked by Fang Yuan's strength. In just this one second, he had actually killed nearly twenty Black Iron Level Three monsters at once.
If you added the few from the previous one or two seconds, that would be twenty-three.
"Still want to come...!"
Fang Yuan, who had successfully killed the miniature Ghost Monkeys, pushed off with his legs. A powerful impact erupted from his feet, closing in on the Ghost Monkey that was attempting to release another wind blade.
The next moment, Fang Yuan crossed over ten meters and appeared above the Ghost Monkey. His slender, slightly muscular body suddenly erupted, and a powerful force gathered from his body into his hands.
With a vertical slash of the black iron long saber, he split the Ghost Monkey, which had not yet finished releasing its wind blade, in two.
Bang!
The long saber sliced through, its power undiminished, and heavily struck the solid concrete ground. The sharp black iron long saber's momentum did not decrease, firmly embedding itself into the ground.
[Killed Ghost Monkey]
[Devoured Ghost Monkey Origin, Physical Body reinforced by 0.5%]
[Plundered Wind Origin]
...Fang Yuan
Rank: Black Iron Level Four (99.7%)
True Spirit Talent: Origin Devouring (Silver)
Talent: Metal (1.1%) Wood (1.2%)...
"I'm about to Breakthrough to Black Iron Level Five."
Sensing his own condition, feeling the energy that was about to Breakthrough, Fang Yuan disregarded the bloody battlefield around him and genuinely broke into a brilliant smile.
The information Fang Yuan perceived about himself was the instinct of a True Spirit Professional; there weren't actually game-like statistics.