14: Chapter 14: Violent Aesthetics and the SSS-Rank God of Wealth!

"Screech—!"

A teeth-gritting sound of metal grinding erupted in the deathly silent graveyard, and sparks splattered like fireworks by Qin Ji's waist.

The yellow weasel's claw that had attempted the sneak attack was firmly lodged against the crossguard of the dragon slaying sword, unable to advance an inch.

"It's you again."

Qin Ji didn't even turn his head, a cold, chilling arc curling at the corner of his mouth. This pungent, foul odor was precisely the hidden BOSS from his past life that he had spent so long searching for—the Bard "Yellow Weasel."

Without any wasted words, the half-human, half-beast monster's wrist rotated a bizarre 180 degrees, and the poison-tipped dagger in its hand slid along a tricky arc, attempting to bypass the blade and stab directly into Qin Ji's heart from behind.

Qin Ji's response was simple and brutal.

He leaned backward, his entire body performing an Iron Bridge maneuver as if he had no bones, while simultaneously lashing out with his right leg, kicking backward with the force of a thousand jun.

Bang!

A muffled thud—he had kicked empty air.

The monster's figure vanished into thin air the moment contact was made.

It wasn't Stealth; it was visual deception.

Qin Ji straightened his body, his purple-gold pupils slightly constricting. He could clearly perceive that the cold killing intent remained glued to his back, moving as he turned, always remaining in his absolute blind spot.

"Shadow-Veiling Step?"

Qin Ji let out a soft sneer.

This was a high-end technique that utilized the opponent's momentum from turning and their visual blind spots to move; it was like a louse hiding in one's shadow, impossible to shake off.

At the top of a dead tree thirty meters away from the battlefield, an Assassin player with the ID "Shadow Killer" was holding his breath, keeping [Stealth] active, and staring fixedly at this scene.

"Such fast reactions... But this BOSS knows Shadow-Veiling Step; this guy is doomed."

Shadow Killer was secretly shocked. He had originally come to this graveyard to scavenge for loot, but he hadn't expected to run into this scene. In his view, being stuck in the blind spot of such a high-Agility BOSS meant there was no other way out besides using a Blink skill to escape.

However, what happened in the next second nearly made Shadow Killer fall from the tree.

Qin Ji did not turn around, nor did he panic and create distance.

He just flicked his wrist, and the dragon slaying sword let out a clear, resonant Dragon roar as lightning surged violently over the blade.

"Since my eyes can't see, then there's no need to look."

Qin Ji violently plunged the greatsword into the ground, and a violent burst of thunder energy exploded along the surface in a fan shape toward his back.

Boom!

Soil flew, and charred marks spread instantly.

The yellow weasel monster that had originally been stuck to his back was forced to retreat by this indiscriminate area-of-effect attack, its figure revealed beside a large tree.

"Found you."

Qin Ji drew his sword, but he didn't rush forward; instead, he performed an action that defied the common sense of a swordsman.

He loosely gripped with his left hand, as if holding an invisible bow, while his right hand held the sword horizontally in front of him, the tip of the blade trembling violently and emitting a strange humming sound.

"That is... what is he doing?" Shadow Killer widened his eyes.

"Swish!"

Qin Ji swung his sword violently.

A Sword Qi condensed to the extreme flew from his hand, but bizarrely, this Sword Qi did not fly in a straight line; instead, it traced a snake-like, twisting arc in mid-air!

The yellow weasel monster had originally predicted the straight trajectory and was preparing to dodge to the left, but it discovered with horror that the Sword Qi had actually turned in mid-air!

Pfft!

-2850!

The Sword Qi accurately slammed into the monster's knee joint, kicking up a mist of blood.

This was one of the techniques Qin Ji had mastered in his past life—[Twisting String Force]. Originally, it was the "Twisting String Archery Technique" used by Archers to make arrows curve by twisting the bowstring, but Qin Ji had forcibly modified it into "Twisting String Sword Qi."

By causing high-frequency vibrations at the moment of the sword swing, he altered the air pressure around the Sword Qi, thereby achieving trajectory deflection.

"It's not over yet."

Qin Ji's wrist flicked repeatedly.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Three consecutive Sword Qi blasts tore through the air, each tracing an inconceivable arc in mid-air, sealing off all possible evasion routes for the monster.

Bang, bang, bang!

The immense impact force blasted the humanoid weasel directly into mid-air.

Immediately afterward, Shadow Killer witnessed a scene that caused his worldview to collapse.

Qin Ji's figure instantly vanished from where he stood, and when he reappeared, he was already directly beneath the monster.

Upward Slash, Cross Slash, Mountain Crushing Strike...

The pitiful BOSS was continuously comboed in mid-air by Qin Ji with his greatsword like a ragdoll; every time a downward trend appeared, it would be knocked back into the high air by a new Sword Qi blast.

Infinite Aerial Combo!

"This... is this f*cking gameplay a human can pull off?!"

Shadow Killer felt his scalp tingle. This precise calculation of aerial height and the perfect connection of skill cooldowns made him look just like a precise killing machine.

"Roar!!"

The Bard in mid-air finally seized a tiny gap in the combo and let out a shrill, furious roar.

Its body expanded rapidly, the clothes on its body burst, and it instantly transformed into a giant weasel over three meters tall, its entire body emitting nauseating yellow smoke.

【System Prompt: BOSS has entered Berserk state! All attributes increased by 30%!】

"Transformed?"

Qin Ji landed, dragging the greatsword with one hand, and looked at the giant beast descending from the sky trying to squash him flat, without a ripple in his eyes.

"It's good that it got bigger; the larger it is, the larger the surface area for impact."

He didn't dodge; instead, he directly activated the Divine-Grade skill he had just plundered—the three-second invincibility state granted by [Withered Wood Meets Spring].

Boom!

The giant beast landed, dust rising everywhere.

Qin Ji, shielded by the invincibility light barrier, forcibly withstood the blow, and then the dragon slaying sword in his hand erupted with blinding golden light.

"Die!"

A cold flash of the sword.

The massive sword radiance pierced directly through the weasel's throat, pinning it to the rock wall behind it.

-15800 (Critical Hit!)

The huge damage number floated up, and the monster's health bar instantly emptied.

As the BOSS's corpse slowly slid down, a ball of eerie green light separated from the corpse and drilled straight into Qin Ji's body.

【Plunder successful! Obtained Agility +150!】

【Plunder successful! Obtained special passive: Phantom Illusion Detection (Elementary)】

Qin Ji walked up and rummaged around the corpse for a while; soon, a gray bead emitting a corrosive aura appeared in his hand.

【Armor-Piercing Poison Bead (Special Item): Explodes after being thrown, reducing the armor of all units within range by 80% for 30 seconds.】

"The key item for the village massacre, obtained."

Qin Ji put away the bead with satisfaction.

Just then, he suddenly turned his head, his gaze accurately locking onto the dead tree thirty meters away.

"Have you watched enough of the show? Do I need to invite you down?"

Shadow Killer in the tree stiffened, cold sweat instantly soaking his back.

He had been discovered?!

He was an Assassin with a high-tier Stealth skill; how could he be discovered by a Warrior?

Could it be that... Phantom Illusion Detection from earlier?

Shadow Killer didn't hesitate at all; he directly deactivated his Stealth state, jumped down from the tree, raised his hands over his head, and put on an apologetic smile:

"Big Boss, don't misunderstand! I'm just passing by, I have absolutely no ill intentions!"

Just kidding, he wouldn't dare make a move against a ruthless person who could play ball with such a perverted BOSS, even if he were given ten times the courage.

Qin Ji swept a faint glance at him without speaking, then turned and walked toward the direction of the Newbie Village.

Since he hadn't shown any killing intent, he couldn't be bothered to waste time for such measly stats.

Watching Qin Ji's retreating figure, Shadow Killer sat on the ground, gasping for breath. He opened his friend list, looked at the gray avatar on it, and muttered to himself:

"This is a true master... This gameplay, I'm afraid even those top-tier thrones in the professional circle wouldn't be any better."

...

On the way back to the village, Qin Ji opened the World Channel.

He originally just wanted to see if there was any news about the main city, but he was blinded by a golden, pinned message.

【Server-Wide Pin (Richest Under Heaven): @Everyone, high price offered for the Hell-level dungeon first-clear guide! Also looking for the big boss who got the first clear; as long as you are willing to carry me, name your price! I can even give you guild shares! Attachment: My talent [Image]】

"Who is this? So arrogant?"

Qin Ji raised an eyebrow and clicked on the image.

The next second, even he, having seen all sorts of storms and waves, couldn't help but have his breath hitch for a moment.

【God of Wealth (Divine-Grade)】

【Effect 1: Money Tree—Randomly obtain 1~999 gold coins daily, with an extremely low probability of obtaining Divine-Grade items.】

【Effect 2: Flourishing Wealth—Currency in the backpack automatically compounds interest daily, increasing by 1%.】

【Effect 3: Money Can Make the Devil Grind the Mill—Consume gold coins to forcibly purchase NPC favorability, or even hire a BOSS to fight for you.】

...

"Holy sh*t."

Qin Ji couldn't help but curse.

In his past life, he had indeed heard of a mega-rich player named "Richest Under Heaven" who had relied on his money power to establish the number one merchant guild on the server; he hadn't expected him to be the owner of an SSS-rank talent.

This was practically a walking money-printing machine!

Especially that [Money Can Make the Devil Grind the Mill]; this was practically a god-tier skill in the Late Stage.

"Just right, the village massacre plan still needs some expensive consumables; relying on my current net worth is a bit tight."

Qin Ji rubbed his chin, a playful smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

An ATM delivered to his doorstep; it would be a waste not to take it.

He directly sent a friend request.

Almost the moment the request was sent, the other party accepted it.

【Richest Under Heaven】: Holy sh*t! Big Boss! Is it you? That hidden big boss who got the first clear of the Hell-level dungeon?!

【Qin Ji】: It's me.

【Richest Under Heaven】: Bro! Dear bro! You finally appeared! Any interest in carrying this little brother? I'll provide the money, provide the gear; as long as you carry me to level up, from now on you are my brother from another mother!

Qin Ji looked at this screen full of nouveau riche vibes and replied very concisely.

【Qin Ji】: I can carry you. But I need a batch of high-explosive gunpowder and ten sets of Intermediate Mana Potions; I want to see the items at the village entrance within ten minutes.

【Richest Under Heaven】: No problem! This little bit of money is peanuts! Big Boss, which Newbie Village are you in? If it's No. 9527, I'll send someone to deliver it right now! If not, I'll just spend money to open a cross-server teleportation array and send it over!

This was true wealth and arrogance.

A cross-server teleportation array costs 100 gold coins per use, equivalent to a normal player's monthly income, yet this guy actually called it "peanuts."

【Qin Ji】: I'm in 9527.

Closing the chat box, Qin Ji looked at the Newbie Village in the distance where lights were gradually turning on. The playfulness in his eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by a chilling coldness that made one's heart palpitate.

He had the Armor-Piercing Poison Bead.

He had a sucker to cover the gunpowder and supplies.

Next was the opening ceremony of this grand performance.

The night wind howled, whipping up the dead leaves on the ground.

Qin Ji stood on the hillside at the village entrance, the dragon slaying sword in his hand gently tapping against his palm. His gaze passed over the low walls and landed on the teleportation altar emitting a soft white light in the center of the village.

There, several guards clad in silver armor were patrolling listlessly, completely unaware that the Grim Reaper was already standing at the door.

The setting sun sank completely below the horizon, swallowing the last trace of twilight. Qin Ji took a black mask from his backpack and tied it on slowly, revealing only a pair of eyes flickering with cold light in the night, just like a lone wolf that had been lurking for a long time, about to spring up and hurt someone, coldly watching the peaceful village below the hillside that was about to turn into a Hell.