153: Chapter 153 Shadow Kills Three Thousand? Sorry, my defense is at the conceptual level!

This kind of look made Night Owl feel extremely uncomfortable.

As the top-ranked assassin on the Dark Net, he was used to the fear and despair of his prey before death, but he had never seen this kind of... appreciative gaze, as if one were picking out pork belly at a wet market.

"You're courting death!"

Night Owl let out a low growl, his fingers suddenly clenching.

The eight pitch-black flying daggers floating around him instantly let out a shrill shriek, their blades vibrating violently as if undergoing some eerie fission.

"Secret Technique: Thousand Shadow Killing Array!"

There was no flashy wind-up; with a single thought from Night Owl, those eight flying daggers split from one to ten, and ten to a hundred in an instant. In the blink of an eye, Qin Ji's vision was filled with dense black blades. Each dagger was shrouded in a nauseating, corrosive black mist, swarming toward Qin Ji like a plague of locusts to strangle and kill him.

This move was the ultimate trump card he had realized after his second class advancement.

Even a Shield Warrior Knight who had put all his points into Physique would be instantly stripped to a skeleton under this round of overlapping slaughter.

However.

Facing this blade array that could make a trypophobe die on the spot, Qin Ji didn't even bat an eyelid. He didn't even put up a magic shield, simply standing there casually and letting the sharp blades strike his body.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—!

The dense sound of metal clashing rang out continuously, like heavy rain hitting a tin roof, extremely ear-piercing.

Sparks flew everywhere, and black mist surged.

Night Owl stared intently at the center of the dust, a cruel arc curling at the corners of his mouth. He didn't believe anyone could withstand this move with their Physical Body alone; even if they didn't die, their equipment should be trashed.

But in the next second, the smile on his lips froze.

The dust cleared.

Qin Ji still maintained the posture of having his hands in his pockets; far from being injured, there wasn't even a wrinkle on his mage robes.

Above his head, a series of despair-inducing numbers were jumping frantically:

-0!

-0!

-1 (Forced Damage)!

-0!

...

"That's it?"

Qin Ji reached out and flicked some non-existent dust off his shoulder, his tone laced with deep disappointment. "I thought an SSS-Grade Talent would have some new tricks, but it's just physical skin scraping? This level of force is too light even for a back scrub."

"Impossible!!"

Night Owl's pupils shook violently, his mental state nearly collapsing on the spot.

Every one of his Shadow Blades carried a 30% armor penetration effect and True Damage; how could they possibly not break through his defense? Just how perverted was this guy's defense stat?

"I don't believe it!"

A fierce light flashed in Night Owl's eyes as his hands quickly formed a strange seal.

"Curse: Shadow Erosion Heart Burn!"

Since his physical defense was high, he would use magic and rule-based damage!

Buzz—!

Qin Ji only felt a slight heat in his chest as a cluster of pitch-black flames ignited out of thin air at the position of his heart. This flame had no temperature, yet it burned the Soul directly.

System prompts flooded the screen:

[You have been attacked by "Shadow Erosion Heart Burn"!]

[1% of maximum HP deducted per second! Duration: 10 seconds!]

[Detected "Invulnerable to All Spells" Physique... Damage is being exempted...]

[Final damage calculation: -1.]

Qin Ji looked down at the cluster of black fire on his chest, which was as weak as a lighter's flame, and sighed helplessly.

"This is your magic damage?"

Qin Ji raised his hand and casually slapped his chest twice, as if swatting a mosquito.

Poof.

That "Shadow Erosion Fire," which claimed to be able to burn the Soul, was physically slapped out by him just like that.

"..."

Night Owl fell completely silent.

The way he looked at Qin Ji finally changed from initial greed to terror. This wasn't a battle between players at all; this was a max-level, god-geared account bullying noobs in a Newbie Village!

"Are you done?"

Qin Ji cracked his neck, making a clicking sound. "Since you're done, it's my turn."

Before his voice had even faded, Qin Ji's figure suddenly vanished.

It wasn't invisibility, but a visual afterimage created by extreme speed!

The hair on Night Owl's body stood on end. His intuition from years of wandering the edge of life and death allowed him to make the most correct reaction.

"Void Walk!"

His body instantly blurred, escaping into a sub-space.

Almost at the same time, a fist entwined with purple lightning blasted through the air where he had originally been standing.

Boom!!

The air was violently exploded by this punch, the terrifying fist wind forming a visible vacuum channel that blasted a side hall a hundred meters behind into ruins. The moment the bricks and tiles touched the fist wind, they disintegrated into powder, leaving not even a whole stone behind.

Night Owl, hiding in a crack in the Void Realm, saw this scene, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

If this punch had landed solidly, he would have definitely died on the spot, without even a chance for a resurrection timer!

"You dodged quite quickly."

Qin Ji withdrew his fist, his gaze scanning the empty surroundings, a playful smile appearing at the corners of his mouth. "However, the mana consumption for this kind of high-dimensional blurring skill should be very high, right? How many times can you dodge?"

Night Owl, within the Void Realm, gritted his teeth.

Qin Ji was right; although [Void Walk] was invincible, the mana consumed per second was an astronomical figure. He had to end this quickly!

"I'll risk it all!"

A flash of determination crossed Night Owl's eyes.

He stopped running and, utilizing the properties of Void Realm shuttling, instantly appeared directly above Qin Ji's head.

"Profound Truth: Triple Shadow Kill Slash!"

Swish!

Night Owl's body split into three in mid-air. Three identical figures holding pitch-black daggers stabbed down fiercely toward Qin Ji's crown in a triangular formation! These three Clones each had 100% of the original's attack power and blocked all of Qin Ji's evasion routes.

This strike was unavoidable!

However, Qin Ji had no intention of avoiding it at all.

Facing this certain-kill strike, he made a move that was inconceivable to Night Owl.

He didn't pull out that legendary Divine Artifact greatsword, nor did he cast any defensive Spells. Instead, he reached into his backpack and pulled out a...

Rusty iron sword?

That's right, the kind of trash common gear sold for 50 copper coins in a Newbie Village blacksmith shop, which even a dog would despise!

Clang!!!

A deafening boom.

Night Owl's Divine Artifact dagger, capable of cutting through gold and jade, slashed fiercely onto that rusty iron sword.

The expected scene of the iron sword breaking did not occur.

That rust-covered broken sword actually steadily blocked Night Owl's triple ultimate move!

"How is this possible?!"

Night Owl's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "This is a newbie iron sword? How could it possibly block my [Shadow Fang]?!"

"Ignorance is truly terrifying."

Qin Ji held the broken sword with one hand, looking at Night Owl suspended in mid-air with a relaxed expression. "Although newbie equipment has trash stats, they all have a hidden characteristic—[Indestructible]. It's perfect for parrying your flashy attacks."

"You..."

Night Owl only felt a surge of blood rush to his head.

Humiliation!

This was blatant humiliation!

The opponent would rather use a piece of trash newbie sword to parrying than deign to use a real weapon against him!

"Die for me!!"

Night Owl's mental state completely shattered. He frantically channeled the shadow energy in his body, attempting to crush Qin Ji.

"I've had enough fun."

The teasing in Qin Ji's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by icy killing intent.

"Ghost Slash."

It was still a low-level skill that could be learned in a Newbie Village.

But with the support of Qin Ji's terrifying attributes, as this sword swung out, the world changed color!

Boom—!

A tens-of-meters-long purple-black Sword Qi soared into the sky, instantly tearing apart Night Owl's three Clones.

"Pfft!"

Night Owl's original body spat out a mouthful of blood, flying backward like a kite with a broken string. His proud shadow shield was like foam before this sword strike, shattering instantly.

"Escape! I must escape!"

At this moment, Night Owl finally recognized reality.

This wasn't a human at all! This was a demon god wearing a player's skin!

Using the momentum of his flight, Night Owl endured the intense pain, his figure blurring again as he tried to escape into the shadows on the ground.

"Shadow Chase: Instant Blink!"

As long as he touched a shadow, he could instantly teleport a thousand meters away!

Seeing his body about to merge into that pitch-black shadow on the ground.

"Want to leave?"

Qin Ji's cold voice seemed to ring right in his ear, "Did I agree?"

At the very moment half of Night Owl's body had already slipped into the shadow.

A foot stepped heavily onto that shadow.

Thump!!

The earth shook violently. Centered on Qin Ji's foothold, the ground within a hundred meters instantly cracked and collapsed.

The shadow that had originally accepted Night Owl like flowing water now became harder than steel under the stomp of that foot!

"Aaaaah!!"

Night Owl let out a shrill scream.

His "Shadow Escape" was interrupted!

What was even more terrifying was that Qin Ji's stomp seemed to have broken some rule, forcibly "squeezing" him out of the shadow dimension.

"Physical... physical magic-breaking?!"

Night Owl slumped on the ground, looking at the man looking down at him, with nothing but endless despair in his eyes.

Stomping out a shadow skill? This was too outrageous! This completely violated the game mechanics!

Qin Ji looked down at Night Owl at his feet, data streams frantically scrolling in his purple-gold pupils.

"As expected of an SSS-Grade Talent holder, your health bar is quite thick."

Qin Ji twirled the rusty iron sword in his hand, casually tossed it aside, and then slowly raised his right hand. Within his palm, a cluster of destructive lightning was coalescing.

"Don... don't kill me!"

Night Owl finally broke down, raising his hand tremblingly in an attempt to beg for mercy. "I can give you money! I'm the vice-guild leader of the Shadow Guild, I have countless resources! I can tell you a shocking secret about this game..."

"A secret?"

Qin Ji tilted his head, the lightning in his hand not only failing to extinguish but becoming even more dazzling. "A dead man's secrets, I'll see them for myself."

Zzzzt!

The lightning fell.

There was no suspense whatsoever.。

-429,108!! (Critical Hit)

A crimson, excessively long damage number floated up from Night Owl's head.

His health bar was instantly emptied, and his body dissipated into a sky full of white light within the lightning.

[Killed LV.58 player "Night Owl", triggered "Greedy Grasp"!]

[Obtained +500 free attribute points!]

[Obtained special passive fragment: Void Affinity (1/10)!]

[Obtained skill book: "Shadow Kill Secret Technique" (S-grade)!]

[Plunder successful! Your Agility attribute has been additionally increased by 200 points!]

Looking at the series of harvest prompts on his panel, Qin Ji whistled in satisfaction.

"Tsk, tsk, truly loaded."

Is this the joy of hunting top-tier expert players? It's much more satisfying than grinding those bosses that only know how to roar.

With Night Owl's death, a large pile of glittering loot exploded onto the ground.

With a casual wave, Qin Ji swept all the loot into his backpack.

One token emitting faint spatial fluctuations caught his attention.

[Ten Thousand Realms Auction House · Supreme Invitation]

[Description: Holding this letter allows entry into the annual cross-server auction to be held in the "City of Origin" and grants VIP box privileges.]

"An auction?"

Qin Ji rubbed his chin, memories of this auction from his past life surfacing in his mind.

It was said that several Divine Artifacts that would influence the game's Late Stage landscape would appear at this auction, and even that legendary "city establishment token."

"Looks like I'll have to go."

Qin Ji tucked away the invitation, his gaze turning once again toward the main peak of the Sword Control Sect not far away.

The clouds and mist there had completely turned blood-red, and an aura more than ten times stronger than Night Owl's was awakening. That old fossil of a Sect Master from the Sword Control Sect was finally coming out.

"Warm-up's over."

Qin Ji cracked his neck and stepped toward that towering main peak.

The sun was setting, the residual light like blood.

A wild wind kicked up dust and the scent of blood from the ground, Qin Ji's black mage robes fluttering loudly in the wind. He casually shook off a lingering arc of electricity from his fingertips, his purple-gold pupils reflecting the thousand-year-old Sect ahead that was about to collapse, just like a tyrant about to be enthroned, coldly surveying the new territory he had just conquered.