The Darksteel Ruin Beasts have hides as tough as darksteel, making them ill-suited opponents for swords.
Their most valuable asset is that hard hide, which is an excellent material for crafting artifacts. The swords wielded by the three cultivators were forged from the Ruin Beast’s hide.
“Don’t come any closer!” In their panic, the three cultivators were already screaming hoarse, their expressions more distorted and hideous than the Ruin Beasts themselves due to extreme terror.
Given their strength, they could only handle one Ruin Beast comfortably.
Two would allow for escape, but three would be certain death… and now there were six.
Silvery-white devils moved through the forest; this was the Ruin Beasts’ domain.
Their streamlined bodies and tough hides allowed them to navigate thorny vines with ease, moving at more than three times the speed of the cultivators!
“Clang—”
With the first pounce from the shadows, sparks flew as the strength-type cultivator slammed a Ruin Beast away with his heavy sword.
His teammates weren’t so lucky.
One of them sensed rustling movement from the side and immediately unleashed a sword technique to counter, but unexpectedly, another shadow silently circled behind him, its sharp claws aimed at his heart—
“Squish—”
A trembling, bloody heart, along with broken, pale-pink ribs, burst through the cultivator’s chest.
“Clatter—”
The magic sword in his hand loosened, completely losing contact with its master, and fell to the ground.
After successfully killing him, the Ruin Beast did not immediately enjoy its spoils but instead turned its gaze towards the confident cultivator.
Three Ruin Beasts surrounded these two, while the other three were slowly closing in. They had nowhere left to run.
“I told you we should have left ages ago!” Facing impending death, the muscular strength-type cultivator suddenly exploded in rage at the confident cultivator.
“If it weren’t for you, you arrogant fool, insisting on being greedy for one more, we’d already be back in town, and little bro wouldn’t be dead!”
“Now you’re playing Monday morning quarterback? Why didn’t you say anything when I made the decision back then?” The confident cultivator also stopped suppressing his anger.
Despair had reached its peak in both their hearts.
They had hunted hundreds of Ruin Beasts and were all too familiar with the habits and strength of these otherworldly monsters.
They knew they couldn’t survive a chase from six Ruin Beasts.
Even now, the Ruin Beasts were only waiting to keep them fresh, which was why they weren’t rushing to kill them all.
The moment they made any slight move, the Ruin Beasts would encircle and kill them instantly.
It’s over.
What good was all their diligent cultivation now? In the ancient realm of scholarly inquiry, life and death were often separated by a single thought; once a mistake was made, there was no chance for regret.
“Do you really know how to use a sword?” A voice came from not far away.
Under the faint moonlight, the strength-type cultivator and the confident cultivator saw two people standing there.
Hope for survival involuntarily ignited in their hearts, but they quickly saw clearly—it was precisely the scrawny dog demon they had driven away earlier, and an equally scrawny, useless monk.
“I’ve seen others use it before,” Jiang Ke’er replied truthfully.
“As for me using a sword, this is my first time.”
“…”
Chen Yi was speechless.
The two cultivators also completely lost heart—after all that, it turned out to be just an “online swordsman.”
Seeing Jiang Ke’er curiously playing with the magic sword in her hand, looking like a child who had received a new toy and utterly unreliable, he couldn’t help but sigh and shake his head: “Amitabha, in ancient times, the Buddha sacrificed himself to feed a tiger; today, I, Chen Yi, sacrifice myself to feed the Ruin Beasts… What joy is there in life, what fear in death? This humble monk isn’t afraid of dying, it’s just…”
“…it’s the pain I’m afraid of!”
Being devoured alive by a Ruin Beast would undoubtedly be a very unpleasant experience.
The thought of that scene sent shivers down the two cultivators’ spines, but then again… when did their third brother’s sword end up in that dog demon’s hands?
Perhaps tired of waiting, or perhaps unable to suppress their hunger any longer, the Ruin Beasts ceased their patience and suddenly lunged at the two cultivators!
The cultivators couldn’t even clearly see the silver blurs before the beasts were upon them, sharp claws aiming for their soft underbellies, threatening to disembowel them in an instant!
But in that split second between life and death—
“Face the wind!”
A fierce gale erupted across the land!
The disturbance of the air caused the entire dense forest to shake wildly! Birds startled and fled, leaves danced madly… The sudden gust of wind even made the two cultivators lose their footing!
A strange sight unfolded.
They had braced themselves for a gruesome death, yet the two Ruin Beasts pouncing directly at them slammed into an invisible barrier!
Twisted air held them firmly at bay, causing their jaws to crack and their heads to spin.
“I told you, I’ll remember this life-saving favor.”
Jiang Ke’er’s lips curved upwards.
Staring at the Ruin Beasts before her, even though her heart pounded furiously, her blood surged with excitement in the gale.
“This is… Wind-Wielding Sword Intent?!” the confident cultivator exclaimed in shock.
“Impossible! How could anyone possibly tap into Heavenly Sword Intent at the One-Origin stage?”
Besides, this guy was just an “online swordsman” who’d only seen the pig run, but never eaten the pork!
The cunning Ruin Beasts realized Jiang Ke’er’s threat and held nothing back.
Six of them, crisscrossing, launched a combined assault.
[Steel Tempest!]
Using Steel Tempest in reality was far more exhilarating than in the game.
Jiang Ke’er discovered that Steel Tempest was more like an enhancement of dynamic vision.
To be precise, it was an evasion skill.
After using Steel Tempest, the spiritual energy within her body would circulate in a mysterious way, concentrating in her eyes and brain—and during this time, everything in her field of vision would briefly slow down, her thought process accelerating, allowing her to devise the most efficient evasion strategy.
This way, she could pass through her opponents and counter-attack them in the process.
[Blade Surge!]
The moment the sword’s edge slashed, Jiang Ke’er even wanted to shout out that satisfying “Hasaki!”
She was truly euphoric now.
Blade Surge was an incredibly swift thrusting combat technique.
Under the dynamic vision state of Steel Tempest, while her speed wasn’t enough to execute more attacking movements, she could channel spiritual energy to discreetly slip in a Blade Surge.
Blade Surge consumed very little spiritual energy, yet its efficiency was extremely high.
It could compress spiritual energy to the sword tip in a fleeting instant, sacrificing broad area slashing capability but greatly enhancing piercing power!
It was perfectly suited for breaking through the high-strength outer shells of Darksteel Ruin Beasts!
The Ruin Beasts were fast, but Jiang Ke’er, boosted by Steel Tempest’s dynamic vision, was no slouch either.
But Jiang Ke’er knew her cultivation was too low.
While her spiritual energy reserves might be greater than others due to her cultivation method, it still couldn’t sustain a long battle.
Blade Surge didn’t consume much, but the dynamic vision state consumed a lot, and the Wind Wall she used at the very beginning consumed even more.
If Jiang Ke’er didn’t take down these Ruin Beasts before her spiritual energy ran out, she would be the one to die.
She began to gather spiritual energy, transforming all of it into the nature of a fierce gale.
The power of the gale surged within her, but this time she wasn’t releasing a wind wall, but a variant of Blade Surge.
Suddenly, she stopped engaging in direct combat and instead fled into the distance.
The six Ruin Beasts naturally wouldn’t let her escape so easily and quickly chased after Jiang Ke’er.
But Jiang Ke’er suddenly turned, gripping her sword hilt tightly, and half-crouched in a drawing-sword stance.
The power of the gale was poured entirely into the sword at this moment.
And with the draw of the sword, it erupted forward completely!
[Wind Shear!]
The gale howled like ghosts in the forest, and a towering whirlwind shot straight towards the six Ruin Beasts!
The six Ruin Beasts were standing together at this moment. They wanted to dodge, but how could they be faster than the gale?
The whirlwind roughly swept the six Ruin Beasts, along with the surrounding grass, trees, and grit, into the air!
The Ruin Beasts struggled helplessly in the whirlwind, but they had no leverage, no foothold, and could only be tossed around by the whirlwind.
On the ground, Jiang Ke’er smiled faintly, her figure vanishing from the spot in an instant.
[Last Breath!]
Her body freely weaved through the whirlwind, using the power of the gale to dance with countless sword gleams!
A moment later.
“Thud~”
Jiang Ke’er landed lightly, her back to the gale, her body slightly bent.
She sheathed her sword.
The fierce wind suddenly ceased, and the things in the sky lost their support, clattering down like rain.
The six Ruin Beasts were nowhere to be seen, only scattered chunks of flesh and bone, piled into a small mound under the moonlight.
Jiang Ke’er stood up, fastened her long sword to her waist, and without looking back, her figure gradually disappeared into the dense forest.
The three individuals stood with wide-open mouths, gazing at the ravaged battlefield, then stared blankly at Jiang Ke’er’s retreating figure.
From afar, only a long sigh was heard echoing through the forest: “Death is like the wind, always by my side.”
A little while later, whether it was an illusion or not, a burst of maniacal laughter came from a great distance.
“Six of them blown away, hahahahahahaha!”