Zhang Yong was in immense pain until he took a deep breath—his body had been struck violently.
If his body hadn't been as tough as a mysterious-grade weapon, he would've died on the spot from that single blow.
Blood oozed from his wounds.
Suddenly, he began to laugh. "That's right. I need to find my limits, to become stronger and be invincible! If I had my previous powers, dealing with this bastard would've been no problem"
He stood up, looked at the giant, and raised his sword toward him. "You'll be my prey, and I'll accept nothing less."
The giant swung its swords rapidly toward Zhang Yong. The strike tore apart the mountain and demolished it entirely. Zhang Yong reappeared, hanging onto one of the massive swords with a single hand.
He pushed himself upward, sprinted at maximum speed along the blade, and reached the giant's third massive right hand gripping the sword's hilt. He raised both his arms—one holding his sword, the other his axe—and began striking nonstop.
Ten, twenty, fifty, a hundred slashes and strikes with both sword and axe at once. The giant raised its sword and brought it down quickly toward Zhang Yong.
Sensing danger, Zhang Yong dashed along the arm. The sword came down, and the giant accidentally severed its own arm.
The two girls began coughing blood lightly, making it clear the beast was linked to them—any fatal injury would violently affect them as well.
Zhang Yong quickly reached the elbow and began slashing with both weapons, launching twin blades directly at the giant's head while still running.
He ran and quickly reached the shoulder. "You're mine, bastard."
He leapt swiftly onto the giant's face, jammed his sword and axe into its eye, and began stabbing over and over again.
Then he leapt off, flipping midair, and as he reached the level of the giant's neck, curled his body like a ball. With a sudden motion, he stretched all his limbs and launched a blade at its neck, leaving a faint mark.
Immediately, a devilish smile formed on his face. He released both weapons, and they spun rapidly in the air.
The giant swung its sword at Zhang Yong with a speed too fast to dodge—it was sure to hit.
But he performed the oldest trick he had learned—his body gleamed with the silver light of the metal element as he dropped swiftly under the sword. Only a millimeter away, a few strands of his hair were sliced off. He landed directly on the giant's middle right arm, grabbed his weapons again, and began spinning violently like a meat grinder, chopping into the arm at terrifying speed.
The scene shocked the two girls, but they had no choice but to continue channeling energy into the beast to keep it moving
Zhang Yong fell to the ground and looked at the giant with bloodthirsty eyes.
He began running again, sheathed his sword, grabbed his axe with one hand, and enlarged it. It was the largest axe in history.
A ninety-meter giant axe fell upon the monster with tremendous force, empowered by black aura. The strike was unstoppable.
The axe came down, tearing off three arms from the left side of the giant in a single blow.
It reminded him of soul fusion techniques from the Douluo world
If it was similar, such a skill would consume vast amounts of spiritual energy. With the battle's intensity, the girls' stamina would surely be drained.
He picked up his axe and charged toward the giant's legs.
With a single swing, he tore the back tendon of its leg, forcing it to kneel.
This confirmed it—the longer the battle dragged on, the more spiritual energy they expended, and the weaker the giant became.
Quickly, Zhang Yong began launching black blades into the sky, striking the giant from every direction while running.
He raised his axe, enlarged it again, and with all his remaining strength, brought it down swiftly on the giant's neck. "It's time to die!"
"No!" cried the crane girl in vain, as the axe sped toward the giant's throat.
In a moment, the giant's neck was cut clean, and it collapsed to the ground.
The two girls immediately vomited blood and fell to their knees.
The demonic giant vanished, defeated, and the flags at its summoning site shattered.
Zhang Yong approached the two girls, trying to catch his breath. "All your tricks are over, aren't they? Now there's nothing you can do."
The crane girl looked at Zhang Yong, her black hair falling to the ground and covering her dirtied white dress. "Stop, don't kill me. I can give you anything you desire, d-do you want woman? Fame? Anything i'll give you anything."
Zhang Yong plugged his ears and smiled. "Do I look like I care? You're more valuable dead than alive."
He raised his axe, ready to kill her.
The crane girl looked at him in horror, then quickly turned to the bow girl and shoved her forward. "Protect me, you lowborn!"
Enraged, the bow girl shouted furiously, glaring at the crane girl with hatred. "You bitch! How can you be this filthy?"
While fleeing, the crane girl sneered back. "Shut up. It's an honor for you to die for a noble like me from the Silver-rank Clan."
The bow girl looked at her with fury, grief, and hatred. "You... If there's a next life, I'll make sure I get revenge." She gritted her teeth and accepted her bitter reality
Zhang Yong laughed. "Why wait for the next life?"
He dashed forward, stomped on the crane girl's back, grabbed her hair, and dragged her in front of the bow girl. Then he tossed a black dagger in front of her. "Take this. Kill her—or torture her however you wish. If I like the show, I might spare you."
A crazed, happy smile appeared on the bow girl's face. She picked up the dagger and walked toward the crane girl.
Zhang Yong sat on a nearby rock and watched calmly.
The bow girl held the dagger and tear the skin from the crane girl's face with a slash
The crane girl screamed, "My face!... My face!!"
The bow girl kept her maniacal smile as she kept tearing her face , exposing red muscle and bloody tissue. Zhang Yong heard every scream.
She sliced her body into strips, even slashing her stomach and ripping out her organs like a madwoman. The crane girl bled to death.
Zhang Yong clapped slowly. "Good, good. Look at you—a monster soaked in human entrails. And they call me a devil from the demonic path? Seems you're no different from me, you self-proclaimed righteous ones."
Zhang Yong drew his sword and in one swing decapitated the bow girl, her head flying until it hit the ground.
Then he looked at the sky. "So many lives falling... Like moths to a flame—they know they'll die, but are still drawn to it."
Letting out a calm breath, his body relaxed. "No need to think about the ones I've killed so far. If I didn't kill them, they'd kill me. I had no choice. But I also don't take lives randomly."
Zhang Yong was now extremely exhausted. His battle with the giant and prolonged use of the Murasama aura had pushed his endurance to the limit.
Still, he remained conscious and on his feet—but certainly couldn't fight any longer.
The air around him shifted, and a wisp of the Thief King's soul appeared. "Congratulations on passing my trial and receiving my legacy."
(Mission complete. Rewards will now be distributed.)
Zhang Yong looked at the wisp and smiled. "Then hurry and give it to me. I went through a lot to get here."
The Thief King moved his hand and threw a blue token toward him. "My legacy doesn't have much, but I'll grant you control over this small world."
Zhang Yong grabbed the token, but his expression turned ugly. "Can you tell me where your coffin is?"
Seeing Zhang Yong's unpleasant expression, the Thief King grew curious and suspicious. "Why?"
Zhang Yong smiled calmly. "To pay my respects. After all, it's your legacy."
"Oh?" The Thief King was momentarily surprised. "Such a respectful heir." With a wave of his hand, a wooden coffin appeared. "You may pay your respects—"
The sound of wood cracking interrupted him.
Zhang Yong had grabbed his axe and split the coffin slightly.
The Thief King grabbed his head and shouted, "What are you doing?!" His face was filled with rage.
Zhang Yong gave him a half glance and continued smashing the coffin. "You think I'll be satisfied with just a tiny world? I want treasure or a skill"
The Thief King raised his hands to stop him and stood in front. "Stop, stop! I'll give you a skill—just stop!"
Zhang Yong looked up and smiled politely. "Oh? Please, enlighten me."
A jade scroll appeared in the Thief King's hand. "This is a sound technique, one of the rare types alongside flight skills."
"Does it use spiritual energy?" Zhang Yong asked.
The Thief King looked at him like he was dumb. "Of course it uses spiritual energy."
"Well, that settles it." Zhang Yong swung again and broke the coffin. "Give me a technique that uses mental energy, or say goodbye to your corpse"
"Hmph," the Thief King snorted. "You dare threaten me, the Thief King? I may have lost my body, but my soul is enough to deal with you."
He charged into Zhang Yong's spiritual sea—only to leave instantly. "Please have mercy! I'll do anything—I'll modify it for mental energy, I swear!"
Zhang Yong calmly smiled at the reaction—it was amusing. "That's not enough. Submit to me."
"What?" The Thief King stepped back. "What are you trying to do?"
Zhang Yong jumped and struck the Thief King's forehead, branding it with a five-pointed star.
(30% of the meter used to imprint Soul Seal.)
"Good. Now that the contest is over, what other treasures are here?"
The Thief King clutched his forehead, feeling like lightning had struck. "Ahh! Couldn't you at least let me explain? The contest is over. That token I gave you gives you this small world , it have Dense spiritual energy, it is a unique place"
"Oh?" Zhang Yong rubbed his chin. "There's someone I'd like to bring here."
Zhang Yong exited the place and stood with the others. He scanned the area and spotted Su Ming—then pulled him in immediately.
Sensing the pull, Su Ming turned and saw Zhang Yong. "Zhang Yong, you disappeared a moment ago—how are you here?"
"Shh," Zhang Yong's expression was serious. "Stay quiet and follow me."
Su Ming followed him into the nearby forest. Suddenly, Zhang Yong stopped and placed a hand on his shoulder.
In an instant, both disappeared and reappeared in a desolate, stone area.
Su Ming looked around and was stunned. "Is this an independent world?"
"Didn't expect you to recognize it so quickly," said the Thief King, watching them, before turning to Zhang Yong. "Is this your friend?"
Zhang Yong raised his arms sarcastically. "Sure, you can call him that. Now where's my technique?"
The Thief King shook his head helplessly. "Do you think modifying techniques is easy? It takes time."
Su Ming looked at the Thief King's soul fragment in admiration. "So this is the Thief King, a legendary figure. If he hadn't been hunted, with all his secrets he could've reached emperor realm. Zhang Yong, how could you not show him respect?"
The Thief King looked at Su Ming in return admiration. "Didn't expect someone to know me. Such a respectful youth—how are you friends with this guy?"
Su Ming laughed, shrugging helplessly. "It just happened. But giving an independent small world as inheritance? I didn't expect His Majesty the Thief King to be so generous."
Zhang Yong jumped between them. "Cut it out. Were you two friends in a past life or something? You're both trapped in your own world. Besides, this world is useless."
Both looked at him regretfully. Su Ming explained calmly, "Maybe you don't know, Zhang Yong, but small worlds like this are rare. Very few sects have one. This place has extremely pure energy."
"So you're saying this place is valuable? Maybe I can use it to survive the lightning tribulation," Zhang Yong said, thinking
The Thief King raised his head proudly. "See? You should revere me. I stumbled upon this world by chance, but I was at death's door. So I created this trial and left a soul shard to supervise it. This world is special. Five days here equal one outside."
Su Ming's eyes widened. "What?! Zhang Yong, you've won the jackpot! Do you know how rare this kind of time-dilated world is?"
"Alright, both of you—calm down or I'll get lost in your chatter. So, I get it. This place is valuable. But if time flows like that, there must be side effects."
Su Ming's expression turned serious again—he already understood there's no quick gain without cost.
The Thief King sighed. "You're nearly right. The drawback is the time itself. You'll age five times faster here. Five years here is one year outside—but once you leave, you've aged five years. Also, due to space-time laws,any human can't enter or exit freely
A month must pass before the token works again."
Zhang Yong's face darkened. "A month by this world's time or the outside?"
The Thief King quickly clarified. "Don't worry , The token acts as a channel. Once you leave, it stops working until a month passes in the outside world."
They both sighed in relief. Zhang Yong said, "Alright, this place is useful. You go refine your sword intent. I'll start my training."
Su Ming nodded and went to find a quiet place.
The Thief King looked at Zhang Yong curiously. "What skill are you trying to practice?"
Zhang Yong gave him a half-glance and replied coldly, "None of your business."
The Thief King trembled slightly. "You're temperamental , I was just asking."
Zhang Yong sighed calmly. "Fine, I'll go train."
He left and stood on a small mountain peak, pulling out his first spiritual stone and beginning to absorb it. "With the amount I have, I shouldn't worry about running out. The problem is the next stage. If this one takes so many, I can't imagine how many I'll need after"