When using Inner Oni Swordsmanship with different weapons, the final combat stance would always change—though the skill's effects remained fixed.
How to develop it further… depended entirely on Liang Yue's ideas. His first attempt was to focus on pairing shortswords with sword-aura slashes—trying out dual short-sword combat.
As a "Sword Soul," a master of weapons in every sense, switching weapon styles brought him no discomfort whatsoever.
"Dual-handed sword aura… shouldn't be a problem, right?"
His eyes locked on the distant targets ahead—five rookie-killer Shadow Warriors. Since this was his first trial of a completely new style, his approach would be cautious, without the usual opening combos.
Both hands crossed over to grip the hilts at his waist. With his improved stats boosting his overall physical strength, he shot forward at blinding speed.
The gray-brown cloak fluttered lightly as the stored power in his legs exploded.
As Liang Yue's figure passed the Shadow Warriors—
—both shortswords left their scabbards in a flash, unleashing a white, tangible cross of sword aura, the two slashes intersecting into a diagonal cross-cut.
The range of the sword aura was immense. Combined with the momentum of his charge, the Shadow Warriors—who had raised their claws in instinctive defense before he even reached them—were cut clean in two by the razor-sharp strikes.
[Exp +67]
Liang Yue's nimble figure slipped between the collapsing monsters as their bodies dissolved into black dust. Thumb-sized magic stones and drop items clinked crisply as they hit the ground.
"This fighting style…"
"…"
Enjoying the purity of battle, Liang Yue stood still for a moment, unable to hide the excitement gleaming deep in his eyes.
The results spoke for themselves—Sword Soul techniques didn't need to follow the game's complicated mechanics. With enough imagination, he could wield them freely.
That was definitely good news.
Especially since updating his stats had boosted his physical strength across the board—pairing that with Inner Oni Swordsmanship only made him stronger.
Pocketing the loot, Liang Yue didn't linger. The most efficient way to level up now was to head to the 7th floor and hunt Killer Ants, exploiting their group-call behavior to rack up massive amounts of experience.
In a sense… he'd fully grasped one of the Dungeon's core rules.
——
With his next goal set, the ever-decisive Liang Yue soon reached the 7th floor, stepping out from the staircase.
Yesterday's run had ended here—at the time, he'd been near exhaustion. After clearing a swarm of Killer Ants, he'd only just managed to make it back safely.
Now, though, with his stats freshly raised and no prior fatigue, Liang Yue was in peak condition, itching for the kind of training that would push him to his limits and unlock hidden potential.
"At the usual swarm size, three waves equals one level's worth of EXP… So to hit today's goal, I'll need to wipe out at least ten waves."
It was going to be a long, tedious grind.
But he had already steeled himself for it—just as in the monotonous, repetitive practice of swordsmanship, one could only carve their own path by seeking the very limits of the blade.
He began scouting the floor.
Soon enough, he found his first target—a Killer Ant roughly the size of a lizard monster, but covered in a hard chitinous shell.
Like most insects, its eyes were useless in the dark. It relied entirely on its antennae to sense vibrations in the air and track prey.
As Liang Yue's footsteps drew near, the lone Killer Ant instantly turned to face him, its four hooked claws on its back raising into a battle-ready posture.
"A bit tricky."
He meant that he'd have to control his attack to avoid killing it outright. His gaze stayed calm as he approached, his right hand loosely gripping the shortsword, the tip almost brushing the ground.
With an upward slash, a blinding arc of white sword aura shot forth, tearing a scar into the ground—and, intentionally weakened, slicing off the ant's left torso without killing it.
"Now…"
"…call for some friends."
He didn't press the attack. Instead, he sat on the ground, watching the walls around him. A hunter's most important skill was patience.
It didn't take long. From ahead, small rocks tumbled down as a tunnel mouth rapidly widened—soon, the Killer Ant's call brought reinforcements swarming from within.
Compared to yesterday's swarm, this one was even bigger. But to Liang Yue, they were nothing more than walking EXP bags.
"They're here."
——
"I think I've seen that adventurer before…"
…
Carrying a large backpack, supporter Liliruca was tallying up her recent haul when she spotted a lone adventurer up ahead.
Out of habit—born from avoiding the Sumo Familia's oppression—she stayed hidden in the shadows. But when her gaze landed on Liang Yue's distinct face, she remembered.
It was the same lone adventurer she'd seen on the 6th floor days ago.
For rookies with no real profit to squeeze, Lili usually had no interest. But this time, she noticed the maimed Killer Ant in front of him.
"What's he… trying to do?"
Even as a non-adventurer, Lili knew Killer Ants were dangerous. If you didn't kill them quickly, they would call for reinforcements—and once the swarm arrived, the danger skyrocketed.
Sure enough, just as she expected, the tunnel ahead collapsed wider as a flood of ants poured out.
"…"
She regarded all adventurers with pure, equal-opportunity malice. Even towards Liang Yue, a passing acquaintance, she felt no urge to warn him. She simply frowned and withdrew further.
But then, perhaps sensing danger, Liang Yue slowly rose to his feet.
What caught her attention wasn't his movement—but the two shortswords in his hands, both silver-gray with patterned blades that screamed high value.
"Hey!"
"When Killer Ants are in danger, they call for more. With that many, there's no way you can take them all!"
Her reason for speaking was simple—she'd already tagged him as a "fat sheep." Despite her distaste for adventurers, from a profit standpoint, it was worth building some rapport.
If she could get her hands on those swords and sell them, she might finally have enough to pay her way out of the Sumo Familia.
Better to establish a connection now—it made the later steps easier. This trick worked wonders on rookie adventurers.
But Liang Yue didn't stop. He walked straight toward the swarm—practically suicide.
Only…
What followed was a one-sided slaughter of the Killer Ant swarm, so overwhelming that Lili was left speechless, her thoughts of preying on him shaken.
She had her own rules for picking marks.
Members of powerful familias were risky—steal from them and retaliation was certain. And then there were adventurers like Liang Yue—those with absolute, crushing strength.
Realizing his intent, Lili's eye twitched uncontrollably. "He's using the sheer numbers of a Killer Ant swarm… for Dungeon training?"
"Is this guy a lunatic… or does he have absolute confidence in his strength?!"
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