Chapter 76: Unwanted Guests
Li Yao charged at the monster, applying the lightning element to her movement technique. Electricity crackled around her feet with each step, causing her speed to increase significantly—her form blurring into little more than a streak of blue light as she crossed the chamber. Despite her incredible speed, the demon’s cut-off arm was almost completely regrown by the time she reached it, dark energy swirling and solidifying into flesh.
She swung her sword at the demon with all her might. But the demon easily caught the attack with its intact arm. Its massive fingers wrapped around the blade, stopping her momentum completely.
When Li Yao saw this, her face initially showed a panicked expression, but then her lips curled into a knowing smile. "Caught you," she said.
In the next instant, she channeled her lightning qi directly into the blade. The sword that the demon was holding so confidently started glowing and crackling with intense electrical energy. Arcs of lightning danced between the metal and the demon’s flesh, causing the creature’s expression to shift from confidence to alarm as electricity coursed through its body.
Li Yao didn’t relent, applying even more force to her sword, feeding it with an increasing amount of her lightning qi. The blue light intensified until it was almost blinding. When the demon finally realized what was happening, it quickly released the sword and stepped back, wisps of dark smoke rising from its damaged hand.
Li Yao clicked her tongue in disappointment at the lost opportunity but charged forward once more. This time, however, the demon was prepared. Its other arm had completely regrown. It used this newly formed limb to launch a punch toward her.
Luckily, Li Yao’s reflexes were equally impressive. She quickly brought her sword down, infused with lightning, to block the attack. The impact sent shockwaves through the chamber, but she held her ground. She thought to herself that her battle awareness had truly developed from all those practice sessions with her senior brother.
But she couldn’t waste precious seconds thinking about her senior brother now—this was a matter of life and death. She instantly pushed off the ground and jumped, landing nimbly on the demon’s outstretched arm. The demon, though humanoid in shape, was quite enormous compared to her, so Li Yao’s relatively small frame was able to run along its limb like a pathway.
She sprinted up the massive arm. Reaching the shoulder, she executed a perfect flip, positioning her body so that her head aligned with the demon’s. In mid-air, her hair whipping around her face, she channeled lightning into her sword.
She then swung her weapon in a wide arc, aiming directly for the creature’s neck. She reasoned that she couldn’t keep up with the monster’s extraordinary regeneration abilities, so her only option was to decapitate it. She didn’t believe that even this abomination could regenerate after losing its head.
Her sword glided through the air as it moved toward its target, trailing blue electricity in its wake. But before she could complete her lethal strike, the demon raised its massive arm, using it as a shield to block Li Yao’s attack. Her lightning-enhanced blade sank deep into the demon’s flesh, cutting halfway through its forearm before losing momentum.
Li Yao found herself suspended in mid-air, now trapped as her sword was wedged firmly in the demon’s flesh. The creature didn’t waste this golden opportunity, it swung its free fist toward her with devastating force.
Caught in this compromising position, she couldn’t defend at all and took the punch head-on. The impact was thunderous, sending her flying across the chamber once more.
She struggled to rise, her body protesting every movement. This time, she had truly taken enormous damage. Although she had managed to summon protective qi around herself at the last second, the impact was still devastating. Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth as she fought to stand, her legs trembling beneath her.
She raised her sword once more—it had been dislodged from the monster’s arm when she was thrown. She thought to herself that she might actually die if she didn’t give this battle everything she had. She channeled all the remaining qi in her body. This time, she would fight without holding back. All the energy within her flowed into her sword, covering the blade with large amounts of lightning. But she didn’t stop there.
[Wait, you’re not going to...] the Empress tried to intervene.
But Li Yao ignored the warning. The lightning spread beyond her weapon, enveloping her entire body in a crackling cocoon of electrical energy. Her hair stood on end, floating around her head like a luminous halo.
[That move is dangerous! You still haven’t completely mastered it yet!] The Empress spoke with genuine concern, but Li Yao continued channeling her power, enhancing both herself and the sword with lightning qi until her entire form flickered and sparkled with raw elemental energy.
At this moment, her body was completely engulfed in crackling blue electricity, small arcs jumping between her fingers and across her skin. Her eyes glowed with the same intense light, giving her an otherworldly appearance.
She moved with such incredible speed that it appeared as though she was teleporting across the chamber. One instant she stood against the wall, the next she materialized before the demon, swinging her electrified sword in a wide arc.
The demon was visibly surprised by her impossible speed. It raised its arms in a desperate defensive posture, but the effort proved futile—Li Yao’s lightning-enhanced blade cut through its limbs as effortlessly as a hot knife through butter. The severed arms fell to the ground with a heavy thud, the cut edges smoking and sparking.
The demon screamed out for the first time since the battle began, a horrifying sound that reverberated throughout the chamber. It attempted to regenerate its arms, but the stumps were completely covered in persistent lightning where they had been cut, the electricity disrupting and preventing any further regeneration.
Li Yao didn’t allow it a moment to contemplate a solution. She moved again with that same impossible speed, instantly appearing above the demon’s head. With perfect form, she swung her sword in one single, elegant arc. The blade flashed brilliantly, and in the next second, it passed through the demon’s body, splitting it perfectly in two from top to bottom.
Both halves of the creature fell to the ground, dark energy leaking from the perfect cut like smoke. When Li Yao watched the demon start turning into nothingness, dissolving into particles of dark mist that scattered across the floor, she could finally relax. She let out a long sigh of relief, her shoulders sagging from exhaustion.
In that moment of victory, the energy covering her started flashing erratically, flickering for a few seconds before it completely disappeared, leaving her drained and vulnerable. Without the support of her lightning armor, she dropped from her elevated position, falling unceremoniously to the ground.
She lay there, breathing heavily, her limbs feeling like lead. She had exhausted all her energy reserves and desperately needed to rest. As she stared at the ceiling, she wondered if that was just the ninety-ninth floor, then just how incredibly powerful would the opponent on the hundredth floor be? Could she even stand a chance?
[Hey, that was dangerous. Do you know what would’ve happened if you fell into this weakened state and there were others around?] the Empress spoke, her tone somewhere between scolding and concerned.
Li Yao just smiled weakly, her face pale from exertion. "Relax, I’ve already accounted for this. There is no one else here. That’s why I dared to use this move."
As she was speaking, she suddenly heard the distinct sound of a gate opening, the heavy stone grinding against stone. Her heart raced as she turned toward the hundredth floor gate, expecting to face another challenge immediately.
But she noticed with confusion that the hundredth floor gate remained firmly closed. Her momentary relief vanished instantly as she looked back with growing horror, realizing that the door to the ninety-eighth floor had opened instead.
How was that possible? Before she could reason, she heard the voices of people approaching from below.
"I told you we could just wait for them to fight and just finish off the job," came a smug male voice.
"Hehehe! As expected of you. Now we don’t even have to lift a finger," replied another, this one tinged with malicious delight.
"Kekeke," came a third voice, the high-pitched laughter echoing ominously through the chamber.
[To be continued...]
...
Xiang Yu perched atop a tree, his eyes surveying the group of wild boars grazing peacefully below. His gaze moved from one animal to the next, evaluating their value as ingredients, he wanted to find a nice specimen to test out his newly gained 4th grade cooking recipes.
After several minutes of careful observation, he finally settled on a particularly robust specimen—a boar with glossy black fur that seemed well-fed compared to its companions.
In one fluid motion, he dropped from his hiding place. His hands found their target, snatching the chosen boar and vanishing back into the forest. The remaining animals continued their foraging, completely oblivious to the fact that one of them had just disappeared without a trace.
Later, when Xiang Yu returned to his house, he laid the boar on his preparation table. He reached for his knife, beginning the familiar process of preparing his meal—skinning the hide, separating meat from bone.
Midway through his task, his hands paused as his thoughts drifted elsewhere. "I wonder how junior sister is doing," he mused, "It’s been a few days since they left. I hope she’s doing okay."