Seven days later.
Lin Xun left the mountain cave and began his journey once more.
He had already completely stabilized his foundation. His aura had grown increasingly ethereal and felt like a silent, majestic mountain or a wilful ocean when it moved.
At the True Martial seventh layer, Lin Xun had defeated Xin Wenbin, who had been at the True Martial ninth layer.
At the eighth layer, Lin Xun had beaten Wen Mingxiu, Xiao Kun, Hu Long, and the others who had been at the peak True Martial ninth layer stage. Moreover, Lin Xun had survived in Demon Cloud Ridge for several days and slew many brute experts.
After advancing to the ninth layer, he had experienced a crazy battle where he killed more than fifty brute experts and five peak younger generation experts. This feat shook the entire Demon Cloud Ridge and made him one of the most dazzling students in the exam. In fact, no one else could match his fame for a time.
At this point, even Lin Xun did not know what level his battle power had reached. At the very least, he no longer feared anyone at the True Martial stage!
……
Time flowed little by little.
Battles in Demon Cloud Ridge were always bloody, savage, and filled with unpredictable dangers. For Lin Xun, however, it had become very rare for anything to threaten him.In the day, he continued to fight and accumulate army contributions. At night, he focused on his cultivation and studied the first move of the Heavenly Yuan Blade Art, Star-Gather.
It was an unquestionably powerful technique and the more Lin Xun studied it, the more he was impressed by its profoundness. It felt as bottomless as the sea and was definitely not something he could achieve mastery of overnight.
Lin Xun could not help but sigh as he wondered who had created this technique and why a single Star-Gather move could possess such mysterious and overwhelming power.
How terrifying would its power be if he could fully master its essence?
Lin Xun looked forward to the arrival of that day.
However, he also understood his limitations. At the very least, it was impossible for him to achieve at the True Martial stage. Even if he somehow managed to completely grasp its essence, he would not be able to bring out its full power with True Martial stage cultivation.
A month soon passed since Lin Xun entered Demon Cloud Ridge.
He had accumulated a total of 278 army contributions. In other words, he had killed 278 brute experts over the past month!
There was a thick stack of brute totem runes in his storage ring which were physical proof of the army contributions he had obtained.
It was worth mentioning that the army contributions would be properly detailed when they left Demon Cloud Ridge. For example, the contribution from killing a level nine Brute Slave would be much greater than a level eight Brute Slave.
These would be evaluated by the army staff.
Besides the brute totem runes, Lin Xun had also obtained numerous battle spoils. The most valuable item amongst them was naturally the Heavenly Water Sacred Bead.
However, the sacred treasure seemed to have fallen into an inactive state and its many amazing abilities were still unknown to Lin Xun. He could only hope he would have a chance to properly study it in the future.
Besides the bead, he had also looted various valuable resources such as ores, weapons and medicine.
He had also been forced to discard many items with value that were useless to him due to space constraints.
One day, Lin Xun suddenly heard people fighting while advancing along a rapidly flowing river.
He was not surprised as it was not the first time he had encountered such a situation over the past few days. His figure nimbly leaped into the air as he headed towards the source.
Lin Xun soon found the battlefield in a thicket beside the river.
More than ten brute experts had surrounded a single person. Several brute expert corpses could also be seen nearby.
The battle was intense and had clearly started quite some time ago. The entire place was a mess with splatters of blood, pieces of wood, and stone everywhere.
What surprised Lin Xun was that the human cultivator, who had been surrounded, was a fellow student of the 39th Campground, Hu Long!
He was a proud young man who had said some pretty offensive things towards Lin Xun on the way to Demon Cloud Ridge. In the end, Lin Xun had given Hu Long a beating on the battleship.
As a result, Lin Xun did not have a very good impression of Hu Long.
However, Lin Xun did not hit Hu Long while he was down or abandon him to his plight.
In Lin Xun’s view, although there were some personal grievances between them, they were still from the same camp. In comparison, the brute experts were their mutual enemies.
Lin Xun’s principles were very simple: personal grudges should be set aside in situations where the empire was facing outside forces.
This did not mean he would forgive them but it was a matter of his standpoint as a cultivator of the empire.
At the battle of the volcano, numerous empire cultivators had not lent Lin Xun a helping hand because the situation had appeared harmful and unfavorable to them.
However, Lin Xun was different from those people and had his own principles. He would not idly watch his fellow human killed by the enemy.
Shiing!
The sound of a blade being unsheathed rang out as Lin Xun’s figure plunged into the battlefield. The brute experts were immediately sent into a flurry, caught off guard by the surprise visitor.
“Lin Xun?” Hu Long was in disbelief when he saw who had come to save him.
Although he did not know why Lin Xun had done so, his addition helped relieve the pressure, giving Hu Long a chance to catch his breath.
He was already covered in wounds. If not for Lin Xun’s timely arrival, Hu Long would have soon succumbed.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The battle blade danced like a dragon aggressively soaring through the skies. Four brute experts were killed in the blink of an eye, shocking everyone present.
Even Hu Long’s eyes could not help but widen. The rumors were real?
A few days ago, he had heard of Lin Xun’s crazy battle on the volcano. Hu Long had originally believed it to be wildly exaggerated, but witnessing Lin Xun in action made Hu Long understand that Lin Xun was different now. The overwhelming battle power he displayed made Hu Long feel tremendous pressure.
In mere moments, eight brute experts were killed, causing the other five to flee in terror.
Hu Long finally returned to his senses and was shocked to find Lin Xun still untouched and unscathed after the battle. After a long time, Hu Long sighed and said, “I…am indebted to you.”
After a slight pause, his expression turned fierce, “However, don’t overthink things. I am not forgiving you for your previous actions unless you apologize to me.”
Lin Xun casually replied, “You’re the one whose overthinking. I saved you because we’re both from Blood Kill Camp and not because I want your forgiveness.”
Despite his bluntness, Hu Long believed Lin Xun and nodded, “That’s good.”
The two individuals fell silent as the pungent and nauseating stench of blood rose from the ground.
“Alright, the danger has already been resolved. I advise you to find a safe place to tend to your wounds. If you encounter trouble again, you might not be lucky enough to meet someone like me who will help you.”
Lin Xun collected the army contributions and was just about to leave. However, alarm suddenly rose within his heart as his gaze darted towards the thicket beside them.
Rumble!
A water-like stream of blue suddenly arrived, ripping through the air as it released a terrifying, suffocating aura.
Brute Soldier!
Lin Xun’s heart trembled. He had once fought a genuine Brute Soldier in Blood Kill Camp. How could he fail to recognize that such an attack could only come from a Brute Soldier, who was comparable to a Spirit Dipper stage expert?
However…
Experts with such power were not allowed in Demon Cloud Ridge. Why had a Brute Soldier suddenly appeared?
Lin Xun’s thoughts were cut short by the attack’s arrival, causing him to jump the side without any hesitation as he swung his blade at the attack.
Boom~
An earth-shaking noise erupted as light spewed in all directions. Lin Xun’s figure stumbled three steps back as his expression changed slightly.
The attacker was far more powerful than the first-level Brute Soldier he had killed in Blood Kill Camp and was clearly an elite expert!
“Eh, you managed to block my attack?”
A strong and healthy figure suddenly appeared. It was a man wrapped entirely in black garments, revealing only a pair of cruel viper-like blue eyes.
“Brute Soldier!”
Hu Long finally reacted as well. His expression changed drastically as he shouted, “You brute trash! How dare you break your agreement with the empire!”
“Humph!”
The Brute Soldier coldly snorted but did not reply. He made a grabbing motion with his hands, causing dazzling blue light to condense into a sharp blade that swiftly shot towards Lin Xun.
“Run!” Lin Xun threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack as he shouted for Hu Long to run.
“Run? Neither of you will escape today!” An ice-cold voice suddenly sounded from another direction as another black figure appeared. The new arrival was dressed exactly the same as the first Brute Soldier and their auras were shockingly similar.
It was another Brute Soldier!
Lin Xun’s and Hu Long’s expressions changed as their hearts sank.
They might have a slim chance against a single Brute Soldier but two was too much.
“Kill!” The two Brute Soldiers were clearly seasoned veterans and swiftly attacked without wasting any time.
One attacked Lin Xun while the other dashed toward Hu Long.
Lin Xun knew that this was the critical moment!
Shiing!
He took a deep breath, ignored the rapidly approaching Brute Soldier, and instead moved towards Hu Long. At the same time, Lin Xun raised his blade as it released an excited cry.
Star-Gather!
Lin Xun did not hesitate to execute his strongest move.
A blade appeared from the void, tearing apart the darkness. Stars seemed to fall from the heavens like armageddon had arrived.
The Brute Soldier, who was about to attack Hu Long, felt his body turn rigid as danger bells blared in his head. A chill ran up the Brute Soldier’s back as terror flooded his heart. What kind of blade art is this?