L Town, abandoned mall.
Liu Gu drew his longsword, the last person beneath him already motionless.
From a distance, Cheng Xing’s single slash brought forth a blade light, and an E-Class Blood Mantis flew out in response, dropping two materials upon landing.
Su Yanran, beside him, swiftly followed suit, deftly dispatching another Blood Mantis.
“It’s your turn.”
Liu Gu’s eyes were bloodshot, a sinister grin on his face, clearly in a murderous frenzy.
He ignored Su Yanran and the surviving Hackclaw Squad, staring intently at Cheng Xing, then rapidly charged towards him.
His speed was far beyond that of an E-Class Blood Mantis.
After an Awakener reaches Level 10, the attribute points gained from each subsequent level-up will far exceed those before Level 10, with free attribute points increasing fivefold to 15 points.
This is why Ling Zhong felt as if he was being played when he heard Cheng Xing’s answer.
Later, as levels increase, the gap between each level will only grow wider, making it difficult to kill higher-level enemies, let alone those of a higher tier.
Blade and sword met, sparks flew, and a deafening clang of metal erupted.
Cheng Xing felt a massive force transmit from the hilt of his blade, shaking him back several steps and numbing his hand.
Seeing Cheng Xing at a disadvantage, Liu Gu sneered and continued his pursuit.
“Show off! Aren’t you good at showing off?”
After blocking several consecutive sword strikes, the heavy attacks led Cheng Xing to conclude that Liu Gu must have allocated all his attribute points to Strength.
Therefore, Cheng Xing stopped clashing head-on with Liu Gu, relying on agile footwork to evade Liu Gu’s repeated attacks.
With his high Agility, combined with his F-grade talent Sprint, Liu Gu couldn't even touch him.
“Why are you dodging? Isn’t it an SSS-grade talent?”
Seeing his attacks fail to hit Cheng Xing, Liu Gu’s face showed annoyance, and he taunted him.
But Cheng Xing was not foolish enough to fall for such a low-level provocation; he seized the moment and unleashed a slash.
Liu Gu quickly parried, then counterattacked in one fluid motion, but his longsword was only halfway through its swing when Cheng Xing’s figure already appeared several meters away.
“Damn it! Don’t run if you have the guts!”
Liu Gu roared in impotent rage.
“Even if he levels up to 13, he’s still trash.”
Upon seeing this, Ling Zhong, who was in the distance, frowned. He naturally saw Liu Gu’s attribute allocation and couldn’t help but curse under his breath.
“Go, help him.”
However, the Liu Gu before him was his only hope of turning the tide. Without his Disaster Beasts, his combat power was even lower than that of an ordinary Level 10 Awakener.
Thinking this, he ordered One-Dot, his subordinate.
Though reluctant, the One-Dots who hadn't gained experience didn't dare defy Ling Zhong's command.
After all, he possessed an S-grade talent, and his status within the Killing Cult far surpassed that of ordinary individuals; even San Tong had to bow before him.
Four Killing Cultists, wearing One-Dot masks and armed with weapons, swarmed towards Cheng Xing, attempting to restrict his movements.
However, before they could get close, a figure appeared before them.
“This path is blocked.”
Su Yanran stood holding her sword, her long black hair swaying in the wind, her face as cold as ice; her gaze alone forced all the One-Dots to stop in their tracks.
“Don’t be afraid, let’s go together!”
A One-Dot holding a scythe gritted his teeth and said coldly.
Immediately, the four of them attacked simultaneously.
“Cold Light Sword Encirclement!”
Su Yanran let out a cold cry, her longsword unsheathed, and sword light erupted; these One-Dots were instantly torn apart by the sword light.
How could four Killing Cultists, none of whom had even reached Level 10, be a match for Su Yanran?
After killing these few Killing Cultists, a faint glow emanated from around Su Yanran, making her look like a fairy descending to the mortal world at first glance.
Being beautiful, even her level-up effects seemed unique.
On the other side, Liu Gu continuously swung his sword, but what he didn't notice was that all his attacks merely grazed Cheng Xing.
The strength gained from leveling up three times in a row gradually intoxicated him; at this moment, he felt he was omnipotent.
“Almost time. It should end now.”
Feeling his body had adapted to Liu Gu’s combat movements, Cheng Xing narrowed his eyes and muttered softly.
“What did you say?”
Liu Gu was stunned for a moment, then he saw Cheng Xing charging towards him.
He was overjoyed and raised his longsword, unleashing a powerful strike like splitting a mountain with lightning speed.
Cheng Xing neither dodged nor avoided, letting the longsword descend. In an instant, the longsword was only a fist’s distance from his face.
Seeing this scene, the Hackclaw Squad covered their eyes in fear, not daring to look.
“The victor is decided.”
“He’s still too arrogant after all; even a full-Agility Awakener can’t dodge at this distance.”
Seeing this, Ling Zhong, who had taken half a step back, stopped his movement and shook his head.
A 3-level attribute gap, plus Liu Gu had put all his points into Strength.
If this strike connected, Cheng Xing would surely die.
Liu Gu grinned maniacally; Cheng Xing couldn’t dodge at this distance!
It was as if the scene of Cheng Xing being split in half by a sword had already appeared before his eyes.
“Parry.”
“Clang!”
The next moment, a deafening clash of metal rang out. Liu Gu felt a huge force rebound, his longsword nearly vibrated out of his hand, and his entire arm lost all sensation.
And before him, Cheng Xing’s blood mantis fang was horizontally positioned, blocking the attack, he didn’t know when.
“E-grade skill Parry?! You were still hiding your strength?!”
Liu Gu’s expression froze. He hadn’t expected Cheng Xing to still be hiding strength at this point.
“I was waiting for my body to adapt. What were you waiting for?”
Cheng Xing smiled coldly and pressed forward.
“This is impossible!”
Looking at Cheng Xing’s relaxed expression, Liu Gu felt the exhilaration of leveling up recede. The illusion of his invincibility in his heart seemed to shatter inch by inch with that previous sword strike.
The drastic fall from heaven to hell made him roar in anger.
Then he gathered his strength and unleashed another full-power strike.
“Four Direction Slash!”
“Clang!”
With another loud clang, a figure flew back several meters and fell to the ground.
Upon closer inspection, it was Liu Gu, who was of a higher level.
Liu Gu was utterly astonished at this moment. The sharp pain from his chest brought him back to his senses. He looked down to see four gruesome wounds on his chest.
Looking at the approaching figure not far away, Liu Gu instinctively wanted to counterattack, but when he raised his hand, he saw that his longsword had already broken into two pieces.
At this moment, he once again felt fear.
“Please, spare… me…”
This time, Cheng Xing gave him no chance. He took a step forward, and the long blade in his hand mercilessly sliced across.
Liu Gu’s eyes widened, and he clutched his neck with both hands, but he couldn't stop the warm liquid from flowing out. The power that had been continuously surging within him now vanished like a receding tide.
“Why… why…”
He didn’t understand why, even after reaching Level 13, he was still no match for Cheng Xing.
But no one gave him an answer.
【Level Up 10 → 13】
【Gained Free Attribute Points + 45】
Cheng Xing sheathed his blade and walked towards Su Yanran and the others without looking back.
If Liu Gu hadn't personally killed his own kind and become a Fallen, his identity as an Awakener would have been his greatest shield against death.
“Well then, now it’s just you left.”
Cheng Xing looked up at Ling Zhong at the mall entrance and said calmly.
“That remains to be seen.”
By now, Ling Zhong made no move to escape. Instead, he calmly watched Cheng Xing and Su Yanran slowly approach.
He knew very well that without control over his Disaster Beasts, either of the two people before him could easily pin him down and crush him.
“You’ve made me lose quite badly.”
Ling Zhong tidied his clothes, then took out a pitch-black spherical object the size of a baby’s fist from his pocket, playing with it as he spoke unhurriedly.
Cheng Xing frowned at Ling Zhong’s strange reaction; that sphere gave him an extremely dangerous feeling.
And when Su Yanran saw the pitch-black sphere Ling Zhong was toying with, her pupils constricted. She immediately raised her hand and pulled Cheng Xing.
Cheng Xing instinctively looked back and found Su Yanran’s face filled with a gravity he had never seen before.
It was a solemnity he had never witnessed.
“Calamity seed?”
…