Chapter 6: One Sword for Your Hesitation
Without a shred of mercy.
Soaked in the reality of a cruel world, Su Chen had gradually come to understand one truth: no matter the time or place, never show the slightest bit of kindness or pity to an enemy.
Without lingering any longer, Su Chen turned and left.
The Forest of Heavenly Punishment.
Located to the northeast of Panyou City, the fastest route to reach the Eastern Wasteland Academy in the shortest possible time was straight through the Forest of Heavenly Punishment.
This was a world of fierce beasts, and rumor had it that deep within the forest dwelt a Condensing Spirit Realm beast.
The dense forest blocked out the sun and sky.
Dusk descended, casting long shadows over the towering trees.
Desolation swept through the forest, sending a chilling discomfort through anyone who walked its paths.
By the time Su Chen reached the Forest of Heavenly Punishment, night had completely fallen, and the gloomy sky hung so heavy it was suffocating.
Under the cover of night, the forest echoed with the roars of wild beasts, punctuated every now and then by miserable screams—testament to some martial artist falling prey to a beast's jaws.
Many martial artists chose to enter the forest to hone their skills or hunt beasts to sell their parts.
Looking at the pitch-black forest before him.
Su Chen's gaze was ice-cold. Just days ago, it was right here that Su Hao had crippled his Blood Wheel.
Here was where he would take his very first step.
The moment he stepped into the forest, Su Chen caught a strong wave of fluctuating energy. Something unusual was happening.
Without hesitation, he moved swiftly toward the source of the fluctuations.
A black bear, over four meters tall, was engaged in a ferocious, life-and-death battle with a man.
"Both are in the Void Pill Realm."
His eyes lit up instantly. Su Chen neither stepped in nor walked away. His plan was to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, waiting until the man and the bear battered each other into mutual exhaustion before stepping in to pick up the pieces.
He had already begun practicing the Primal Chaos Swallowing Art, and the most tyrannical aspect of this primal chaos martial art was its ability to devour any form of energy for one's own use, leaving behind no backlash or side effects whatsoever.
Boom, boom, boom!
The life-and-death clash between man and beast escalated continuously. Unable to bear the tyrannical aura washing over it, the ground began to crack and fracture, spreading outward like a giant spiderweb.
Blood stained the earth. The man and the bear were evenly matched. If they kept fighting to the death, the only outcome would be mutual destruction. Knowing this, neither side dared to stop first.
Bang!
Amidst a devastating collision, the bodies of both man and beast slammed heavily onto the ground. In the quiet of the night, the sickening sound of snapping bones was clearly audible.
A look of joy crossed Su Chen's face. Without an ounce of hesitation or dawdling, he lunged forward like an arrow released from a bow.
He was closer to the black bear.
Because the bear's injuries were too severe, even when it clearly saw someone approaching with ill intent, it could only glare fiercely, utterly unable to stand back up and strike.
Using his finger as a sword, he fused his Sword Blood Wheel into the sword qi.
The sharp, tyrannical sword qi, laden with chilling killing intent, pierced straight through the black bear's brain.
Deep within his body, the Primal Chaos Swallowing Art rapidly circulated, wrapping waves of swallowing force around the black bear's soul and beginning to devour it frantically.
The Primal Chaos Swallowing Art could devour all forms of power, including the souls of both fierce beasts and martial artists.
Su Chen knew very well that if he wanted to rapidly advance his cultivation, he had to rely on the devouring of the Primal Chaos Swallowing Art; otherwise, his cultivation speed would be severely limited.
As for whether it was cruel, Su Chen simply chose to ignore it. In a world where martial prowess reigned supreme, the Martial Dao was everything.
Fists dictated life, death, and dignity.
As a Void Pill Realm fierce beast, the black bear's soul was sucked into Su Chen's body and subjected to the forcible refinement of the Primal Chaos Swallowing Art. Just how much pure energy could be refined out of it remained to be seen.
In the span of mere seconds, the black bear's soul was completely and forcibly devoured.
"Many thanks for your assistance, Your Excellency. I will repay this kindness a hundredfold another day."
Seeing the young man slay the black bear, the man felt his heart skip a beat, though he managed to maintain his composure.
Under normal circumstances, he certainly wouldn't have given a Foundation Establishment Realm martial artist a second look, but the situation right now was somewhat different.
Locked in a life-and-death struggle with the black bear and severely injured as a result, forget facing a Foundation Establishment warrior—even an ordinary person could easily cut him down right now.
"I didn't help you, and you don't need to thank me."
Sensing the terrifying killing intent erupting from the youth, the man's heart sank instantly. *Of all things to fear, it comes.*
"As long as Your Excellency stops here, I am willing to offer a secret concerning the Forest of Heavenly Punishment. How about it?"
"Speak."
"Your Excellency must give me your word first."
Before the man could finish speaking, a streak of sword qi tore through the void and struck his left arm. Accompanied by a miserable shriek that pierced the night, his entire left arm was severed by the sword qi, blood spraying out like a fountain.
His face as pale as paper, sweat rolling down in beads, he grimaced in excruciating agony. Never in his wildest dreams had the man imagined that this person would strike the moment he finished speaking.
"If you dare hesitate for even a second longer, I'll give you another sword stroke. I wonder how many swords you can endure."
Ruthless!
He had originally planned to use a secret to buy his life, but now that option was completely out the window. He had run into a lunatic who wouldn't even give him a chance to bargain.
"I stumbled upon this tattered map by chance. There is a great fortune hidden deep within the Forest of Heavenly Punishment."
Catching the tattered map from the man's hand, Su Chen flicked his finger through the air. A sharp bolt of sword qi pierced straight through the man's glabella. At the moment his body collapsed, the man died with his eyes wide open, unable to comprehend why he had still been killed after handing over the map.
Once again, he circulated the Primal Chaos Swallowing Art, immediately beginning to devour the man's soul.
Both the man and the bear were in the Void Pill Realm. Having devoured two souls, Su Chen immediately chose to sit cross-legged, beginning to refine and fuse the soul power.
The refined energy surged into every corner of his body. Under the overlapping coverage of his three Blood Wheels, the power gathered within his body and flowed back into his Sword Blood Wheel.
Advancing through the Foundation Establishment Realm meant continuously pouring power into one's Blood Wheels. As the soul power of two Void Pill Realm beings surged in, Su Chen let out a long howl toward the sky, instantly breaking through the bottleneck and smoothly advancing from Level 7 Foundation Establishment Realm to Level 8 Foundation Establishment Realm.
"Devouring is still the fastest way to break through."
He was thoroughly satisfied with the effects of the devouring.
In Su Chen's view, if one wanted to rapidly elevate their strength, they could not afford to be weighed down by moral platitudes. Slaughter was the stepping stone of martial cultivation, something no one could avoid.
Taking the man's spatial ring, Su Chen turned his attention to the tattered map in his hand.
The map marked a partial location; locking onto it shouldn't be too difficult.
Only...
The location shown on the map was situated deep within the forest. If he encountered a beast at or above the Solid Core Realm—including a Nascent Soul Realm beast, a Soul Palace Realm beast, or even a Condensing Spirit Realm beast—how on earth would he handle it?
Should he go or not?
Su Chen gazed deep into the forest, gripping the tattered map tightly in his hand. Faced with an opportunity for fortune, if he chose to give up simply out of fear of death, he might as well just go find a hole to hide in. How could he ever speak of avenging his grievances, let alone reaching the peak of the Martial Dao?
Opportunities of fortune were rare encounters, not things to be begged for.
His gaze gradually hardened. In the end, Su Chen decided to press deeper into the forest to seek out the fortune recorded on the tattered map.
***
Chapter 7: Bloodthirsty Netherbats
The forest under the cover of night appeared exceptionally desolate.
Su Chen raised his vigilance to the absolute maximum. After all, the deeper one ventured into the forest, the higher the grade of the fierce beasts, and the greater the possibility of encountering the legendary Condensing Spirit Realm beasts.
With his Foundation Establishment strength, he might still be able to fight a Void Pill Realm beast, but the moment he encountered a Solid Core Realm or Golden Core Realm beast, his only option would be to turn tail and run.
While searching for the place of fortune according to the tattered map, he hunted fierce beasts along the way to devour their souls.
Wanting to rapidly elevate his cultivation, devouring energy was the quickest method.
"A Level 1 Void Pill Realm beast, Moon-Stalking Heavenly Wolf."
With a pair of cold eyes locked dead onto him, Su Chen instantly recognized the beast's rank.
"You'll do."
Far from feeling the slightest trace of fear, he actually looked quite excited.
He took the initiative to strike.
Before he even reached it, his sword qi arrived first.
Back in his clan's martial pavilion, Su Chen had acquired a fragmentary sword technique that no one else practiced, called the Nine Tribulations Sword Technique.
Aside from being incomplete, this sword technique was extremely difficult to master, which was why it had gathered dust in the martial pavilion, completely ignored.
Yet Su Chen liked this sword technique very much, though he had only scratched its surface. With the reunion of his Blood Wheel, the birth of the Three Lives Blood Wheels, and the awakening of his Primal Chaos Body...
He was astonished to find that the Nine Tribulations Sword Technique he practiced was gradually being comprehended without a sound.
The Blood Wheel fused into the sword technique.
A tyrannical, murderous sword qi carrying faint sounds of rolling thunder instantly tore through the void and blasted fiercely toward the Moon-Stalking Heavenly Wolf.
Dense torrents of murderous sword qi surged forward like a tidal wave, sealing off all four directions: east, south, west, and north.
Looking up to the sky, the furious Moon-Stalking Heavenly Wolf seemed shocked that this human martial artist in the Foundation Establishment Realm dared to take the initiative—this was sheer provocation!
It met the attack head-on without the slightest dodge.
In the Moon-Stalking Heavenly Wolf's eyes, dignified Void Pill Realm creature that it was, while its opponent was merely in the Foundation Establishment Realm, a mere twitch of its wolf claws would be enough to easily crush the other party.
And the result?
Bang!
The instant its wolf claws collided with the sword qi, the Moon-Stalking Heavenly Wolf instantly sensed that something was terribly wrong. The sword qi, laden with thunder-like slaughter, relentlessly eroded its defenses and pierced straight through its wolf paws.
Accompanied by a miserable screech, the pitiful Moon-Stalking Heavenly Wolf hadn't even had time to process what was happening before dozens of sharp streaks of sword qi pierced clean through its body, sending it crashing to the ground.
Without a moment's delay, Su Chen immediately activated the Primal Chaos Swallowing Art, beginning to devour the soul power residing within the Moon-Stalking Heavenly Wolf's mind.
He didn't just hunt fierce beasts; even if he crossed paths with lone martial artists, Su Chen wouldn't hold back in the slightest.
Devour them directly.
He devoured continuously for the entire night.
In a secluded spot.
Su Chen sat cross-legged, circulating the Primal Chaos Swallowing Art within his body to rapidly refine the massive quantities of soul energy he had just devoured, madly funneling it into his Sword Blood Wheel.
Possessing the Three Lives Blood Wheels—namely the Slaughter Sword Blood Wheel, the Dragon-Elephant Blood Wheel, and the Swallowing Blood Wheel—he only needed to channel power into one of them. Su Chen chose the Slaughter Sword Blood Wheel, because the Slaughter Sword Blood Wheel was his foundation.
Beads of sweat covered his face as his hands moved in a blur, forming seals. The refined energy within his body poured endlessly into the Blood Wheel.
Such intense and rapid refinement and infusion would have felt troublesome even for Su Chen while operating the Primal Chaos Swallowing Art, but he gritted his teeth and pressed on.
The sky slowly began to brighten.
Having cultivated through the entire night, Su Chen finally stabilized his cultivation at the peak of Level 8 Foundation Establishment Realm. With just a little more push, he could assault the Level 9 Foundation Establishment Realm.
He skinned the Moon-Stalking Heavenly Wolf, washed the meat clean, lit a fire to roast it, and as rich aromas filled the air, Su Chen quickly ate his fill.
Fully fed and rested, he set off once more to hunt fierce beasts and devour their souls.
"Su Chen?"
"Weren't your Blood Wheels crippled? Why are you in the Forest of Heavenly Punishment?"
Dozens of people walked over, filled with curiosity. Among them, a somewhat plump girl with decent facial features asked in astonishment.
They were disciples of the Wang family of Panyou City, led by Wang Quan, who was at Level 6 Foundation Establishment Realm, entering the Forest of Heavenly Punishment for trial and training.
The entire Panyou City had already spread the news: Su Chen, the former number one genius of the Su clan, had his Blood Wheels crippled by Su Hao of the Su Clan, and his cultivation had plummeted to the Xiantian Realm. Having lost his Blood Wheel, Su Chen was practically a half-cripple, yet no one expected to run into him here in the Forest of Heavenly Punishment.
Wang Yuyin had once held a secret crush on Su Chen. Seeing him reduced to such a pathetic state, she felt a trace of pity in her heart, but her secret crush was long gone.
What good was being handsome?
In this world, power was everything. For a martial artist, the Blood Wheel was their foundation.
Choosing to ignore them completely, Su Chen, having finished his cultivation session, prepared to leave.
"So impolite. Serves him right for having his Blood Wheels crippled."
"Forget it. He's already pitiful enough; why kick a man when he's down?"
Thank goodness she hadn't pursued Su Chen back then; otherwise, she wouldn't even have a chance to regret it now.
"What is that sound?"
Squeak! Squeak!
"Those are Bloodthirsty Netherbats! Good heavens, why are there so many Bloodthirsty Netherbats?!"
Amidst a cry of absolute terror, giant bats suddenly emerged from all directions. Their bodies were completely crimson, and their cold eyes radiated a terrifying, heart-stopping chill. Waves of stench rolled in like an overwhelming ocean, so foul it made one want to vomit.
Bloodthirsty Netherbats were gregarious fierce beasts that loved to feed on both beasts and martial artists. Emitting a foul stench and highly poisonous, whenever one encountered a flock of these beasts, even a Golden Core Realm martial artist would find it difficult to escape alive.
The faces of the Wang family members were etched with fear and despair. Never had they imagined their luck would be so atrocious as to run into this terrifying pack of beasts.
"Everyone, form a circle back-to-back!"
Wang Quan's face was pale as death. The people he had brought out this time were all core elites of the family. If they perished here, it would be an irrecoverable loss for the clan.
He had to find a way to get these people out.
Save whoever they could.
"Charge out with me!"
Barely had they made contact when a Wang family disciple let out a miserable shriek. Isolated from the group, he was devoured by the swarming, overwhelming Bloodthirsty Netherbats, stripped instantly down to bare bones—even his blood was sucked completely dry, leaving behind only a pungent scent of blood that vanished into the surrounding stench.
"Kill!"
Watching their kin devoured before their eyes, Wang Yuyin and the others fought like madmen, driven by fear and swallowing their grief.
Su Chen's gaze was equally grim. He certainly hadn't expected to encounter such repulsive beasts here.
Dense clouds of Bloodthirsty Netherbats swarmed the surroundings, sealing off all avenues of escape. If they wanted to get out, they had to carve a bloody path through sheer force.
Blood-red mist shrouded the entire sky.
There was no dodging this; they had no choice but to meet it head-on.
Under the ferocious assault of the endless swarm of Bloodthirsty Netherbats, the Wang family members began to dwindle rapidly. One by one, they were devoured—no corpses left behind, no flesh remaining, consumed down to the very last scrap.
In less than two minutes, half of the Wang family was already gone.
***
Chapter 8: Eight-Part Heavenly Dragons, Desolate Ancient Altar
Countless Bloodthirsty Netherbats swarmed wildly toward Su Chen, tearing at him with bared fangs.
"So foul."
The stench was overpowering.
Su Chen's face was a mask of disgust. Watching the sea of Bloodthirsty Netherbats surging in from all directions, he condensed a Blood Wheel above his head, within which the phantom images of dragons and elephants galloped and roared.
"A Blood Wheel!"
Seeing Su Chen condense a Blood Wheel not far away, Wang Quan, Wang Yuyin, and the others were utterly dumbfounded. None of them could understand why Su Chen, whose Blood Wheels had supposedly been crippled, was able to manifest one again.
What kind of Blood Wheel was this?
Everyone in Panyou City knew that the Blood Wheel awakened by the Su clan was a sword, without exception for any core disciple, including Su Chen.
And now?
Looking at the Blood Wheel floating above Su Chen's head, they were nothing short of bewildered and shocked.
A dragon's roar shook the air, followed by an elephant's trumpet.
Nine illusory dragon shadows and nine illusory elephant shadows roared forth from the Blood Wheel. Executing the Nine Dragons and Nine Elephants Technique, Su Chen began to smash fiercely toward the surrounding horde.
Even when slaying the Bloodthirsty Netherbats, he absolutely refused to consume them.
These beasts were simply too foul; even Su Chen couldn't stomach it, forcing him to skip devouring them altogether.
The Dragon-Elephant Blood Wheel enveloped Su Chen in a protective barrier.
Boom, boom, boom!
The countless Bloodthirsty Netherbats slammed frantically against the Dragon-Elephant Blood Wheel. Under the relentless barrage of impacts, blood slowly began to seep from the corners of Su Chen's mouth.
His gaze grew increasingly grave. If this continued, it would likely spell serious trouble for him.
The Burial Tribulation Brush appeared in his hand.
This supreme treasure given to him by the Tower Spirit came with massive restrictions. Leaving aside the boundary limits, simply using the Burial Tribulation Brush consumed his soul power every single time.
In the Forest of Heavenly Punishment, if his soul power was depleted and he suffered heavy injuries, he would be in grave danger.
Gathering his soul power, he channeled it into the Burial Tribulation Brush.
He began slashing and drawing strokes through the empty air all around him.
Instantly!
Thunder roared, and a tyrannical, peerless tribulation lightning rapidly gathered under the tip of the Burial Tribulation Brush, forming an absolute, restricted Heavenly Tribulation within its radius that suppressed everything in sight.
Bang!
Bang!
The Bloodthirsty Netherbats that plunged into the range of the Burial Tribulation formed a zone of absolute death; their bodies burst apart instantly, turning into clouds of bloody mist. Even so, the Netherbats continued their frantic assaults, charging in from all directions like moths flying into a flame.
More and more Bloodthirsty Netherbats were slaughtered, their pooled blood forming flowing rivers.
"Over here!"
Seeing that Su Chen was capable of withstanding the attack of the Bloodthirsty Netherbats, the faces of Wang Quan, Wang Yuyin, and the others lit up with joy, and they immediately sprinted rapidly toward Su Chen's position.
The pools of blood gave off a pungent stench, and Su Chen could no longer bear the foul odor.
Break through!
Forcefully using the Burial Tribulation Brush continuously drained his soul power. Once his soul power was completely exhausted, he wouldn't even need the Netherbats to kill him—he'd perish from self-destruction.
aided by the Burial Tribulation Brush, Su Chen increased his speed, carving out a bloody path by sheer brute force.
"Su Chen, you can't just stand by and watch us die!"
"Brother Su, I beg you, take us with you!"
Watching Su Chen break out of the encirclement, Wang Yuyin and the others were completely stunned. Never in their wildest dreams had they expected that Su Chen would leave on his own, choosing to completely ignore them.
The pools of blood everywhere and the biting, bloody stench drove the expressions of Wang Yuyin and the others to the ultimate limit of ugliness. They weren't just afraid of dying; they were even more terrified of being devoured by the Bloodthirsty Netherbats and left without a corpse.
Ignored.
Watching his figure vanish entirely, despair was written across the faces of everyone left behind. Wang Yuyin even stood there in a daze for a split second before being swallowed up by the swarming, overwhelming horde of Bloodthirsty Netherbats.
After a full minute of slaughter, he finally broke out of the perimeter.
Without a moment's pause, feeling the waves of weakness washing over his mind, Su Chen moved out rapidly and vanished.
As for the life or death of the Wang family, it had nothing to do with him.
Play the good guy? That would only cost him his own life. He was no saint; saving irrelevant strangers was out of the question.
The tyranny of the Burial Tribulation Brush left Su Chen deeply shaken. The only problem was the massive drain on his soul power; if he encountered an ambush by other fierce beasts now, he would be in deep trouble.
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Su Chen shook his head helplessly. The sheer number of the Bloodthirsty Netherbats was staggering; if not for the Burial Tribulation Brush, carving his way out would have been nearly impossible.
Two days later.
Based on the markings of the tattered map, Su Chen had roughly locked onto the specific location. Gazing at the increasingly dense and towering ancient trees around him, he gripped the Burial Tribulation Brush, ready to face any crisis at a moment's notice.