The dead-silent Fumu City was gradually growing lively.
Every day, Xie Litang did nothing but farm monsters. As the Five Immortals demon beasts multiplied, her daily Gold earnings surged to three or four hundred.
She glanced at her little savings.
[Gold: 1,475.]
"At this rate..."
"In a week at most, I'll be able to buy my second item, Overlord's Bloodmail."
On the rooftop of the Fumu City Trade Building.
Xie Litang wore a VR helmet. As long as a cultivation technique chip was installed, she could comprehend it through brain-computer technology.
A faint mist of blood enveloped her body.
Gradually, that layer of blood mist began to burn like fire, using Vitality to stimulate the acupoints across her body.
It enhanced Xie Litang's physical body, making her nervous system especially active.
"Blood Escape Technique, mastered."
Xie Litang took off the helmet and spoke excitedly.
She had originally thought that a technique as complex as advanced calculus would take her at least six months to reach Beginner level. If she couldn't wait that long, she could also spend two thousand Gold to instantly master the Beginner stage.
But in reality, she had vastly underestimated her huge advantage in Vitality.
When others practiced the Blood Escape Technique, they had to be extremely cautious lest a single moment of inattention burn through all their Vitality.
But she was an absolute health tank.
She could trial and error to her heart's content.
In less than half a month, she had reached the Beginner level on her own.
[Ding.]
[Blood Escape Technique detected at Beginner level. Would you like to record it?]
Xie Litang said without hesitation, "Yes."
Others used the Blood Escape Technique to escape for their lives, but Xie Litang intended to use it as a passive toggle.
With her current Vitality of over three million, even if she burned one thousand Vitality per second for one hundred speed, she could maintain it for nearly an hour.
Moreover, in Xie Litang's eyes, the Blood Escape Technique was basically an alternative version of Highlander, Wuju Master's ultimate ability.
Combined with her Sweeping Blade skill—which had zero cooldown—these two skills were an absolute match made in heaven.
Just imagine Yasuo pressing the Wuju Master's ultimate—the picture was simply glorious.
Just as she was theorycrafting her skill combinations...
Shh-shh.
"Sis, are you there?"
Chen Linling's voice came through the earpiece.
"I'm here. What's up?"
"Seventeen demon beasts have been recorded today. In addition, drones spotted a human team approaching Fumu City. They were probably drawn here by the commotion."
"Is it a demon beast hunter squad?"
"Yes. Should I find a way to get rid of them?"
"No need. Let them in, then lure some demon beasts over. I'll find a way to spread fake news that a beast horde is approaching. Otherwise, humans are the type of creatures who only learn through fear."
"Got it. The demon beast lures have been deployed. The first wave of demon beasts is expected to meet the hunter squad in five minutes. If you head out in three minutes, Sis, you'll be just in time to save their lives. The turbofan hoverboard is currently assisting in hauling cargo; do you need me to recall it for you?"
Xie Litang waved her hand and said, "No need."
She took a deep breath.
Xie Litang shouted softly, "Blood Escape Technique, activate!"
A burst of blood-red aura surged from her body, giving her a somewhat demonic appearance. She then stepped back to the edge of the rooftop.
Boom!
Xie Litang pushed off with her feet, her body launching forward like a cannonball.
Approaching the edge of the roof, she leaped high into the air, flying across the gap from the City Trade Building toward another skyscraper.
As she reached the apex of her arc, her body began to plunge downward. Xie Litang drew her sword and unleashed a wave of Wind-Style Sword Qi, blasting a hole straight through the wall of the opposite building.
After diving inside...
...she immediately sprinted toward the next building.
Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A red flame punched straight through building after building.
Following the coordinates provided by Chen Linling, Xie Litang arrived in under five minutes.
Sounds of fierce combat echoed from below.
The demon beast hunter squad was clearly lacking in strength.
After all, anyone with real skill had long been poached and recruited by various merchant guilds or noble families.
With an average rank below Five-Star, these weaklings were currently being toyed with by a dozen demon beasts.
"I want that woman to play with."
"Then I'll take that big guy. More meat."
"Why talk so much trash? Kill these humans first. I just want a leg."
"Kill!"
Back to back, the remaining hunters wore expressions of despair. They had originally come to try their luck after hearing that demon beasts were gathering here.
Never expecting that they would end up as sheep walking straight into a tiger's den.
"Are we going to die?"
A woman who looked barely in her early twenties asked in a trembling voice.
No one answered her, for there was no hope.
Several demon beasts launched a fierce assault, taking down two members of the team in a matter of seconds.
"Four."
"Three."
Only when their numbers dropped to three...
...did Xie Litang finally make her move. She leaped onto a crooked, leaning skyscraper, sank low into her stance, and slid downward.
Chhh—
Sparks flew from the soles of her Crane Whisper Battle Armor, the commotion drawing the attention of everyone below.
Several demon beasts looked up, their violent aura exploding. "Well, well! We couldn't find you, but you went and popped out yourself! Today, I'm going to rip out your guts and eat them right in front of you while you're still alive!"
"I want her brain!"
"Her heart and liver are mine!"
Gradually, however, they realized something was off.
What had started as merely sparks flying from the soles of her Crane Whisper Battle Armor quickly turned into blood-red flames erupting around the girl, along with a terrifyingly malevolent pressure surging over them.
Most of them had tracked her down using blood curses, but none had anticipated that Xie Litang carried so many blood curses on her person.
Just how many had she killed?
Bang!
The girl on the crooked skyscraper vanished—or rather, a lone residual afterimage flashed by, and then one of the demon beasts among them exploded into a mangled mess across the ground.
Bang!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Wherever Xie Litang's ghostly red aura passed, the demon beasts exploded.
Hiss—
A giant serpent, thicker than a concrete drainage pipe, shrieked piercingly.
An ominous glow flashed across its scales as Xie Litang brought her sword slashing down onto it.
Clang!
It actually survived a one-hit kill!
Yet the snake's scales cracked into spiderweb fissures. It screeched, "Damn it! How are you so strong?! Run... I must run!"
The giant snake's first instinct was to flee.
Instinct warned it that staying meant absolute death.
Xie Litang crouched slightly and sneered, "Can you escape? Sweeping Blade!"
One strike, two strikes... all the way until the seventh strike descended. Empowered by the movement speed boost from her Blood Escape Technique and paired with the zero-cooldown Sweeping Blade, she dashed back and forth through the giant snake seven times in a single second, making it look as though attacks were landing simultaneously from entirely different directions.
Xie Litang skidded onto the dust-covered Old Era street, leaving a long drag mark under her feet before finally bleeding off her momentum and coming to a stop.
She then twirled her blade in a flourish...
...and sheathed her sword.
Boom!
The giant serpent's massive body collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Rate on N.U.
