Chapter 8: The Carnage Begins
Chaos quickly erupted within the bamboo village. These monsters, appearing from nowhere, killed everyone they saw. Strangely, they could extract a fluorescent blue energy from some of the villagers' bodies.
Not all villagers possessed this energy within them, but all those with strong combat power did. What was puzzling was that these villagers couldn't use this energy to fight.
Screams echoed incessantly through the bamboo village. The humanoid monsters soon dispersed. They seemed barely able to speak coherently, yet they coordinated with remarkable tacit understanding. Even more unexpected was that these monsters actually knew to scout the terrain first. The strange events in the bamboo village the previous night were caused by one of these monsters scouting the area.
At the rear of the bamboo village, in the clan leader's courtyard, the door to the inner house was pushed open. The clan leader, dressed in a long gray robe with a longsword hanging at his waist, stepped out of the room. Behind him followed Liu and Xiao Qingshi.
Liu carried no weapon, while Xiao Qingshi held a short knife suited to his stature. Though small, his presence was formidable.
The other children had left, but Qingshi could not. He was the clan leader's direct descendant, possessing higher potential and more Source Power in his blood, making him traceable.
"Shi, Grandfather cannot protect you. You can only rely on yourself. Feel the Qin within your body, let it seep into your blade."
The clan leader raised his hand, wanting to pat Qingshi's head, but his hand stopped mid-air. In the end, he could only lower it.
"Grandfather, I can protect myself. Please ensure Lady Liu's safety."
"You two..."
Liu had words to say, but at a time like this, anything said was superfluous.
"Worthy of being my grandson."
A hint of a smile appeared on the clan leader's stern face. But as that trace of smile faded, he gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist.
Clang~
The longsword was drawn, and a dark blue aura erupted.
A sound of something breaking through the air came, eventually crashing through the roof and landing inside the house on the right side of the small courtyard. The next moment, an explosion occurred, with cold ice and spatial fluctuations spreading. The crisp sound of clashing blades was incessant.
Seeing this, the corner of Liu's mouth twitched. Her inner thought was that the monster really knew how to choose a place to crash.
Bang! A monster with both arms severed, its head completely frozen, and the back of its neck torn open, crashed through the door. It tumbled into the courtyard and rolled several times before stopping.
Su Xiao walked out from the doorway, holding a longsword, with a few drops of blood still on his face.
"Did I attract these things?"
Su Xiao spoke as he walked forward. He could confirm that the clan leader had already sensed the Source he carried.
"No, that special Source of yours won't attract them. It's the Source in our blood that draws them here."
"Oh."
Su Xiao leaped onto the roof with the hole. He planned to find a more spacious place to fight. Once a melee started, he and the clan leader would definitely send blade auras flying everywhere, potentially injuring Amu and Baha by accident.
Seeing Su Xiao leap outside the small courtyard and quickly create distance, the clan leader prepared to use this small courtyard as the battlefield. His thoughts were the same as Su Xiao's. In a chaotic battle, having two Blade Grandmasters fighting enemies together was a nightmare for nearby allies, unless they held back.
Su Xiao leaped between houses. Soon, he spotted a monster devouring a villager's corpse.
The Apostle's Eye floated behind Su Xiao, beginning its scan.
[Due to overwhelming Intelligence Attribute advantage over the enemy, 100% of the enemy's data has been obtained.]
Name: Chi Hei (Male)
Category: Tianba Clan (Erosion Rate above 95%)
Health: 100%
Source Power (Qin): 5162/5900 points
Note: Source Power is divided into two major categories, Qin and Ni.
Note: Qin is melee type, Ni is ranged type.
Strength: 142 (True Attribute)
Agility: 145 (True Attribute)
Endurance: 148 (True Attribute)
Intelligence: 83
Charm: 12
Skill 1, Source Blood (Passive, LV.59): Health +9300 points, extremely tough physique.
Skill 2, Heavy Weapon Mastery (Basic Passive Ability, Lv.40): Originally Grandmaster Lv.3, due to mental confusion, technique-type ability has degraded to Master level.
Skill 3, Source Erosion (Passive, Lv.70): Gains moderate self-healing ability, immune to mental-type bewitchment, control, etc.
Skill 4, Qin (Exclusive Passive, Lv.40): After a melee attack hits an enemy, it deals an additional 370 points of damage ignoring physical defense, and creates a damage deepening effect, dealing percentage damage based on the enemy's maximum health, initially 5.5%.
Note: The damage deepening effect can stack up to three times, with the maximum effect being 16.5% of the enemy's maximum health per attack.
Skill 5, Source Spread (Unique Active, Lv.10): Can grow stronger by absorbing Source Energy from others' bodies.
...
Su Xiao encountered the Tianba Clan again. This template, where every individual was like a mini-boss, was truly impressive. Su Xiao vaguely remembered that Amu was severely injured by a few arrows from a Ni-attribute Tianba.
Back then, Amu had just undergone a power-up, increasing his health by over 40,000 points. He was in a "come and fight me" mindset, only to be taught a lesson by a Ni-attribute Tianba. The Tianba jumped up, fired three arrows to stack the damage-deepening 'Ni', then fired two more arrows upon landing, and another while rolling. The arrow-firing speed was absurdly fast.
And the Tianba Clan in this world were clearly stronger. The Tianba in front of him had been completely eroded by Source Power, losing his sanity. If he were in a normal state, his technique-type ability would be at Grandmaster Lv.3. For technique-type abilities, Master level and Grandmaster level were two completely different worlds.
Inside the small courtyard enclosed by low walls, Tianba Chi Hei was lowering his head, gnawing. The Source Power in the villagers' blood attracted him, further clouding his mind.
Suddenly, Chi Hei stopped chewing. His skin, a translucent blue, turned to look in Su Xiao's direction. The moment he saw Su Xiao, Chi Hei leaped up, first creating distance. Instinct made him lower his center of gravity, holding the spiked iron rod behind him, its tip piercing the ground.
Chi Hei dared not move. The instincts honed in battle told him to flee, that he was absolutely no match for the person before him. If he didn't leave, his head would be cut off.
Using the last shred of his rationality, Chi Hei suppressed the urge to flee. He had once been a Tianba. Even if he had become a monster, he still had his honor and responsibility. A Tianba does not retreat.
Chi Hei's three-meter-tall body curled up, gripping the spiked rod in a very strange posture with both hands.
"Ee... ha!"
Chi Hei let out a strange, sharp cry, calling for reinforcements from his companions.
The spiked rod plowed through the dirt, gathering numerous diamond-shaped rocks that rapidly spread forward in an impact formation. These rocks were pitch black with extremely sharp edges.
Crack, crack, crack~
The diamond-shaped rocks instantly filled the entire small courtyard, seemingly about to explode into sharp fragments flying everywhere.
Clang, clang.
The longsword slashed rapidly, blade auras crisscrossing. Su Xiao shattered large swaths of diamond-shaped rocks as he charged towards Chi Hei.
Seeing this, Chi Hei raised his spiked rod high, slammed it into the ground, and swung it in an arc, sending diamond-shaped rocks spreading towards Su Xiao.
The longsword shattered large swaths of diamond-shaped rocks. Su Xiao didn't stop for a single step, using the blade auras to clear a path. In a few strides, he was in front of Chi Hei, fragments of black rock flying everywhere.
Boom~
A ring-shaped shockwave emanated from Chi Hei. Anything touched by this ring-shaped shockwave was immediately covered in black rock.
Chi Hei's eyes darted left and right, his perception fully extended. The enemy had disappeared before him. The next moment, a sense of crisis struck from behind.
Chi Hei crouched low, sweeping his right foot to spin the spiked rod behind him. At the same time, his back became covered in black rock as he slammed backward. No matter what, he had once been a Grandmaster of heavy weapons. Some things never disappeared.
Pfft.
The longsword pierced through Chi Hei's neck. A surge of energy invaded his body, numbing him.
Chi Hei's eyes brightened slightly. At the moment of death, the influence of Source Power on him vanished.
Su Xiao released the sword hilt, changing his grip to a push. The longsword spun, severing Chi Hei's entire head.
[Tip: You have killed a high-erosion Tianba Clan member. You receive Soul Coins ×10.]
[You receive Ba's Soul ×1.]
[If you have not yet arrived at Source Divine Land, Ba's Soul can be taken out of this world and used to enhance equipment.]
[Tip: Only equipment of Epic rank or above can withstand enhancement by Ba's Soul, and the enhancement level is capped at +8. The number of Ba's Souls required increases with each enhancement level. After reaching +8, this equipment will be converted to 'Source Attribute' equipment.]
[If you successfully arrive at Source Divine Land and possess Ba's Soul, you can exchange it for rare items from the blind old man within Source Divine Land.]