Chapter 21: Resentful Monk
Su Xiao was currently with his back to the young monk. The young monk extended his tongue, licking the blood that dripped onto his lips. After seeing the blood, a red light flickered in the center of his pupils.
Without any visible movement, the young monk vanished from his spot, charging at Su Xiao like a cannonball shot from a barrel—extremely fast yet utterly silent.
With a *pfft*, five sharp claws sprouted from the young monk’s fingertips, like an eagle’s talons.
These five claws gleamed with a metallic sheen, aiming straight for the back of Su Xiao’s head. If Su Xiao were hit by these claws, counterattacking would become difficult.
The claws struck silently, and the young monk’s lips curled into a grin. He seemed to already envision the scene of him ripping out his enemy’s spine alive.
Su Xiao slightly tilted his head, and the Dragon-Slaying Flash appeared in his hand. An energy shield with 50 points of intensity materialized behind him.
*Crack!*
The five claws pierced straight through the energy shield. Although the shield was breached, it didn’t shatter.
Realizing his attack had failed, the young monk immediately sensed something was wrong. His thought of devouring this human’s flesh alone vanished, and he quickly tried to shout.
The energy shield disappeared, and a flash of blade light appeared. Su Xiao spun around and delivered a slash.
The young monk immediately met the Dragon-Slaying Flash with his claws, surprisingly able to keep up with Su Xiao’s speed.
The blade edge struck the first claw, severing it instantly, followed by the second, then the third.
*Ding.*
Three claws were sent flying. The young monk’s eyes widened in pain.
“Inva—”
Before he could shout the word “invader,” Su Xiao spun and threw a punch. This punch was heavy and powerful, whistling through the air as it smashed toward the young monk’s chin.
Su Xiao’s knuckles, wrapped in a metal bracer, slammed into the young monk’s chin. With the force driving through, the young monk’s chin began to dislocate gradually.
If viewed under an X-ray, it would show the teeth on the right side of the young monk’s lower jaw falling out first, followed by the entire jawbone shifting to the left.
*Bam!*
The young monk’s eyes rolled back from Su Xiao’s punch, his eyeballs spinning wildly in their sockets—a reaction no normal human would exhibit.
With a *thud*, the young monk fell several meters away, his chin now offset at a 90-degree angle from his skull. Due to the external force hitting his teeth, his tongue was cut and bleeding profusely.
“Ugh… ugh…”
The young monk let out a few unintelligible growls. Realizing he couldn’t speak, he grabbed his chin and tried to force it back into place.
*Crack, crack…*
After several attempts, blood gushed from his mouth, but his chin still hung limply.
Taking advantage of this moment, Su Xiao used the Apostle’s Eye to scan the young monk’s information.
[Comparing intelligence attributes… Comparison complete. Our intelligence is twice the enemy’s. Obtained 100% of enemy data.]
Data as follows:
Name: Resentful Monk (Life Assimilation Degree: 30%)
Category: Humanoid Creature (Intelligent Being)
Health: 94%
Mana: —
Strength: 40
Agility: 42
Endurance: 55
Intelligence: 30
Charm: 3
Skill 1: Evil Faith (Passive: Health +200, Willpower +5.)
Skill 2: Bone Projection (Passive: Can partially project bones externally. Defense +8.)
Skill 3: Life Assimilation (Active: Can increase ‘Life Assimilation Degree’ and restore health by devouring biological flesh. When ‘Life Assimilation Degree’ reaches 100%, the Resentful Monk will evolve.)
From the data, it was clear that this thing wasn’t a monk but a humanoid creature called a Resentful Monk.
Judging by the attributes, this creature was no pushover. More importantly, it could evolve.
Furthermore, if this thing were just a minor boss in Ryuudou Temple, that would be one thing. But from the data, it lacked any prefix like “leader,” meaning it was likely just a “common mob” in Ryuudou Temple.
Realizing this, Su Xiao’s eye twitched. He had already anticipated that entering Ryuudou Temple wouldn’t be easy, but this was absurd. This “common mob” would be a minor boss in any other second-rank derivative world.
After fiddling with his broken chin for a while, the Resentful Monk gave up trying to force it back and slowly stood up.
With a *pfft*, pale white bones burst through the flesh of the Resentful Monk’s arms.
*Crack, crack, crack…*
Moments later, the Resentful Monk’s arms were encased in pale white bones, with sharp claws forming at the hands.
“Ugh…”
The Resentful Monk let out an unintelligible growl from its throat. Seeming annoyed by its dangling chin and tongue, it grabbed them with its claws and yanked hard.
*Pfft.*
Blood sprayed as the Resentful Monk tore off its own chin and tongue. But it didn’t stop there—it stuffed them into its throat and swallowed with a *gulp*.
An astonishing thing happened: the Resentful Monk’s lost health rapidly recovered. Within seconds, its health returned to 98%.
“This…”
Su Xiao had seen ghouls restore health by eating human flesh and homunculi restore health by consuming Philosopher’s Stones, but he had never seen anyone restore health by eating their own flesh and blood.
Though the world was full of wonders, this scene was too grotesque and horrifying.
Su Xiao looked toward Ryuudou Temple. He was still a fair distance from the main gate, so the temple entrance was eerily quiet.
If Su Xiao’s guess was correct, after infiltrating Ryuudou Temple, there would likely be many more of these Resentful Monks, along with even stronger enemies. So testing this one’s strength now wasn’t a bad idea.
Su Xiao held the Dragon-Slaying Flash horizontally in front of him, his eyes narrowing.
*Whoosh.*
Su Xiao vanished from his spot, reappearing directly in front of the Resentful Monk.
He stopped about a meter away from the Resentful Monk and slashed sideways with his longsword.
The Resentful Monk was no pushover either. It blocked Su Xiao’s slash with one hand while reaching for Su Xiao’s chest with the other, aiming straight for the heart.
The blade of the Dragon-Slaying Flash met the Resentful Monk’s bone-armored arm. The gleaming edge cut through the outer bone layer like paper.
The longsword’s momentum didn’t stop. After breaking through the outer bone, the Resentful Monk’s muscles and inner bones were no match for the Dragon-Slaying Flash.
*Swoosh.*
A bone-armored arm flew into the air. At the same time, Su Xiao sidestepped to dodge the Resentful Monk’s claw.
The slash ended, and Su Xiao passed by the Resentful Monk. He lightly flicked the Dragon-Slaying Flash, sending the blood on the blade splattering onto the wild grass.
The Resentful Monk behind Su Xiao stood frozen, one arm severed, the other still extended in a grasping pose.
A line of blood gradually stained the Resentful Monk’s gray robe. The blood mark slanted across its entire torso, stretching from one shoulder to the opposite waist. The upper half of its body began to slide sideways.
With a *thud*, the Resentful Monk’s upper half fell to the ground. Two seconds later, its lower half also collapsed.
Cut in two, clean and decisive. That was the sharpness of the Dragon-Slaying Flash now. From start to finish, the Resentful Monk hadn’t even touched Su Xiao’s clothes.
Though he had killed the Resentful Monk in one slash, Su Xiao’s expression wasn’t great. The Resentful Monk’s abilities were no joke. If a dozen of them appeared at once, Su Xiao could handle it. Several dozen, and he could fight his way out. But if there were over a hundred, the outcome was uncertain.
[You have killed a Resentful Monk.]
[The Resentful Monk is a common creature in Ryuudou Temple. Obtained World Source 0.2%. Since Ryuudou Temple is a hidden area in this derivative world, the reward is doubled. Obtained World Source 0.4%. Total World Source obtained: 16.1%.]
[Your talent ‘Soul Devourer’ has been activated. Permanently increased Mana by 10 points. Current Mana: 2158 points.]
[You have obtained 10 Holy Church Merits. These merits can be exchanged for rewards at the old priest of the ‘Kirei Church’.]