Chapter 25: Creatures Not to Be Messed With
Ten minutes after the fire broke out at Ryuudou Temple, the flames were brought under control thanks to the efforts of several hundred resentful servants, but they could not be extinguished.
When the resentful servant leader led his men to the passage between the Great King Hall and the Dharma Hall, what greeted them were over a dozen corpses.
These corpses were far from intact, scattered throughout the three-meter-wide corridor, with a thick, bloody stench assailing their noses.
"Chase them down. Do not let the intruder reach the main offering hall."
The resentful servant leader’s face darkened as he led his men charging into the Dharma Hall.
The Dharma Hall was located in the middle of Ryuudou Temple. It wasn’t large in area, but it had many rooms—some used for meditation, others for living quarters.
At this moment, deep within the Dharma Hall, in front of a large door leading to the main offering hall.
Several dozen resentful servants stood guard here. Even the fire at Ryuudou Temple didn’t move them; they simply stayed put.
On the roof of a nearby building, Su Xiao crouched on the glazed tiles. He had fought his way from the Great King Hall all the way here, killing at least several dozen resentful servants along the way.
After some time to adapt, Su Xiao had grown accustomed to the changes in his blade technique.
If this had been before, he would have had no way to deal with several dozen resentful servants. But now, it was different. If he forced his way through, these resentful servants couldn’t stop him.
The reason Su Xiao hadn’t moved yet was because among those several dozen resentful servants, there was an animal.
Resentful creatures weren’t limited to humans; they included various animals too. However, aside from rats, animal-type resentful creatures were extremely rare.
This animal was about the size of a leopard, with most of its fur black, while the fur on its head and back was white.
Seeing this creature, Su Xiao felt a vague sense of familiarity but couldn’t place it at first. After thinking back for a while, he finally remembered what it was.
This was a honey badger that had been transformed into a resentful creature. He had no idea where these resentful servants had gotten a honey badger.
Honey badgers are carnivorous animals, not large in size, and they love eating bees. Sometimes they snack on venomous snakes, eating cobras as easily as spicy sticks. These creatures have fiery tempers and fear nothing in the natural world. Their lives are spent either fighting or on the way to a fight. Because of the distinctive white fur on their heads, they’re nicknamed "Brother Flathead."
After being transformed into a resentful creature, this honey badger had noticeably grown in size. In its original form, Brother Flathead would already go head-to-head with lions and leopards. Now that it was bigger, its combat power must have increased dramatically.
Su Xiao once saw a news report about a Brother Flathead that lived next door to a lion, separated by an iron fence. Because the lion provoked it, Brother Flathead dug a tunnel all night, crossed under the fence, and successfully fought the lion. What’s more, Brother Flathead actually won. The lion ended up hospitalized after being bitten hard on the face. This was a real news story, not something made up by a reporter.
Su Xiao looked at the Brother Flathead not far away. There were still traces of blood on its fur.
Just as Su Xiao was considering how to enter the main offering hall, hurried footsteps came from nearby. It was the resentful servant leader arriving with his men.
The resentful servant leader scanned the surroundings. After confirming nothing was unusual, he breathed a sigh of relief. But when he saw the Brother Flathead nearby, his face twisted. This thing was utterly ruthless. Right after being transformed into a resentful creature, it had bitten him on the leg and hung on for five whole days—five days without eating or drinking, just clamping down. At that time, Brother Flathead was in its newborn phase and far weaker than now.
"Sharp Tooth, any anomalies here?"
The resentful servant leader spoke. At the door to the main offering hall, the Brother Flathead, which had been resting, opened its eyes.
Brother Flathead shook its head. From its gaze, it was clearly now a sentient being.
"Ha!"
Brother Flathead bared its full set of sharp teeth and let out a unique roar.
"I know this is your territory, but there’s an intruder now. We can’t let him enter..."
Before the resentful servant leader could finish, the Brother Flathead, which had been lying on the ground, stood up and charged headlong at him.
"Hey, you..."
Before the resentful servant leader could say another word, Brother Flathead’s four claws dug into the ground, and it leaped, pouncing at him like a tiger.
Seeing the ferocious Brother Flathead charging, the resentful servant leader felt a wave of regret. Why had he transformed this thing into a resentful creature? It was too aggressive.
Left with no choice, the resentful servant leader could only quickly retreat. He was fast, taking several steps back to a safe distance.
Would Brother Flathead give up so easily? Of course not. After being transformed into a resentful creature, all its physical abilities had been greatly enhanced. Brother Flathead already had unmatched courage, and now it had a powerful body to match.
Bang. Crash...
After a series of loud noises, Brother Flathead emerged from a dilapidated building, its mouth dripping with blood. Though it was battered and bruised, it had a large chunk of flesh dangling from its jaws.
This scene caught Su Xiao’s eye. Without a doubt, this was an opportunity—one he had been waiting for.
Su Xiao silently leaped down from the roof. The moment he landed, he used Shave to dash toward the door leading to the main offering hall.
Though several dozen resentful servants stood before the door, he had to break through now. Whether such a good chance would come again was unknown.
"He’s the intruder! Kill him!"
The resentful servant leader, with a chunk of flesh bitten from his leg, roared. But Su Xiao had already used Shave to reach the door.
Su Xiao slowed his breathing. He knew he only had one chance. If he couldn’t get through instantly, he would face a siege from over a hundred resentful servants.
Even with his drastically improved blade speed, facing a siege of over a hundred resentful servants plus the resentful servant leader and Brother Flathead, his chances of breaking out were slim.
Right now, only a dozen or so resentful servants stood in Su Xiao’s way. These resentful servants clenched their teeth, their pale exoskeletons wrapping around their arms and forming various weapons.
Su Xiao quickly assessed the situation. Based on the speed of the resentful servant leader and Brother Flathead, he had about four seconds to break through.
He quickly sheathed Dragon-Slaying Flash and assumed a drawing stance.
Ring Break.
Zheng!
A ring of pale blue blade aura spread outward. The moment he unleashed Ring Break, Su Xiao slashed over a dozen times toward the door, each strike sending out blade aura.
Ring Break expanded around him, and the blade aura followed its trajectory toward the door.
Ignoring the resentful servant leader and Brother Flathead charging from behind, Su Xiao surged forward, following the blade aura.
Ring Break made contact with the enemies nearby first. Though the resentful servants’ exoskeletons were extremely tough, Ring Break’s slashes were no joke.
In an instant, the resentful servants near the door were cleaved in two. The following blade aura then chopped them into a rain of minced flesh.
With a crack, the door to the main offering hall was shattered by the blade aura, and Su Xiao charged straight through.
Once inside the main offering hall area, Su Xiao planned to shake off the pursuers and then search for the Soul Lamp within.
The moment Su Xiao stepped into the main offering hall, his heartbeat inexplicably faltered, as if he had entered an extremely ominous place.
Seeing Su Xiao enter the main offering hall area, the resentful servant leader’s eyes nearly burst with fury. The main offering hall was their forbidden zone.
The resentful servant leader stopped in his tracks. A bone spear grew from his palm, about two meters long.
He gripped the bone spear tightly, his muscles bulging, his entire body arching like a fully drawn bow. He swung his arm and hurled the bone spear with all his might. The moment it left his hand, the muscles in his right arm rapidly withered.