Chapter 3: Poking a Hole in the Sky
After three cracks appeared on the black circular platform, the entire mysterious magic array began to flicker with light, and the rumbling sound, as if encouraged, grew even louder and faster—
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" …
Like thunderclaps, the sounds rang out fiercely and rapidly. Then, with a loud "Bang!", the entire black circular platform shattered into pieces, and the mysterious magic array that had used it as a carrier was naturally destroyed. Visible spatial ripples spread outward in all directions from the center of the explosion.
******
In the Misty Valley, a group of dragons were still puzzled by the humanoid monster from earlier when they suddenly felt the earth tremble. All the dragons sensed a pang of fear and immediately spread their leathery wings to take flight. In just an instant—
"Bang!"
The area for several miles around suddenly exploded, and the small hill that had blocked the underground passage was directly shattered into dust.
"Roar~~~" A low, deep roar came from underground.
At the spot where the black circular platform had been, the space itself tore like a piece of white paper, revealing a large rift. A handsome, eerie young man in a dark gold robe, hunched over to protect three little kittens in his arms, quickly rushed out from this large rift.
At this moment, the young man looked somewhat disheveled, with traces of blood on his face.
"Whoosh!"
The rift disappeared, but the space at that spot became unstable, with various chaotic energies occasionally spreading out.
"I… finally escaped." The young man looked at the unstable spatial point behind him, his face filled with ecstasy.
"Haha… after so many years, I’ve finally escaped that damned place." On the young man’s forehead, there was a vertical scar shaped like a knife mark. Suddenly, this scar split open, revealing a golden eye.
This golden eye scanned the heavens and earth.
"This place… is actually the Yulan Continent." The eerie young man laughed in delight. "This is wonderful."
"Father, I’m hungry." One of the little kittens in the young man’s arms spoke.
"I’m hungry too."
The other two little kittens also chimed in.
Talking cats?
Could they be Saint-level magical beasts?
"Alright, haha, there are over a hundred little dragons up there. You can have a good meal." The eerie young man laughed heartily.
"Oh!"
The three little kittens cheered excitedly. They turned into three streaks of lightning, darting up from underground and flying straight into the sky. As they flew, their bodies grew larger and larger… The eerie young man smiled and took a single step, appearing in midair above the Misty Valley.
******
Inside the Misty Valley, over a hundred dragons were circling restlessly, completely unaware of why the underground had exploded.
"What is that?"
Three massive, strange figures appeared in the midair of the Misty Valley. Each of these monsters was about thirty meters tall and nearly a hundred meters long, like a lion magnified dozens of times. But they weren’t lions, because these three monsters all had enormous wings and six eyes.
Six eyes, with wings, and bodies as massive as the legendary Behemoth beasts.
Yet even the Behemoth beasts weren’t as terrifying as these three monsters.
"Roar~~" The three monsters opened their gaping maws and roared. Each monster’s mouth became like a vortex, unleashing a terrifying suction force directly onto every dragon.
The over a hundred dragons panicked and tried to flee, but the suction was too powerful. The strangest thing was that this suction only affected the dragons, while the boulders on the ground remained completely unaffected.
"Roar~~" The over a hundred dragons roared in anger and terror, but they were helplessly drawn in by the horrifying suction. One massive dragon was pulled into the gaping maw of a six-eyed monster.
What terrified the dragons the most was…
These monsters’ stomachs seemed bottomless. Although the dragons were slightly smaller than the monsters, they should have been enough to fill them. Yet after one dragon was sucked in, the monster continued to devour.
One, then another…
The suction from the three monsters’ gaping maws was too terrifying. The eighth-level dragons had no power to resist. One by one, the dragons were sucked into the bellies of the three giant monsters. In just a short while, over a hundred dragons were completely devoured.
"What a satisfying meal." One of the monsters laughed heartily. "I haven’t had a good meal in so many years."
"I thought I was going to die in that damned place and never get out. It’s a pity about Fourth and Fifth." Another monster sighed softly.
The three monsters fell silent.
Thinking back to those thousands of years in that damned place, they shuddered. No future. No hope. The constant threat of death. If it weren’t for their father, the three of them would have been killed long ago. But even with their father, the weaker Fourth and Fifth had died.
"Father is here."
The three monsters saw the eerie young man standing in midair nearby and immediately shrank their bodies, eventually becoming the size of ordinary lions. But their fur was colorful and beautiful, and their wings were far more elegant than the dragons’ leathery ones.
Only their six eyes were somewhat startling.
"Father." The three monsters happily flew over to the eerie young man. By now, there was no trace of blood on him, and his dark gold robe was spotless. A faint smile played on his lips.
"Enjoyed your meal, didn’t you?" The eerie young man said cheerfully. "Oh, there are still two eighth-level magical beasts here."
He looked toward the western part of the Misty Valley, and a stream of four-colored energy shot out rapidly. In no time, two massive Velociraptors were bound by the four-colored energy and dragged through the air.
The two Velociraptors seemed to sense their impending doom and whimpered softly, begging for mercy.
They were Velociraptors, living in the same eighth-level magical beast region as the Fire Dragons and Green Dragons. But due to their species differences and being ground-dwelling reptiles, this pair of Velociraptors kept far away from the Fire Dragons and Green Dragons.
Earlier, the three monsters had been too busy devouring the dragons to notice the distant Velociraptors.
—
"So many dragons were eaten just like that." The two Velociraptors trembled inwardly.
The opponent’s strength was too great. Those three monsters, now reduced to the size of ordinary animals, could even speak.
"You wanted to escape?" The eerie young man smiled at the two Velociraptors.
Although the Velociraptors were much larger, and the young man was just a tiny figure compared to them, the two Velociraptors were terrified. They quickly lowered their heads and kept roaring softly in the dragon language: "Lord, we wouldn’t dare. We wouldn’t dare."
The eerie young man seemed to understand the dragon language and nodded with a smile: "Good. I’ve just arrived on this plane, and I’m in a good mood, so I won’t kill you. You… submit to me."
The restraints on the two Velociraptors disappeared, and they fell heavily from the air, crashing onto the ground. They exchanged glances and immediately lay down in the most respectful posture, burying their heads low to show submission.
Dragons were proud, but they would submit before a supreme powerhouse.
Facing this eerie young man, the two Velociraptors knew that a single finger from him would be enough to kill them.
"The Yulan Continent." The eerie young man looked around, his face full of smiles. "What a beautiful place. I believe this time, I won’t be as unlucky as I was over five thousand years ago."
******
In the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
Linley, now back in his human form, was wearing only pants and a shirt. It was early February, and the temperature was still very low, but Linley was carefully examining the purple soft sword in his hand.
At this moment, Linley had no idea what a huge disaster he had caused by pulling out this purple longsword.
Ignorance is bliss.
And though Delin Ke Wote had some suspicions, he figured that even if a disaster occurred, it wouldn’t have much to do with Linley. If the sky fell, the supreme powerhouses of the Yulan Continent would hold it up. What was there to fear?
Not taking a treasure when you saw one would be foolish.
"Grandpa Delin, what do these two characters mean?" Linley asked Delin Ke Wote.
On the hilt of this purple soft sword were two square characters with many strokes.
"Oh." Delin Ke Wote’s eyes lit up when he saw them. "This script is the common language of the Infernal Realm. I learned it not long after reaching the Saint-level. These two characters should be ‘Zi’ and ‘Xue’."
"Zi Xue?" Linley murmured. "Could this soft sword be named Zi Xue?"
Linley carefully examined the Zi Xue soft sword in his hand. It was as thin as a cicada’s wing, and because of that, despite its special material, it was very light—only about five jin. A five-jin soft sword was no burden for Linley.
He infused his Dragonblood battle qi into it, and the Zi Xue soft sword immediately straightened.
With a wave of his hand—
"Swish!" The Zi Xue, as thin as a cicada’s wing, effortlessly sliced through a large tree that would take two or three people to encircle. The tree didn’t even move. But Linley knew that the tree had been completely cut in half by the Zi Xue.
It was just that the Zi Xue was so fast and sharp that the tree didn’t budge.
Linley suddenly stomped on the ground, leaped into the air, and then kicked the thick trunk. The tree began to tilt, breaking several branches before crashing heavily to the ground.
Linley looked at the cut made by the Zi Xue. "So smooth." There wasn’t a single rough spot on the cross-section.
"This sword is amazing." Bebe, who was eating a wild chicken, stared wide-eyed at the cut.
Linley chuckled and then looked at the Zi Xue soft sword in his hand, thinking to himself: "With this light, sharp weapon, even if I face thousands of enemies, I won’t be afraid." He immediately began to swing the soft sword.
His entire body moved nimbly through the forest, the Zi Xue in his hand slicing effortlessly.
Sharp! Fast!
As thin as a cicada’s wing, the Zi Xue faced almost no air resistance when swung, reaching an astonishing speed. Its lightness also allowed Linley to convert more of his strength into speed.
"Linley, although this Zi Xue soft sword is sharp, its sharpness isn’t that extraordinary." Delin Ke Wote’s insight was far greater than Linley’s, and he immediately saw the true advantages of the Zi Xue.
Linley looked at Delin Ke Wote in confusion.
Delin Ke Wote smiled and said, "This Zi Xue soft sword can cut through ordinary trees and mundane objects without issue, but against a master—like a seventh-level warrior’s qi-infused shield—it might not cut through so easily."
Linley was taken aback.
"The true value of this Zi Xue soft sword lies in two points. First, it can be both soft and hard, catching enemies off guard in battle. Second, its toughness! Ordinary weapons might shatter under too much qi or force, but this treasure, which could be called a divine artifact, won’t." Delin Ke Wote explained.
Linley nodded slightly.
Excessive hardness and sharpness might make the material brittle and unable to withstand force. The Zi Xue soft sword wasn’t exceptionally sharp. Its true strengths were its ability to be both soft and hard, its incredible speed, and its inherent toughness.
"Speed? Soft sword?"
Linley’s mind suddenly stirred. Instead of infusing Dragonblood battle qi into the Zi Xue, he infused wind-element magic power.
He then began to swing the Zi Xue soft sword again. With wind magic power infused, the already terrifyingly fast Zi Xue became even faster. Its trajectory became erratic and unpredictable, and the sword itself alternated between straight and curved, making it impossible to anticipate.
Linley instantly understood.
"For me, this is probably the best way to use the Zi Xue soft sword!"