Chapter 78: Breakthrough to Level Seven
With the sunlight and shade interlacing at his feet, a fleeting purple shadow cut through the forest.
Half a day later, Su Yu faced the Thousand-Miles Butcher at a distance of no less than three hundred feet apart! Within three hundred feet was the kill-range for the Thousand-Miles Butcher!
"You two children, you’re both so arrogant to let me chase you all day and night!" The Thousand-Miles Butcher grinned nastily; there was barely concealed anger in his tone. A dignified Level Eight Lower Tier had spent a whole day chasing two Level Six Peak juniors; if word got out, everyone would think it was outrageous.
The purple-clad boy had top-rate speed, thanks to his movement technique. He was just slightly slower than the slayer by only a few beats. A day of pursuit had only intensified the Thousand-Miles Butcher’s killing intent! Luckily for him, the Thousand-Miles Butcher had sensed Su Yu’s physical strength was largely used up—as his speed gradually declined.
He was one-thousand feet away one moment, then seven-hundred... six hundred... three hundred... before, finally, the slayer stood only one-hundred feet away.
The Thousand-Miles Butcher sneered as he amassed his vital energy in his fingers; it was enough to penetrate any enemy within three-hundred feet!
"Die!" The Thousand-Miles Butcher flagrantly made his move; three-hundred feet of vital energy was loudly launched toward Su Yu’s heart from behind!
Swish—
Just in time, a winding cave emerged just ahead and Su Yu dodged inside, still carrying Xia Jingyu.
Boom—
The Thousand-Miles Butcher’s accumulated vital energy shot was forced to divert from its target. Instead of Su Yu, the vital energy hit some century-old ancient trees off to the side. Three massive trees were smashed with a loud rumble!
Vexation appeared in the slayer’s eyes. "Damn boy!"
If he were to destroy the cave, the rocks would either crush or trap the two disciples—it would take Thousand-Miles Butcher time to dig them out, and he would have to spend significant energy to do so. Additionally, what if the jade hammers are destroyed in the collapse? No, attacking the cave was out of the question.
"Huh! They’ve brought on their own destruction!" The Thousand-Miles Butcher coolly glance at Su Yu who was breathless and pale as he stumbled into the cave—his energy was already spent!
But the Thousand-Miles Butcher was not reckless. His intuition told him that perhaps Su Yu was counting on something inside the cave. Cautiously arriving before the cave and squatting down, the Thousand-Miles Butcher carefully looked inside, and his pupils suddenly dilated!
At the cave’s entrance, there were several extremely fine entwined dragon silk threads, strung up at neck height! They were set up silently by Su Yu after he entered the cave. If the slayer had quickly charged, he would have inevitably been dismembered by the sharp, entwined silk thread!
The Thousand-Miles Butcher was nervous. He angrily laughed and took several large strides into the cave, "I’ve been pursued and hunted by men stronger than you many times, you think a mere little trick can deceive me..."
Ah—
His voice had not finished before there was suddenly an empty space at the feet of the Thousand-Miles Butcher! A thought flickered through his head; could it be that this was... a series of traps!
The Thousand-Miles Butcher was, after all, no ordinary man! His reaction speed was extremely fast—just as the floor opened beneath him, one hand grasped the edge of the trap and he did not fall. He looked down and saw the bottom of the trap was densely covered with sharp spikes up to two feet tall. If he had fallen in, his body would have been impaled many times over and he would have died.
The Thousand-Miles Butcher gasped; what a close call! The murderous rage in his eyes surged! He had nearly fallen into the hands of a Level Six boy twice, the Thousand-Miles Butcher looked murderous!
"Boy! I want you to die a horrible death."
The Thousand-Miles Butcher’s voice spontaneously stopped; when he had started to climb the rock face, he had suddenly found his other arm did not obey—in fact, that arm was not there at all. Suddenly, he began to fall.
He looked down and saw his body from his chest down was all cut up, with flesh from his wounds falling downward. Looking closer, there was a dense layer of transparent silk thread at chest-level. It was like a spider web, all evenly laid out in the trap. Anything that fell in would be cut into chunks by the razor-sharp spider web!
Though the Thousand-Miles Butcher did not fall into the bottom, he’d already fallen into the razor-sharp web made from the entwined dragon silk. He had already been cut into pieces—because it was so sharp, he had only just now started to actually separate!
Boom—
Both his eyes turned white. The remaining half of the Thousand-Miles Butcher, still unable to reconcile with his fate, fell to the bottom of the trap as he took his last breath! Among all Su Yu’s enemies, there was no doubt the Thousand-mile Butcher had suffered the most miserable death—death by dismemberment!
Not long after the slayer fell, Su Yu dragged his tired body out of the cave. He stood on the edge of the trap, his expression grateful. This particular trap, along with those which covered the whole cave, had been set up by Obscure Fiendish Duo to lure them in and trap them.
Before they had left the cave the first time, Su Yu felt the traps could be valuable in the future. He had laid an additional layer of the entwined dragon silk in the trap, and now it had finally come in handy.
Although this trip had been treacherous, they had managed to ensnare and kill a Level Eight Lower Tier! It was unimaginable. Su Yu took the Thousand-Miles Butcher’s spirit elixir and combined it with the spirit elixir he had plundered in the valley. He set the traps back up and went back inside the cave.
In addition to the four pieces they already had, plus two from the Thousand-Miles Butcher, there were six in total! Three pieces for Su Yu and three pieces for Xia Jingyu; both of them were filled with anticipation and nervousness as they swallowed their pieces of spirit elixir on the spot. This time, they were going to breakthrough to Level Seven!
Xia Jingyu’s father, the martial arts training institute’s Housemaster, had only reached a mere Level Seven Lower Tier in his forty years of cultivating. They had only entered the Sanctuary a few days ago, could they possibly surpass their parents’ generation? How could they not look forward to that and be excited?
The thing that made Su Yu feel equally excited as well as envious was when he observed the way Level Sevens and above could exude energy from their bodies. They could wound people dozens of feet behind them. Su Yu had coveted that ability for a long time.
He swallowed the spirit elixir and closed his eyes in preparation for the breakthrough. The potent strength of the elixir melted into Su Yu’s limbs and bones, nourishing every fiber of his being.
An hour later, a buzzing sound filled the air.
The air slightly vibrated. Boundless waves of energy simultaneously surged through his and Xia Jingyu’s entire bodies! Both opened their eyes simultaneously and an abundance of powerful vital energy started exuding from their bodies through their pores.
Swish—
Su Yu flexed his thumb and forefinger together and touched the tips. A boundless vital energy compressed into a narrow flow and blasted outward!
Bang—
The rock wall trembled and cracks developed across the surface. Then, a portion collapsed explosively! Su Yu was happy and Xia Jingyu felt even more wonderful than before; if her father could see her achievement now, how proud would he be?
After the breakthrough of their cultivation base, the two immersed themselves into their comprehension of cultivation techniques.
With joining the Upper Realm of Icy Heart Core, Su Yu became better practiced in the technique. His one palm could now turn the enemy into ice sculptures, it truly deserved to be called a Deity Level cultivation technique!
He made the greatest progress with Floating Light Shadow; through days of fleeing and using it in various ways, he had unknowingly caused a breakthrough to Stage Two Top Class! Now, when he used that technique he could glide twenty meters with one step.
If he could breakthrough to Stage Three, he could fly high up in the sky! Just thinking of it, Su Yu was filled with endless anticipation. Rumor said that the deities could fly in all directions high up in the void of the sky. This power could be within Su Yu’s control soon!
Of course, this adventure had come at a cost. A powerful assistant like the Nine Deadly Poison Devil had been killed by the Thousand-Miles Butcher’s vital energy, his body was lying cold in the valley.
Stroking his chin, Su Yu slightly muttered to himself while thinking. After a day, he returned to the valley with Xia Jingyu. Looking around at his surroundings, Su Yu spent two full days setting up the valley.
"Brother Yu, who are you dealing with by setting up this trap?" Xia Jingyu squatted off to the side, her spotless chin rested on her snow-white slender arms, and she wore a demure and placid expression as she watched Su Yu set up with interest.
Su Yu shook his head. "It’s for a rainy day, in case we encounter unexpected enemies," he said.
"Oh." Xia Jingyu Qing smiled prettily as she gazed at Su Yu’s figure of concentration. Her heart swelled sweetly. It seemed was endlessly joyful about feeling so at peace by Su Yu’s side.
After two days, Su Yu cut a sorry figure and was utterly exhausted. The whole little valley had been booby trapped. Everywhere was filled with traps, invisible dangers capable of killing anyone who wandered into them. If enemies tried to invade the valley, Su Yu could rely on the traps to fight back!
After setting up everything, Su Yu and Xia Jingyu left the valley. Standing at the valley pass, Su Yu stared into the depths of the inner periphery. Now was the time to explore deeper.
The common inner periphery no longer had many slayers, and Su Yu and Xia Jingyu wanted a breakthrough to the next tier. For that, they each needed four pieces of spirit elixir, therefore, the two of them would require eight pieces in total! That many slayers could only be found in the depths of the inner periphery.
As he scanned ahead, Su Yu’s pupils suddenly dilated.
"A Level Eight Lower Tier slayer!" Three miles away, a Level Eight slayer was oddly dashing towards the outer periphery.
Su Yu already knew about this slayer; his profile showed he was a rapist from Qingcheng Empire who had dishonored countless innocent women, Yue Wuhua! The rumor was that any woman he had ever had his eyes on had never been able to escape the palm of his hand, and all were maimed and murdered by him. From ordinary civilians to princesses, many women had been brutally dishonored by him!
He had wreaked havoc on the Qingcheng Empire for ten years. Countless women had suffered from his persecution, and more many women who had cherished their innocence—unable to bear any dishonor and face the world—committed suicide. The scourge was abhorrent and repugnant! In the end, the Sanctuary had stepped in and captured him.
Upon learning it was Yue Wuhua, Xia Jingyu, as a young woman, was even more disgusted. Now, with both of their abilities greatly advanced and their breakthroughs to Level Seven, they would not need to be as terrified of fighting a Level Eight anymore!
"Let’s give it a try." Xia Jingyu beautiful eyes implied a sense of anticipation. With Su Yu’s pupils locked onto Yue Wuhua, he would never escape their gaze.
Half a day, somewhere along the river, Su Yu and Xia Jingyu, concealed by the water, observed Yue Wuhua from afar.
Thirty-something years old and young in appearance, his features were attractive, more beautiful than a woman’s. He wore a suit of flowing green clothing of an elegant and smart style. If they did not see the depravity hidden his eyes, it would be hard to imagine this was the brutal rapist, Yue Wuhua!
"Hehe, I sense some friends from afar, how fun! Since my two friends are here, why not come out and show yourselves?" Yue Wuhua lightly glanced straight at where Su Yu and Xia Jingyu were hiding! Such keen awareness! Su Yu was secretly surprised!
Swish—
Out in a flash, Su Yu and Xia Jingyu glared at him. This was the first confrontation with a strong Level Eight that held any true significance.
Yue Wuhua swept past Su Yu and laid his eyes on Xia Jingyu, his eyes bright and blazing, "Wonderful! Really wonderful! Of all the women lucky enough to sleep with me, Mr. Yue, no more than five could compare to you!"
Xia Jingyu’s pretty face turned angry, "Destroy a person’s innocence, maim someone, and you call those women lucky? Despicable scoundrel, even death is too good for you!"
"Hehe, little beauty, did you know you’re even more alluring when angry? I, Mr. Yue, take pity on you. I’ve decided you’ll serve me tonight!" Yue Wuhua greedily stared at Xia Jingyu, looking her up and down.
Su Yu’s eyes slightly cooled, and he brazenly made his move.
"Icy Heart Core!"
Bang, boom, pow—
A pair of fists containing a veiled chill attacked Yue Wuhua with a loud rumble. With a slight smile on Yue Wuhua’s lips, his eyes became grave. He felt a massive amount of power coming from Su Yu’s one punch.
Pop—
Yue Wuhua turned over his palm to take out a fan concealed by his vital energy. He abruptly pointed it forwards!
Su Yu’s punch and Yu Wuhua’s fan suddenly collided!
Boom—
Ice formed on the fan and it was smashed into several pieces! Yue Wuhua’s expression slightly changed. He gave up his fan just in time and stepped back several steps.
Su Yu haphazardly retreated several steps away from being struck by the powerful vital energy of a Level Eight. The two’s blows were both equally powerful.