In the end, still too young!
The strange monster may be powerful, but low-level ones are clearly not that smart.
Shen Changqing paced back and forth in the courtyard, trying to find the object it had truly possessed.
The earlier exchange,
had already made that thing wary.
Unless it was absolutely sure or forced into a corner, it would never strike.
Likewise,
If it attacked,
that proved one thing: he had already become a threat to it.
At first, Shen Changqing wasn't completely certain where the monster had possessed; he just wandered all around the yard.
But after covering nearly every direction, that thing stayed motionless the whole time.
If there was anywhere left that stood out, it was only the tree in the courtyard.
The branches and leaves were lush,
they should have been vibrant green.
It wasn't even autumn yet, so there was no way the tree should be covered in withered yellow leaves.
For the leaves to be so withered, there was only one reason.
That is, some external factor must have caused it.
Strange monsters are pure yin, pure cold.
For any living thing, they're a deadly poison.
Therefore,
this explains why a tree that should be full of life would suffer such an anomaly.
Of course,
Shen Changqing couldn't be completely certain either, it was just a suspicion in his heart.
Now that the monster couldn't hold back and struck, it no doubt confirmed his guess.
Eighth Layer Pure Yang Technique!
Fifteenth Layer Thirteen Guardians' Body Refinement!
In an instant,
Shen Changqing pushed his strength to an unprecedented peak, unleashing two palm strikes with thunderous speed.
The center of his palms burned red!
Like branding irons heated in flame!
Iron Sand Palm!
Boom—ah—
Two ghostly pale hands seemed to be struck by some terrible force, instantly dispersing like mist, while sharp, piercing screams echoed in the yard.
Clearly,
that strike had wounded the strange monster.
As the thing tried to retreat,
Shen Changqing dashed forward in a surge, his veins bulging like coiled dragons, seized his long blade, and hacked viciously toward the tree before him.
Slash!!
The long blade, razor-sharp and backed by unmatched force, plunged directly into the trunk.
But because the trunk was so thick, Shen Changqing couldn't sever it with one blow.
The blade came out,
and dark black blood gushed out of the wound like a spring, an acrid stench blasting his face, accompanied by another shrill shriek.
Immediately—
the roots on the tree suddenly shot up, launching at Shen Changqing like deadly arrows.
The speed—
tore the air with a whistling sound.
Facing this onslaught, Shen Changqing's expression turned ruthless; he didn't even try to turn and defend, but instead gripped the blade with both hands and hacked down on the trunk again.
Splurch—
Bam!
The tree roots smashed out of the air, slamming into Shen Changqing; even with Fifteenth Layer Thirteen Guardians' Body Refinement, he couldn't completely block such injury.
His skin cracked,
flesh pierced through,
blood streaming down from his wounds.
Meanwhile,
the long blade chopped hard into the wound on the trunk again.
The trunk, already close to snapping, finally hit its limit under that attack.
Crack!
The great tree snapped completely in two, its lush branches and thick trunk crashing to the ground with a thunderous sound.
And right as the trunk ruptured,
a wild piercing shriek echoed out.
The source was no longer the edges of the yard, but from the split trunk itself, where torrents of black blood sprayed out.
A blurry, shadowy phantom floated up from the break, trying to flee far away.
Of course, Shen Changqing wouldn't let it escape.
He strode out in a step,
his blade wrapped in Pure Yang True Qi slashing down, landing right on the blurry shadowy shape.
Rip!!
The sound of torn cloth; the blurry shadow gave one last sharp scream, then completely dispersed.
As the strange monster vanished,
a surge of chilling cold climbed up the blade, quickly following it into Shen Changqing's hands.
That familiar sensation
brought a smile to his face.
Name: Shen Changqing
Faction: Great Qin's Demon Suppression Division
Identity: Probationary Demon Hunter
Martial Arts: Thirteen Guardians' Body Refinement (Layer Fifteen, can advance), Pure Yang Technique (Eighth Layer, can advance), Seven Kills Blade Technique (Second Layer), Iron Sand Palm (Second Layer)
Slaughter Value: 15
"As expected, if you want more Slaughter Value, you have to get your own hands dirty!"
Looking at the fifteen points of Slaughter Value on his panel, Shen Changqing's face bloomed with a smile.
He'd wandered the Demon-Subduing Prison for so long, and even counting everything, hadn't gained over twenty points of Slaughter Value.
Now he'd gotten fifteen just for slaying a Ghostly Level strange monster.
This showed—
personally killing monsters gives more Slaughter Value.
The Demon-Subduing Prison's Slaughter Value,
Shen Changqing suspected, came from the remnants clinging to those exorcised monsters; in truth, most of the value had likely dispersed the moment the monsters were slain.
As for the Slaughter Value's true source, what it actually was,
he couldn't be completely certain either.
"Maybe—it's the equivalent of the energy contained within the monster's body!"
If you think of the Slaughter Value as the energy within monsters, it explains why personally killing them earned you more value than just visiting Demon-Subduing Prison.
Fifteen points of Slaughter Value!
To Shen Changqing, enough to boost his own strength significantly.
Now,
his wounds had stopped bleeding; the Fifteenth Layer Body Refinement had granted him powerful self-healing.
Looking at the two Cultivation Techniques on his panel,
Shen Changqing fell into thought.
Fifteen Slaughter Value points feels like a lot, but how to maximize their use—that's the real question.
"Fifteenth Layer Thirteen Guardians' Body Refinement, played a big role in killing the monster this time—otherwise, I would've been finished at Zhang Long's hands.
But Thirteen Guardians' Body Refinement is mainly about taking hits.
No matter how strong the defense, in the face of truly powerful monsters, its value is still limited.
On the other hand, the Pure Yang Technique is highly effective against monsters—"
Shen Changqing recalled the fierce battle moments ago; against the monster's assault, even Fifteenth Layer Thirteen Guardians could be broken through.
What truly forced the monster to hesitate was actually the power of Pure Yang True Qi.
"The strongest defense is a good offense!"
"Since that's the case, I might as well boost my Pure Yang True Qi."
Decision made,
Shen Changqing focused his will, clicking directly on the panel.
As his mind moved,
five points of Slaughter Value spent, the Pure Yang Technique advanced from the Eighth to the Ninth Layer.
Ninth Layer Pure Yang Technique!
A torrent of Qi, nearly twice as strong as before, surged wildly from his dantian, instantly sweeping through his body—
Rumble rumble!!
Powerful True Qi poured forth, surging like mighty rivers.
PS: Bonus chapter for the Alliance Hierarch's reward! Many thanks to the readers supporting these last two days, I'll extend my thanks at the end of the month!