Chapter Forty-Eight: Bringing Back (First Chapter—Please Add to Your Collection)

"Little Li's Flying Dagger never misses its mark; its power far exceeds my imagination!" A trace of astonishment lingered on Ke Bei's face. He had always believed that Little Li's Flying Dagger was not an especially advanced martial art, and in his heart, the value of the Six Meridian Divine Sword far surpassed it. But after unleashing a flying dagger with the Nine Yang Divine Skill, he suddenly realized how laughable his previous notions had been. Although he didn't know just how formidable the Six Meridian Divine Sword could be, Little Li's Flying Dagger was by no means inferior!

"Its power is tremendous, but the internal energy consumption is absolutely staggering!"

After a brief inspection of his dantian, Ke Bei frowned slightly; launching a single flying dagger had drained two-thirds of his internal energy!

"In the future, I can only use Little Li's Flying Dagger as a trump card," Ke Bei sighed, shaking his head helplessly. The dagger's might was great, but with only the third level of the Nine Yang Divine Skill, his internal energy was nowhere near enough for reckless usage.

"Roar~ Run!"

"Run!"

Just as Ke Bei marveled at the power of the flying dagger and lamented its terrifying energy cost, the three blue-eyed, purple-maned lions let out panicked roars, their hooves pounding the ground as they bolted madly in retreat.

"Since you’ve come, you might as well stay!"

Ke Bei slowly drew his broadsword. The blade traced his palm, and fresh blood welled forth. His internal energy was nearly depleted; with so little left, if he wanted to slay these lieutenant-rank demonic beasts, only the broadsword would suffice.

After all, demonic beasts, unlike the gods, possessed massive bodies—without internal energy to empower the flying dagger, it would be difficult to kill them in a single blow!

Swish, swish, swish!

The power of the Nine Yang Divine Skill surged into his feet, and Ke Bei moved. His figure became a series of afterimages, racing toward the lieutenant-rank blue-eyed, purple-maned lions.

Boom!

Driven by internal energy, Ke Bei broke the sound barrier in an instant! A piercing sonic boom erupted.

"Slash—slash—slash!"

The maximum speed of a lieutenant-rank demonic beast was about a third of the speed of sound. With his internal energy surging, Ke Bei easily surpassed the sound barrier and caught up in a flash. The broadsword fell gently, and three ferocious heads flew into the air, blood gushing from their necks like fountains.

"The most valuable part of the blue-eyed, purple-maned lion is its pair of azure eyes!"

With a thought, Ke Bei produced six crystalline, jewel-like blue eyes in his hand. His body flickered, leaving an afterimage behind as he moved to the corpse of the golden-furred berserk bear.

"The most valuable part of the golden-furred berserk bear is its pair of massive, golden-glowing paws!"

The last time Ke Bei had slain a lieutenant-rank demonic beast—the three-tailed hound—he hadn’t known which parts were valuable, so he had carried the massive corpse for ages. To avoid repeating that mistake, he had reviewed all the information on demonic beasts upon his return.

With a soft exhalation, Ke Bei stowed the golden-furred paws in his backpack, casting a cold gaze over the chaotic battlefield.

The god race’s peak combatants had all been slain by Han Lingyue the previous night; only the demonic beasts remained, but their top-tier fighters were far weaker than humanity's. The leaders of Lingfeng City, Shu Han City, and Tianfeng City were all commanders whose strength stood at the pinnacle of the Transcendence Realm. Even a high lieutenant-rank demonic beast could only flee before the combined might of the three masters.

"Kill, kill, kill!"

With bloodshot eyes, the human warriors attacked with frenzied abandon. Humanity now held absolute superiority in peak martial strength, freeing up more experts to hunt down ordinary zombies and demonic beasts.

In such circumstances, the pressure on humanity’s warriors was greatly lessened.

Four hours later, two high lieutenant-rank demonic beasts managed to escape, but with the collapse of the demonic beasts’ strongest forces, human warriors became even more unstoppable.

Under the leadership of the three great commanders, the slaughter was relentless!

After another six hours, all the zombies were wiped out!

Aside from those demonic beasts of lieutenant rank and above who managed to flee, every other beast was slain! After sacrificing another forty thousand lives, humanity finally swept all the foreign races from Wushan City!

"It’s over. At long last… it’s over…"

The warriors who had survived by sheer luck gazed at the mountains of corpses—zombies and demonic beasts alike—within Wushan City. They wiped the blood from their faces, and without a moment’s rest, began searching for the bodies of their relatives, friends, and comrades.

Ke Bei watched the exhausted warriors, who ignored their own fatigue as they searched among the carnage for the fallen. A trace of sorrow emerged on his face.

Such was the price of war between races: for the survival of the majority, many must lay down their lives.

After a night’s rest and recovery, under the command of the three great leaders, casualties were tallied. They stripped the zombies of their crystal coins and harvested valuable organs from the demonic beasts, then left thirty thousand troops to garrison Wushan City. Only after all was settled did they lead the survivors back to their cities.

The toll on the three great base cities had been severe. Of the three hundred thousand strong force, fewer than one hundred thousand remained. The fallen warriors deserved to be honored, and their families compensated. Lingfeng City alone lost nearly sixty thousand warriors; at ten thousand crystal coins each, the total sum reached six hundred million!

This expense would naturally be borne by the base cities. As for the spoils of war, they would be distributed among the survivors—it was their reward, bought with their very lives!

In silence, Ke Bei followed Commander Wang Zuo’s group toward Lingfeng City.

……………………………………………………

Within the Clear Spring Estate, ranked as the most prestigious of the three top residential districts in the East City of Lingfeng Base City.

Clear Spring Estate was situated in the city’s most luxurious quarter, a place of mountains and water. The hills were not high, but the water was crystalline. Within a ten-kilometer radius, ornate, exquisitely sculpted hills dotted the landscape, along with man-made waterfalls and lakes, rendering the estate even more beautiful. It was the dream residence of countless millionaires.

But money alone was not enough to secure a home in Clear Spring Estate. Without extraordinary power and influence, no amount of wealth would buy entry.

In a lavish villa within the estate—

On the rooftop terrace, a man in loose azure robes sat cross-legged in meditation.

His face, chiseled like a stone carving, exuded a chilling coldness. Even with his eyes gently closed, he radiated an aura so frigid it made one’s heart tremble. A murderous air enveloped his entire being.

He was none other than Pei Xuejian, the leader of the Blood Sword Alliance!

"Leader, Zheng Yuan’s remains were found in the South City slums. He, too, was killed with a flying dagger," reported an elderly man dressed in black, bowing respectfully to the azure-robed figure with closed eyes.

"The slums? A flying dagger?"

The azure-robed man rose slowly, a muscle twitching in his face, his eyes flashing with an icy light, like a lone wolf driven mad.

"Master, recently a young expert has emerged from the slums…" The old man in black cast a cautious glance at his master’s expression, speaking in a measured tone.

"Oh? A young expert from the slums?" the man replied indifferently, turning slightly. His cold gaze swept over the old man’s face, his voice low and grave.

"The youth’s name is Ke Bei. His strength should be at the pinnacle of Level Three Enhancer. Although no one has seen him use a flying dagger, I suspect it’s him!"

The old man in black, observing the azure-robed leader’s expression, slowly voiced his conjecture.

"In the slums, only he has the strength to kill Zheng Yuan!"

With his hands clasped behind his back, the azure-robed man paced lightly. He said nothing, but the invisible aura of menace he exuded made the old man’s breathing increasingly labored, cold sweat breaking out almost instantly.

"Bring him to me!"

The azure-robed leader’s words were casual, but his tone brooked no defiance.

"Yes!" The old man in black turned and withdrew.

The Blood Sword Alliance’s leader, garbed in azure, stood at the very pinnacle of the Transcendence Realm. The old man in black felt his pressure unbearable in the man’s presence.