Chapter 8: Killing Cultivation

Soon the three of them arrived at the second floor of a quiet little building; in the living room on that floor, several people were gathered sitting together, and Xiao Yu saw that among them he recognized one person: Zhuge Tao, one of the four major leaders of Jiangnan City Extreme Hall.

"Chief." Xiao Yu and Luo Feng shouted simultaneously.

"Alright, Xiao Yu and Luo Feng, you follow Wu Tong and sit over there." Zhuge Tao, dressed in a dark‑black combat suit that faintly shimmered with specks of silver, said with a faint smile.

"Zhuge, is this the Luo Feng you mentioned? Compared with our Thunder and Lightning Martial Hall, he's not much better," said the burly man opposite Zhuge Tao, wearing a dark‑purple battle uniform, his voice echoing as if from his own chest. "Our Thunder and Lightning Martial Hall is recruiting two early this time: one whose physical condition is no worse than your Luo Feng, and the other is a firearms prodigy."

The burly man didn't look at Xiao Yu because he knew the Xiao Family's situation and understood that no matter how high a price was offered, Xiao Yu could not be invited, so there was no need to waste time.

This burly man was Wang Heng, the chief of the Thunder and Lightning Martial Hall, but his appearance might suggest a loyal and honest type; in reality his personality had nothing to do with loyalty, and only a few who are good‑natured can become a hall chief.

"I am Wan Dong." said the gloomy young man with a purple birthmark on his face.

"I am Ma Xiao." The other young man wore a smile; he was strikingly handsome, able to become the kind of beauty that could enchant millions of teenagers with just a set of clothes and a wig.

"Luo Feng." Luo Feng nodded with a smile.

"Xiao Yu." Xiao Yu smiled at the group.

"Luo Feng, Xiao Yu," Wan Dong said, "do you have the guts to compare? Tonight's Warrior Real Combat Assessment—who will earn the highest points, you or me!"

Wan Dong's temperament was completely at odds with his looks; like a teenager, his competitiveness was unusually fierce.

Xiao Yu ignored his invitation outright.

"Not interested." Luo Feng shook his head in refusal.

Wang Heng, the chief of the Thunder and Lightning Martial Hall, was about to speak when Zhuge Tao cut in: "Let's go; the Warrior Real Combat Assessment will start soon!"

Including Xiao Yu, 1,680 prospective warriors, led by soldiers, spent nearly half an hour reaching the outskirts of a small town.

It was already dusk; the sun had set.

"Roar~~"

"Ho~~"

Various heart‑pounding monster cries echoed from the town; the town's perimeter was fenced with barbed wire, and many soldiers with rifles patrolled to prevent monsters inside from escaping and to keep powerful monsters from entering.

"Everyone, this assessment follows the usual rules! It starts promptly at 6:30 p. m. tonight and ends at 6:30 a. m. tomorrow."

"The more monsters you slay, the more points you earn. For each monster killed, cut off its left ear as proof."

"Remember, prospective warriors may not kill each other; all your actions are monitored, and violators will be executed on the spot!"

"Among the 1,680 prospective warriors, the top 60 % in points will earn warrior qualification; the bottom 40 % are considered failures and must wait for the next assessment."

"One reminder: based on past assessments, killing three monsters guarantees a pass. Killing only two leaves it to luck."

…

The soldier read out the rules of the assessment.

Out of 1,680 participants, 60 % pass—that is, 1,008 get through; the remaining 672 are eliminated, a rather high elimination rate.

Even if you're eliminated, you can still join the next assessment; the key is to ensure your safety—don't lose your life trying to pass, because that would truly leave you with no chance.

"All prospective warriors, move out, enter the monster town," the officer gestured.

All prospective warriors rushed in upon hearing the order; once everyone had entered, the officer locked the gate.

To get out, you must either voluntarily end the assessment or wait until the allotted time expires.

Luo Feng said to Xiao Yu and Yang Wu, "Xiao Yu, Brother Yang, are you going together or venturing into the monster town alone?"

Xiao Yu solemnly replied, "You madman, this Warrior Real Combat Assessment is not just a test; it's a training. When we later enter the Huang Ye Qu, we'll face countless stronger monsters and countless dangers. We must learn to adapt, and the monsters in this town are all the weakest H‑rank monsters, making it the best training opportunity."

Luo Feng nodded, "That's right; you also be careful."

"Hmm, madman, Xiao Yu, you also need to seize the chance and practice your swords well," Yang Wu reminded.

Xiao Yu smiled, nodded, and sprinted toward a building in the distance.

Unlike many, he didn't head for the shadows but for the bright spots illuminated by the town's perimeter floodlights.

Even though this was more dangerous, Xiao Yu was undaunted.

Monsters on Earth are classified similarly to humans: Beast Soldier Rank, Beast General Rank, and Lord Rank, corresponding to Human Warrior Rank, General Rank, and War God Rank. Of course, monsters also have ranks above Lord, such as King‑level monsters and Emperor‑level monsters.

The town's monsters are basically the weakest H‑rank monsters; even G‑rank monsters are rare, essentially low‑level Beast Soldier Rank and mid‑level Beast Soldier Rank.

Although the town houses thousands of monsters, they fall into three main categories: the feline 'Shadow Cat' that wins with speed, the 'Iron‑hair Wild Boar' that relies on massive strength and defense, and the canine 'Tiger Mastiff' whose speed and power are both astonishing.

These monsters are all adept at hiding; many, especially Shadow Cats, habitually ambush from the shadows.

Now walking in the light, Xiao Yu is undoubtedly the most conspicuous target.

He had just passed a collapsed two‑story building when he sensed a faint movement behind him, and he cautiously turned to scan his rear.

About fifty meters away, in the shadow of an intact three‑story building, three silhouettes advanced slowly. With Xiao Yu's keen eyesight, he could immediately discern that they were three monsters, each covered in hair like spines, standing about 1.5 meters tall; each massive mouth bore two huge fangs that, under the distant floodlight's beam, reflected a chilling glint.

"All of a sudden, three Iron‑hair Wild Boars—maybe you overestimated me!" Xiao Yu joked.

"Ha ha."

The three Iron‑hair Wild Boars fixed their gaze on the human warrior wielding twin swords, emitting strange low growls.

Then the frontmost boar lunged at Xiao Yu, followed by the other two; the three boars, like armored vehicles, slammed into him, drastically reducing his room to dodge.

As they closed in, six sharp, long fangs—like six massive curved blades—came down in unison.

Xiao Yu timed it perfectly, exploiting the staggered attacks of the three boars to dodge quickly. As he slipped to the side, the charging boar couldn't react; a flash of brilliance in Xiao Yu's eyes, his whole strength surged, and his right‑hand Silver Moon Battle Knife slashed mercilessly at the leading boar's neck with a swift upward strike.

After the blade passed, without waiting for the outcome, he spun and dodged to the side of the rear boar, his left‑hand sword cutting upward across its neck.

Poof!

Poof!

The heads of the two boars were torn from their bodies and flung outward; blood gushed from the severed necks like two red fireworks. Their bodies, propelled by inertia, ran dozens of meters before crashing with a thunderous thud, twitching on the ground for a moment before finally dying.

The remaining boar, seeing its companion slain instantly, saw the battle turn 0‑2. Terrified, it bolted away faster than its earlier charge at Xiao Yu.

Watching the fleeing boar, Xiao Yu forced a wry smile, but he wouldn't let his predetermined loot escape.

He gave chase, arriving at the boar's side in under two seconds.

The wildly running boar, seeing the pursuing human silhouette, reacted as if confronting a demon—its eyes bulged, hair bristled, and its sprint speed increased by another notch.

It's just that no matter how hard this iron‑hair wild boar tries, it's only a mere H‑rank monster, basically the same as a junior warrior, and compared with Xiao Yu, who has manifested the pinnacle of a mid‑level warrior, the gap is far too large.

In the next instant, the boar's head broke free from its neck, which it had not known how long it had lived with, and its body sprinted for over twenty meters before collapsing.

Watching the three neck‑severed, blood‑spouting monsters, he not only felt no shock at the first sight of blood, but was vaguely excited—perhaps a lingering effect from having witnessed countless lives and deaths in a previous life.

Xiao Yu walked to the nearest boar head, waved his hand, cut off the left ear of that iron‑hair wild boar in one clean slice, and placed it into the backpack on his back, then sequentially collected the left ears of the other two iron‑hair wild boars.

Just at the beginning, he had already earned 3 points.

Although his heart was stirred by the three iron‑hair wild boar corpses, he also knew that every movement in Monster Town was almost constantly monitored, and he could not risk a small loss for a big one.

Xiao Yu continued strolling forward, and after less than a hundred meters he spotted dozens of bright eyes reflecting from the shadows a hundred meters ahead, like dozens of faint lamps.

After realizing that Xiao Yu had seen them, the more than ten monsters scattered into the shadows, seeking better ambush opportunities.

Seeing this scene, even Xiao Yu became instantly cautious, gripping his twin blades tightly and watching the surroundings carefully.

Suddenly, three dark silhouettes leapt toward him at the edge of Xiao Yu's vision.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Two cold flashes lit up; Xiao Yu moved only half a meter, and a faint streak of blood appeared on the blade of his Silver Moon Battle Knife, while the two dark silhouettes were helplessly flung, collapsing in the corner and leaving blood all over the ground.

Only one dark silhouette was lucky enough to slip back into the shadows.

"Although the shadow cat's speed is fast—Beast Soldier Rank speed can reach 40 m/s—but its defense is weak; with proper technique, even a junior warrior can easily kill it," Xiao Yu muttered.

Swish swish, another few gusts of wind.

Xiao Yu quickly dodged, and in the instant of evasion he attacked, not only using his battle knife but also employing the stones on the ground.

Six shadow cats were slain by his battle knife; only one shadow cat was struck on the head by a stone, sent flying, landing on the collapsed ruins, convulsing for a few breaths and never getting up again.

The remaining shadow cats, seeing the man before them was not to be trifled with, fled by scattering into the shadows.

After waiting a moment with no movement, Xiao Yu went to his loot; the shadow cat corpse on the ground had gray fur, was not large—about half a meter long. Its abdomen now bore a terrifying gash, the internal organs having been sliced open by Xiao Yu's earlier strike, spilling out.

He cut off this shadow cat's left ear, then approached the other seven shadow cat corpses; their death poses varied—one had its head cleanly decapitated, the cat head flying more than ten meters away, making it easy for Xiao Yu to locate.

Having collected the left ears of eight shadow cats in a row, his record reached 11 points, securing his qualification; whether he could contend for first place, Xiao Yu did not care.

Even if he accidentally attained first place, it would hold no meaning for him.

Now, Xiao Yu no longer walks on the ground; he stands at the edge of a six‑story residential building's rooftop, slowly looking down and around.

"I've never killed a tiger mastiff before; let's see this one's quality," he said, spotting a three‑story dilapidated villa's roof slanting below, where a spotted, streamlined tiger mastiff stood.

He immediately darted forward, then leapt from the rooftop edge, soaring over ten meters, crashing onto the ruined villa's top floor; the floorboards shuddered violently, and as he rolled onto the roof, shedding the impact, he charged straight at the tiger mastiff.

"Roar!" The tiger mastiff also lunged forward.

During the clash, his left‑handed battle knife sliced horizontally, the blade cutting across the tiger mastiff's side; the beast flew several meters before crashing to the ground, motionless.

After securing his combat power item, he performed several consecutive jumps: from the ground to the three‑story villa's roof, then from the edge to the balcony of a six‑story building, and from that balcony edge to the eight‑story rooftop—the highest point in this area.

From here he could better observe the surroundings.

"Eh!"

A lone figure was continuously battling two shadow cats; the cats let out hoarse cries, moving at astonishing speed, their sharp claws constantly slashing. The figure moved agilely, constantly evading, fighting the two shadow cats.

"It seems Luo Feng has started training seriously; soon his footwork will reach the Subtle Level. To think he achieved this without ever accessing any footwork manual, purely by exploring basic footwork on his own—his combat talent is clearly exceptional. If it weren't for the experience accumulated in my previous life, my footwork wouldn't have reached the perfect realm,"

Xiao Yu muttered to himself.

Although his footwork had reached the perfect realm, his overall strength was insufficient, at best only reaching the Deep Subtle Level.

At the same time, Xiao Yu saw the cold‑hearted youth across the street, blood‑stained, wielding a Ghost Moon Knife, walking arrogantly.

"Wan Dong?"

"He can only spar with Luo Feng in the martial combat assessment, and that too when Luo Feng isn't focused on monster hunting!"

Xiao Yu let out a sigh, stopped paying attention to the two, and resumed his own path of cultivation.

For Xiao Yu, killing is cultivation; his immediate goal is to turn combat techniques into instinct. If he reaches that point, even if he never awakens a spiritual talent, he will still have the ability to fight back when his spirit is later controlled by a master.

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(End of chapter)