"I surrender! Please spare me!" the man cried out urgently.
In this dire situation, he knew he was no match for Lin San. Hearing his plea, Lin San hesitated for a moment.
"Fool!" Ye Fan cursed internally. In a life-and-death struggle like this, hesitating could mean death.
"Die!" Sure enough, the man snarled as he suddenly struck out with a palm attack.
Bam!
The blow landed squarely on Lin San, sending him flying backward. His body slammed hard against a nearby tree.
Coughing up blood, Lin San felt a sharp pain radiating from his chest.
"Such an idiot," he muttered to himself, cursing his own naivety. In a battle like this, there's no room for trust—it's kill or be killed.
The man rushed toward Lin San, intending to finish him off. But Lin San's eyes narrowed, wiping the blood from his lips. He decided to draw even more blood energy, fueling the Demon Slayer Sword.
Suddenly, a surge of even greater power burst forth from within him.
"What's happening?!" the man thought, his pupils dilating in shock. He had barely reached Lin San when the youth, seemingly on the verge of defeat, unleashed a fearsome strike. In an instant, Lin San's sword flashed, and the man's attacking arm was severed cleanly at the shoulder.
Blood sprayed into the air.
"Ahhh!!!" The man screamed in agony, stumbling backward.
"Spare me! It was a mistake!" he begged, eyes filled with terror and regret.
"I won't make the same mistake twice," Lin San said coldly. Without hesitation, he thrust the sword forward.
[Phantom Dance]!
Lin San's form blurred like a ghost as he launched his attack. The man tried to dodge, but it was too late. His body was quickly pierced by multiple stab wounds, and with a final thrust, the Demon Slayer Sword drove through his skull.
The man's eyes widened, his expression frozen in disbelief.
Thud.
As Lin San withdrew the sword, the man's lifeless body collapsed to the ground. The Demon Slayer Sword eagerly absorbed the blood spilling from his wounds.
[Absorbed blood from a fifth-rank warrior. Gained 0.5 energy points.]
[Absorbed blood from a fifth-rank warrior. Gained 0.5 energy points.]
…
[Killed a fifth-rank warrior. Gained 500 evolution points.]
The system messages flashed rapidly as Lin San caught his breath, using the sword to steady himself. The blood absorbed from the fallen warrior replenished much of his depleted energy.
Lin San exhaled deeply, feeling both exhausted and enlightened.
"I was too careless. In situations like this, it's 'survival of the fittest.' Any hesitation can be fatal," Lin San muttered to himself, fully grasping the harsh reality of his world.
He glanced at the Demon Slayer Sword, now free from the [Bloodthirsty Frenzy] state. The blade still gleamed with a cold, eerie light.
"Thank you," he said softly to the sword. Without its formidable power, he might not have survived.
"Although it requires my blood to unleash its full potential, the sword also replenishes that energy through the blood it absorbs. As long as I keep fighting and killing, I can maintain this strength," Lin San thought, his mind racing.
But he quickly shook his head, dispelling the dark thoughts that threatened to take root.
"If I kill indiscriminately, I'll lose myself to the darkness," he reminded himself. "As a cultivator, I must stay true to my principles. True strength comes from within."
Lin San took a deep breath, calming his racing heart.
"Impressive," Ye Fan remarked, surprised at Lin San's self-restraint. "He's not just blindly seeking power."
If Lin San had been like some of the previous sword masters, consumed by greed and bloodlust, he would have quickly met a grim fate.
"I suppose he'll survive a while longer," Ye Fan mused, curious to see how far Lin San would go.
"Is it blood you crave, Demon Slayer?" Lin San asked, looking at the sword. He then drove it into the corpse of the Thunder Bear.
Immediately, the sword began to drain the blood from the massive beast.
[Absorbed blood from a seventh-rank beast. Gained 7 energy points.]
[Absorbed blood from a seventh-rank beast. Gained 7 energy points.]
…
"Holy…!" Ye Fan was astonished. Absorbing the blood of a seventh-rank beast provided a whopping 7 energy points each time!
He had expected a lower amount, but this was incredible.
"This is amazing!" As the sword continued to drain the blood from both fallen beasts, Ye Fan's energy points skyrocketed to 450.
"This is incredible. Killing a seventh-rank beast might even grant around 7,000 evolution points," Ye Fan speculated, though he knew it wasn't realistic for Lin San to hunt such powerful creatures regularly.
After draining the beasts, Lin San extracted the two seventh-rank beast cores and placed them in his bag. He then sliced off a piece of the Thunder Bear's flesh and quickly left the area, seeking safety.
Finding a secluded spot, he settled near a large rock, gathering some dry wood to build a fire. With a thought, flames flickered to life in his hands, courtesy of his [Golden Crow Scorching Sky Technique].
"That technique comes in handy for survival," Ye Fan observed, watching the scene unfold.
Lin San cooked the beast meat over the fire, the aroma filling the air. Though Ye Fan couldn't eat, the sight of the roasting meat made him almost wish he could.
"I need to heal these injuries quickly," Lin San said to himself, focusing on recovery.