"Roar!"
"Roar!"
"Roar, roar, roar!"
Chen Nan, clad in iron armor and wielding a massive iron hammer, struck the monstrous creatures of the demon race blow after blow.
With each swing, blood splattered and bloomed like crimson flowers under his hammer.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The earth trembled across the wilderness. Dust surged several meters high as massive stone feet trampled dragon-leopard cavalry into pulp.
"Solid as a rock."
A towering stone giant, standing ten meters tall, spoke in a deep, resonant voice as it charged toward Chen Nan.
Just as it was about to reach him, the stone giant leaped into the air and descended like a falling mountain, its fists clenched tightly, smashing down toward Chen Nan.
"Roar!"
Unfazed, Chen Nan let out a thunderous roar of his own. He swung his iron hammer upward at a forty-five-degree angle. The moment the hammer collided with the giant's arm, cracks spiderwebbed across the stone limb.
The hammer continued its upward trajectory, shattering chunks of stone that rained down to the ground.
"Roar!"
Chen Nan bellowed again, his muscles bulging explosively beneath his armor. The hammer gleamed a blood-red hue as it tore through the giant's defenses.
By the time the hammer reached its zenith, the giant's arms were completely obliterated.
Leaping high, Chen Nan brought the hammer crashing down on the giant's head.
Headless, the stone giant flailed its arms wildly.
As Chen Nan landed, he struck the giant's knee with another devastating blow.
The giant lost its balance and toppled to the ground, only to be met with Chen Nan's earth-shaking strikes.
"ROAR!!!"
Standing atop the mountain of rubble, Chen Nan gripped his iron hammer tightly, his victorious war cry resounding through the heavens and earth.
On his shoulder sat Chen Suier, her legs crossed, her fair thighs exposed beneath her skirt. She flicked her long hair, her crimson eyes filled with disdain.
Chen Suier looked down at the battlefield, her gaze falling on a little girl whose demeanor seemed utterly out of place amidst the blood-soaked carnage. Tilting her head, she muttered, "That Xu Xue Nuo...does she really hate dogs that much?"
Xu Xue Nuo's life-bound flying sword arced through the battlefield, piercing the skull of a demon hound and skewering its body.
Her Qingming Sword swirled in the air, flipping mid-flight, and pinned a black dog to the ground.
A small hand gripped the Qingming Sword.
As the sword was drawn, an icy ripple of sword energy burst forth, slicing through the five hounds that had surrounded her, cutting them all cleanly in half.
"Woof!"
A massive three-headed dog lunged at Xu Xue Nuo, its towering two-meter frame raising a paw to crush her.
Clang!
Xu Xue Nuo raised her long sword and blocked the gigantic paw.
The three-headed dog froze in shock.
How could a mere eight or nine-year-old girl possess such immense strength?
The beast threw its head back and summoned flames, spitting a fiery blast toward Xu Xue Nuo.
The flames engulfed her entirely.
Yet a breath later, five streaks of sword light sliced through the searing inferno as if it were nothing but a red curtain.
"Howl!"
The three-headed dog yelped in pain as its massive paw, still aiming for Xu Xue Nuo, was instantly severed into three pieces.
The girl leapt into the air.
In her hand, the Qingming Sword gleamed as if freshly washed, utterly pristine, betraying no sign of having slain a dozen beasts.
"Howl!"
The three-headed dog raised its heads again, merging three streams of fire into one massive column aimed directly at Xu Xue Nuo.
"Go," she whispered, forming a sword seal with her fingers.
The Qingming Sword hummed and shot forward.
Just as the fire pillar neared her, it froze solid in an instant.
Clang!
The Qingming Sword soared gracefully through the fiery pillar's end, weaving between the three heads of the three-headed dog like a butterfly in flight.
By the time Xu Xue Nuo landed, three severed dog heads thudded to the ground alongside her.
"This child cannot be allowed to live."
From the city walls, the Lord of Ya City watched Xu Xue Nuo coldly.
This girl was nothing like Chen Suier.
Chen Suier was simply an eternally petite woman. But this girl, judging by her bone age, was truly no more than eight or nine years old. Yet, she was already at the Cave Mansion Realm. And her mastery within this realm was terrifying—so much so that she could easily slay a demon beast at the Sea Observation Realm!
If she were allowed to grow, she would become a massive threat, not just to the Wanxiang Demon Kingdom but to the countless demon nations of the southern territories!
"Wait a moment… A girl, using a sword, eight or nine years old, in the Cave Mansion Realm. Could she be…"
"Well, well, little girl, coming to a battlefield so young... You're bound to die."
Just as the Lord of Ya City began to piece together her identity, an old man holding a black lantern appeared behind Xu Xue Nuo.
"Elder Huang! Stop! Her protector is—"
The Lord of Ya City shouted loudly, but it was already too late.
The black lantern in the elder's hand morphed into several serpents of flame, which lunged toward Xu Xue Nuo.
In the blink of an eye, however, all the flaming serpents shattered.
The elder glanced down in shock, then raised his gaze.
High above, a woman sat coldly in the clouds, staring down at him.
Boom!
In that moment, a Jade Purity Realm elder was effortlessly slain.
The woman had only drawn a single sword strike.
"Jiang Luoyu!" The Lord of Ya City slammed his fist against the city wall, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
Meanwhile, the Qingming Sword resumed its flight, cutting through the horde of demon hounds once more.
The remaining hounds were petrified.
This little girl—would she ever stop?
Why was she so relentlessly targeting them?
Could it be she'd been bitten by a dog as a child?
Why did she hate them so much?
When the Qingming Sword struck down its hundredth demon hound, pieces of iron began to flake off its blade. The engravings on the sword rippled outward, breaking apart and scattering.
The sword floated in the air, trembling violently, as if calling out to something.
Xu Xue Nuo seemed to sense its plea and ascended toward it.
The moment her hand grasped the hilt, waves of sword energy rippled across the battlefield.
In the royal capital of Wu Kingdom, Xu Ming, practicing swordplay in his courtyard, looked up.
On the other side of the yard, Xu Pangda, who had been reading, raised his chubby head.
"Honk?"
The Tianxuan Goose let out a "honk" and lifted its head to gaze at the sky.
High above, a cyan list reappeared—
[Xu Xue Nuo: Life-bound sword Qingming has awakened. Achieved Sea Observation Realm at age eight. Ranked 8th on the Qingyun List.]
As the Qingyun List faded, Xu Pangda leapt off his chair, rushing to Xu Ming. He shook Xu Ming's arm excitedly.
"Fifth Brother, Fifth Brother! Xue Nuo made it to eighth place! Eighth place!"
The Tianxuan Goose also honked joyously, hopping around the courtyard.
"Yes, eighth place," Xu Ming said with a warm smile, genuinely happy for Xu Xue Nuo.
Yet, deep down, he felt a pang of emotion.
It seemed like the gap between him and Xue Nuo was only growing wider and wider.
"Master Ming'er! Master Ming'er!"
Just as the courtyard was steeped in celebration, Chun Yan burst in, her excitement barely contained.
"Master Ming'er!" She knelt in front of Xu Ming, panting heavily. "The laws! The laws of Wu Kingdom! They've been revised!"