A moment later, one thousand points appeared on Li Yun’s Frosthunt Token. Together with what he had already collected, his total had now passed two thousand.
Unfortunately, his luck was nowhere near as good over the next few days. He ran into several groups of Frost Beasts and killed a few Commander-class beasts, but he did not come across another Monarch-class Frost Beast.
As a result, his points grew much more slowly, and after several days he had gained only a few hundred more. Compared with how quickly he had started, the difference was enormous.
Then one day, while Li Yun was crossing yet another snowfield, the ground ahead of him suddenly moved. Snow exploded upward, and a hidden figure burst out from beneath the surface and slashed straight at him.
The attack was frighteningly fast. A blood-red arc of blade light, accompanied by a strange demonic howl, reached Li Yun almost instantly.
His expression did not change.
"I’ve been waiting for you."
A wave of sword power spread from his body as he released his Sword Domain. He raised the Profound Origin Sword and calmly blocked the incoming strike with a clang. Then he turned his wrist, and his defense flowed into an attack in one smooth motion.
His sword flashed, and the ambusher froze. A thin line appeared across the man’s throat, and blood followed. He collapsed into the snow before he could even understand what had happened.
The attacker was dressed entirely in white, clearly so that he could hide against the snowy ground. His eyes were still wide open, and even in death his face was full of disbelief. He could not understand how Li Yun had noticed the ambush before it even began.
"So the real hunt has finally started," Li Yun said as he calmly put away the Profound Origin Sword.
He felt no sympathy. The trial had never really been designed around hunting Frost Beasts alone. The number of beasts was limited, and apart from the three Sovereign-class Frost Beasts, the rest would only get harder to find as the trial went on. The real purpose was obvious. Sooner or later, the participants would start hunting one another.
As if in answer to his thoughts, the weather suddenly changed. Heavy snow began to fall, and within a dozen breaths it was so thick that the distant mountains disappeared behind a wall of white. A blizzard had arrived.
The flakes grew heavier and heavier until they were hitting the ground almost like small hailstones. A violent wind came with them and howled through the mountain range. Wherever it struck bare skin, it felt like countless small blades scraping across the flesh.
More importantly, the weather interfered with essence qi. Circulating energy became harder, and using martial techniques took more concentration. Before the blizzard, the Frostbound Heavenly Range had suppressed a cultivator’s strength by about ten percent, but now the suppression had risen to nearly thirty percent.
For cultivators at the 1st and 2nd levels of Spirit Manifestation Realm, the situation had become extremely dangerous. Under these conditions, many of them could no longer defeat Frost Beasts of the same nominal level unless they worked together.
Once hunting beasts became too hard, the more ruthless cultivators would naturally turn to easier prey, which meant other cultivators. Stealing the points someone else had collected was often far more efficient than searching for beasts.
The nature of the trial changed the moment the blizzard arrived, and the next phase was certain to be full of slaughter.
Sure enough, Li Yun ran into several more ambushes over the following days. His reputation and the strength he had shown placed him among the strongest participants in the Celestial Prodigy Camp, but there were always people who overestimated themselves.
Li Yun showed none of them any mercy, and everyone who tried to kill him died to his sword. Those failed ambushes alone earned him more than one thousand extra points.
"Help!"
One day, six figures suddenly appeared in the blizzard, all running for their lives. Their faces were full of terror, and they kept looking back over their shoulders as if some horrifying creature were chasing them.
Then one of them noticed Li Yun, and his eyes lit up.
"Brother Li! Save us!"
The six changed direction and ran straight toward him, and Li Yun simply watched them come. When they were within striking distance, the fear on their faces suddenly vanished and sinister smiles took its place.
"Die!"
All six attacked at once. One of them had reached the 3rd level of Spirit Manifestation Realm, and the other five were at the 2nd level. They had also clearly practiced a combined attack formation, because their six attacks merged into one and produced power close to the 4th level of Spirit Manifestation Realm.
If an ordinary cultivator at the perfection stage of the 3rd level were caught off guard, an attack like that could easily leave him badly injured or even dead.
Li Yun sighed. "Why bother?"
There was no surprise in his eyes. He swung his sword lightly and released a strand of Slaughter Sword Qi, which split into six separate streaks and shot out at the same time.
Thin lines of blood appeared across the foreheads of the six ambushers. Their bodies went stiff, and then all six of them collapsed.
"A group pretends to be in danger, runs to me for help, and attacks once they get close," Li Yun said, shaking his head. "I’ve seen this trick far too many times over the last few days."
He was hardly some inexperienced youth who had only just entered the martial world. If these people truly believed such a crude trick could fool him, they had badly underestimated him.
"Hahahaha!"
Arrogant laughter suddenly rang out through the storm.
"I finally did it!"
Thunder exploded in the distance.
"I, Lei Xuankong, have finally reached the 4th level of Spirit Manifestation Realm!"
Lightning burst out among the snowflakes with a boom, and arcs of electricity spread through the blizzard and shattered the falling snow.
A figure in purple robes walked out of the storm. It was Lei Xuankong. Flashing lightning surrounded his whole body, and his purple hair whipped wildly in the wind.
Then his gaze landed on Li Yun. His expression froze for a moment before a savage grin spread across his face.
"Li Yun?" A frightening light burst from Lei Xuankong’s eyes. "The heavens really do favor me. I’ve only just broken through, and the first person I run into is you."
He laughed. "It looks like even fate wants you dead."

Comments

Loading...