Chapter 48: King of Werewolves!
2016-02-14
Author: Zhu Sheng Fu Tu
The influence of cultivation in the Eastern Kingdom on melee professionists is profound.
Let us not mention the advanced profession 【Sword Saint】, which is most affected by the Eastern Kingdom; even many of the skills mastered by wanderers have been influenced by the Eastern Kingdom. For instance, the training in intuitive dodging, mastery of agile movement, and the top skill of the legendary wanderer, 【Shadow Step】, have great similarities with the monk’s 【Shadow Trail】. When legendary monks use 【Shadow Trail】, they can leap through shadows for spatial jumps, which is roughly equivalent to the wizard’s short-range blink spell.
When a melee profession can also teleport, the effect is indeed terrifying!
Not to mention that monks are famously adept in extremely close combat.
The special skill of the monk, 【Rapid Strike】, once it gets close enough, even a wanderer’s reaction speed cannot keep up.
Night falls.
The group, which has been on the road for a day, temporarily stops. The traces left behind suddenly cut off here, and the leading monk has just sent out the rangers to look for clues.
Rangers are essentially wanderers.
Different regions have slight variances in the terminology for professions. In the southern part of the continent, rangers are more often seen as followers of deities. In the Eastern Kingdom, where there are not many beliefs in deities, the rangers here are more akin to druids; most of them are close to animals, protecting nature and helping lost travelers. Rangers decide whether it is possible to comprehend divine techniques based on their perception abilities. They are a group skilled in tracking, capable of easily following various clues in the wilderness.
Chan finds a clean stone and sits cross-legged.
The puppet master intends to approach and strike up a conversation, but upon being glared at by the girl, he immediately retreats.
Everyone in the group gets busy; soon a pile of campfires rises, and two warriors spar beside the campfire due to their itchiness. Chan looks at them a few times but loses interest, finding the warriors’ training techniques too crude for her liking as a master of fist. They focus entirely on physical control and pay no attention to their inner strength and mental power. The vitality of warriors is very robust, and their daily physical training makes them tough, with vitality exceeding that of other professionists by two or three times.
Chan begins to regulate her breath, adjusting her mental state with her heartbeat, then sinks into her inner perception.
This is a form of meditation.
Unlike wizards, who primarily use meditation to enhance their spirit, priests meditate to perceive the divine’s glory. Druids meditate to feel the external nature, while monks meditate to perceive their inner selves.
Meditation requires a foundation.
Either sufficient intelligence or sufficient perception; attributes below 12 find it difficult to enter the realm of meditation.
The two warriors quickly establish a victor.
The winner seems to feel unsatisfied and casts his gaze toward Chan’s side, where a young man also sits cross-legged, holding a straight blade.
This is a sword saint.
Sword saints generally seldom take action because their attacks are too fierce. They fight without armor—a method learned from monks—so their attacks resemble the vigorous style of monks practicing 【Diamond Body】.
As if sensing the other’s gaze, the young man also slowly opens his eyes.
Sword saints also require meditation, but they focus more on the energy known as ‘Qi,’ or ‘KI’ in ancient language.
“Do you want to spar with me?”
The young sword saint slowly opens his eyes and, upon seeing the other’s nod, gradually stands up.
Generally, those who can advance to sword saints possess a strong fighting spirit.
However, they also need to learn to restrain themselves like monks; this kind of meditation is almost a daily routine for monks, sword saints, and masters of fist.
Chan opens her eyes.
This sword saint, like her, is an outsider, someone journeying to assist the Baiyun Sect. She has not seen this sword saint fight yet, so she is quite curious about his strength.
Even in the Eastern Kingdom, the proportion of those who can advance to sword saint is not high.
As the young man slowly stands up, the warrior opposing him nervously grips his weapon; the sword saint is known for his fierce attacks; he challenges the other more to understand this power.
For many warriors who encounter bottlenecks, finding a way to advance to sword saint is the best path.
“Please.”
The young sword saint casually grips his straight blade and gestures for the tense warrior to go first. Sword saints naturally possess a demeanor born from not wearing armor; they fight on the edge of a blade, unlike other melee professionists who rely on armor to avoid damage.
Clang!
The anticipated exciting battle does not happen; the opposing warrior only lasts a few seconds before losing.
A total of three moves.
Swing.
Swing.
Qi Slash!
In the first two moves, the sword saint was still gauging the opponent; upon discovering that the opponent was no match for him in the third move, a Qi Slash sent the warrior’s weapon flying.
One who, like himself, is preparing to advance into legends.
Chan quickly realizes that this is a sword saint aiming to break through the legendary domain; he probably serves the Baiyun Sect hoping to obtain some cultivation methods.
Sword saints focus on the cultivation of ‘Qi.’
As for monks, ‘Qi’ is their most fundamental essence, a product of their perception of the inner self.
The young sword saint turns his gaze toward Chan.
Those around clearly sense the fighting spirit; perhaps for this sword saint, besides the leading legendary monk, only Chan is worthy of a duel.
So, Chan stands up.
As a seemingly tall and slender girl, Chan is much more dangerous than she appears.
“Please.”
Chan brings her hands together in a gesture of invitation; she has been trained in the monk’s way since childhood, and the master of fist is practically an extension of that.
The young sword saint squints slightly.
In an instant.
A sharp blade light directly slashes toward Chan, faster than before, as just now, the sword saint had not exerted his full strength.
Sword saints are renowned for their fast attack speeds.
Hand-to-hand attacks are the fastest for monks, but no one can attack faster than a sword saint with a weapon.
Facing the sword saint’s exceedingly fierce strike, Chan dodges to the side as if she had anticipated it, letting out a low shout as she slaps out.
——”Shock Palm!”
Clang.
The unarmored sword saint doesn’t dare to take Chan’s attack head-on; he instantly blocks it with the back of his blade. Even though that slap hit the back of the blade, the young sword saint’s body vibrates, and blood seeps from the corner of his mouth.
“Dark Force?”
“Infiltration Force?”
Surrounding people gasp in astonishment; such techniques require at least a high-level monk to master. The Eastern Kingdom boasts many monks, but many lack talent, comparable to ordinary warriors. They train in rapid strikes and hand-to-hand techniques; only those with better talent can learn Diamond Body and Ethereal Body.
The sword saint’s expression clearly grows serious.
Chan’s hand-to-hand attack against the weapon emits a metallic collision sound; this ability is known as ‘Battle Qi Strike.’ Chan’s hands are at least equivalent to a first-tier extraordinary weapon.
In other words.
The girl, who appears delicate and fragile, can already catch the strike of an extraordinary weapon barehanded.
Masters of fist focus more on training hand-to-hand attacks; ordinary monks need to reach level 10 to transform their hands into extraordinary weapons. They can strengthen to a +2 extraordinary weapon when they reach level 13. However, masters of fist can increase that ability by one level for every two profession levels; as a high-level professional, Chan’s hands are at least equivalent to a +3 extraordinary weapon.
Incredible.
The hands of this seemingly slender and delicate girl are comparable to a +3 extraordinary weapon.
Chan does not stop attacking.
After a brief melee, her storm-like continuous attacks have unfolded, and the sword saint is almost instantly suppressed by the frenzied attack frequency.
Had Chan fully cultivated the ‘Ethereal Body,’ it would have been different.
The true level required to reach Ethereal Body is 19, while Diamond Body only requires level 17.
The sword saint begins to retreat step by step.
Chan gives him no opportunity; it’s completely one-sided suppression.
However.
Just as the sword saint is forced back several steps, a flash of light suddenly bursts forth in his eyes, and he shouts at the girl before him, “Be careful!”
In that instant!
The situation abruptly reverses; the sword saint’s attacks suddenly become incredibly fierce. The straight blade has turned into an afterimage, and as the blade swirls, it even creates an invisible blade wind. People too close feel the blade wind cutting at them, some even suffering red marks on their skin.
At this moment.
Nearby, in the trees, Soren, hiding in the shadows and casually observing, also narrows his eyes, muttering, “Whirlwind Attack!?”
The precursor combat technique to the Great Whirlwind.
Soren can also use this attack. The fact that the sword saint can use it, in data terms, indicates that he has at least obtained a prompt about the ‘Great Whirlwind.’
This sword saint has secrets!
Soren suspects that the opponent has received guidance from a legendary profession who has mastered the Great Whirlwind or himself possesses the methods for practicing the Great Whirlwind. Soren has already received a prompt about the Great Whirlwind; if he has formal training methods, mastering the combat techniques of the Great Whirlwind would just be a matter of time.
On the other side.
After being pushed back by the sword saint’s attack, Chan directly withdraws her hands, softly stating, “I lost.”
The other side is clearly holding back; otherwise, the instant the whirlwind attack erupted, she would have been killed, as the speed was simply too fast.
She misjudged.
The opponent not only wants to advance into the legendary domain but has already touched the threshold of the legendary domain.
Facing a sword saint, the master of fist has already lost the initiative; there is no need to continue the fight.
The expressions of companions around looking at the sword saint are clearly filled with astonishment and admiration, some even wanting to get closer to perhaps learn some techniques from the sword saint.
At that moment, Chan turns her head to gaze into the distant woods, feeling that someone is spying on her.
Night falls.
Others take a short rest while waiting for the rangers’ return, and Chan resumes her meditation, maintaining her perception of the external world.
She looks around sixteen or seventeen years old.
But her actual age is already twenty-one; monks have a level 17 ability called Ageless Body. Generally, when one achieves this ability, a monk’s body ceases to age. While this does not extend the monk’s life, it ensures that until their natural death, they can maintain their state without further aging.
Chan’s appearance is influenced by this ability.
She walks the path of cultivating the 【Ethereal Body】; having contacted the Ageless Body training relatively early, she stopped aging when she was around sixteen or seventeen. Although she has grown a bit taller, her features have not changed much. If she can advance further, she could use the Ageless Body ability to maintain her condition at its peak, preserving her body around twenty years old until the day she dies.
………………
On the other side.
Soren also falls into deep thought; the technique that sword saint just used clearly utilized ‘KI’ energy.
As a wanderer, Soren does not possess this ability unless he also doubles as a level one monk or sword saint. Given Soren’s current circumstances, it is possible for him to become a sword saint, but the penalty from killing experience would be very challenging. However, since he possesses a wizard profession level, using higher acceleration spells and divine power, Soren can simulate similar combat capabilities. Divine power far surpasses the mundane; if he can unearth the key points, perhaps he can try to grasp it through other means.
However.
There is a rather troublesome issue.
That is, Soren does not know how to perform the ‘Qi Slash’. Even from an outsider’s perspective, it is evident that the sword saint’s burst was entirely reliant on a Qi Slash.
He needs to communicate with that sword saint.
Moreover, Soren himself has received information about the Great Whirlwind; both sides may benefit mutually.
As the night deepens.
While Soren ponders how to approach the group, a commotion suddenly arises in the distance.
Then, the leading legendary monk stands up, shouts at others, and swiftly rushes ahead. Others also hurry to follow, as it seems the scattered rangers have discovered something.
Soren quickly chases after them.
The monk crosses through a patch of woods and immediately spots a corpse; after glancing at it, he tightly frowns and exclaims, “Werewolf!?”
The deceased is precisely the ranger he sent out.
Two high-level monks had accompanied this ranger, but their bodies are not nearby. The deceased’s chest is torn open with immense force, a distinct claw mark visible, and grey hair remains on the deceased’s weapon.
This does not appear to be the work of humans.
“Go!”
“Our spy has probably been discovered! They are in great danger!”
The legendary monk rushes out first, followed closely by Chan and the young sword saint. Soren catches up a few minutes later; examining the traces around, he frowns and says, “Abyss Werewolf!?”
King of Werewolves – Yenogu!
This powerful abyss lord has been seeking the artifact 【Time Flail】. Although he already possesses a +3 artifact flail, he has never given up on seeking a more powerful artifact, the Time Flail. A hint of abyssal aura clings to the corpse, which ordinary people might not sense, but as a deity, Soren can perceive much more.
The one who attacked is an abyss werewolf!
Moreover, it’s a very dangerous high-level werewolf assassin, possibly teleported directly from the Bottomless Abyss.
(PS: This is a two-in-one. This volume is about to end.) (To be continued ~^~)
