Chapter 80: The Slayer King
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Swish—
Just as the two men were about to make their moves, two figures rushed forward.
"Stop!" There was a shout from a haughty voice, dignified and awe-inspiring. Yan Chu trembled all over. He had no alternative but to stop, and he turned back with reverence in his eyes as he respectfully greeted the new arrivals, "Senior Sister Long, Senior Brother Qin."
A young woman with an impressive stature and appearance had arrived alongside a refined-looking youth in white robes. They were the strongest prospective Holy Disciples, countless Holy Disciples looked up to them.
Long Xiaoyue, a Level Eight Peak prospective Holy Disciple, was the strong contender closest to becoming a Holy Disciple! Qin Yueming, a Level Eight Upper Tier prospective Holy Disciple, was only a few steps away from becoming a Holy Disciple!
The arrival of these two intensified the oppressive atmosphere. Su Yu's and Xia Jingyu's hearts started pounding. This was the Evil Forest; if Long Xiaoyue and Qin Yueming harbored any treacherous thoughts, it would hard for all of them to escape.
In particular, Long Xiaoyue worried Su Yu. Su Yu declared had his intention to become a Holy Disciple in public, which had stirred up Long Xiaoyue's resentment.
Long Xiaoyue's temperament was deep and profound, like an unsheathed razor-sharp sword; ultimately motionless—but, once moved, it would cleave the skies and crack the earth!
Her pair of bright, cold eyes gently drifted until they fixed on Su Yu. She stared so intently that Su Yu and Xia Jingyu were busy mentally preparing for escape when she nodded faintly. "No wonder you feel you can be disrespectful to the Holy King, your ability had made even me take notice. Just a brief ten days and you've already broken through to Level Seven Lower Tier—amazing!"
Yan Chu looked slightly startled. Ten days ago Su Yu had been a mere Level Five Upper Tier, and now, he was a strong Level Seven. Such rapid progress was unimaginable.
Sweeping her gaze over to the puppets behind him, she implied with disdain, "If I were to also cultivate the technique to control puppets, I alone could sweep across the Evil Forest, there would be no need to say anything!"
Long Xiaoyue's bright eyes quickly glanced at the three puppets behind Su Yu. She nodded and said, "How about cooperating with us? We are about to step into the core zone to capture and kill the rumored Slayer King!"
The Slayer King? The most powerful Level Nine slayer?
Su Yu and Xia Jingyu gasped! It was rumored that it had taken three Holy Disciples to catch the Slayer King alive, and consequently, one of the Holy Disciples was wounded—more proof of the Slayer King's ferocity.
As a result of his power, the Slayer King's body had two pieces of divine grade spirit elixirs! The divine grade elixir's efficacy was hard to estimate! Long Xiaoyue would spare no energy and put everything she had into the battle. It was highly risky, but the lure of the elixir was strong!
Su Yu pondered for a moment. Mentally, Su Yu could accept cooperating with Long Xiaoyue and the others, but his instincts were warning him...
Xia Jingyu spoke Su Yu's worry out loud, "Senior Sister Long, please pardon your Junior Sister for her blunt words but, if we join forces and sweep across the Evil Forest, we may not be greatly opposed, but we still may be somewhat inadequate to capture and kill a Level Nine."
The difference between the thresholds for Level Eight and Level Nine was heaven and earth. Long Xiaoyue's charming face looked confident and spirited, "Well… let's just say that I'm certain of the outcome."
Swish—
Long Xiaoyue flexed her palm and retrieved a fiery red ball which contained a heart-palpitating power!
"This is the Fire Soul Pearl, it contains the absolute power of the Holy King's strength. One strike and the Level Nine Lower Tier will be annihilated and turned to ashes!" This had been procured in exchange for Long Xiaoyue's credit, which she had collected over her many years spent capturing slayers for the Heavenly Sanctuary; there was only one piece.
"Furthermore, Senior Brother Qiu Changjian, who besieged the Slayer King, previously said the Slayer King was seriously injured in a war and found it hard to recover. His cultivation base has also fallen below Level Nine, he's barely stronger than me. That's all. So, if you all join in too, attacking and killing him will be a cinch."
Long Xiaoyue smiled and looked at Su Yu, "So how about it? If you are willing, I can now help you both break through to Level Seven Upper Tier."
Su Yu and Xia Jingyu were instantly tempted! Were they going to fight the Slayer King so soon?
The two of them looked at each other several times and they contemplated the choice for a good while. Then, Su Yu slowly nodded, "Yes! But you must let us have a breakthrough first! Share with us five pieces of spirit elixirs, that will suffice."
"Yan Chu, give them." Long Xiaoyue smiled and forthrightly agreed.
Five pieces? It greatly pained Yan Chu to do so! But most of his spirit elixirs had been given to him by Long Xiaoyue. Saint grade spirit elixirs had little effect on Long Xiaoyue, so she had gifted all the spirit elixirs to Yan Chu. Yan Chu was quietly furious as he took out five pieces of spirit elixirs! Why give them to Su Yu? If Long Xiaoyue forcefully commanded him to follow her, would Su Yu dare to resist and face her power?
Seemingly aware of Yan Chu's unwillingness to take out his elixirs, Long Xiaoyue slightly shook her head. "You should be glad that you did not fight with Su Yu, otherwise, you will be miserable," she said lightly.
Intentionally or unintentionally, Long Xiaoyue gave the three puppets a glance. Within the Sanctuary Divine Vault there existed three Deity Level cultivation techniques; that was an open secret among ten great prospective Holy Disciples. Only the most powerful disciple, Zhao Guang, would be able to comprehend them, anyway.
Su Yu's puppetry technique reminded Long Xiaoyue of one of the three great Deity Level cultivation techniques—the Infernal Demon Pupils technique. If Su Yu's control technique came from Infernal Demon Pupils, had he comprehended the other two Deity Level techniques too? If he did, it would be difficult to use cultivation base as a measure of Su Yu's terrifying ability.
Yan Chu misinterpreted the look in Long Xiaoyue's eyes. He took the gaze to mean that the puppets were the ones to fear, if Yan Chu forcibly made his move just now, he would be seriously wounded by the puppets.
His face turned pale and flushed red. Yan Chu, still resentful, lightly snorted, "What's so amazing about relying on the puppets? With ability alone, I can crush him with one finger!"
Long Xiaoyue secretly shook her head but did not further explain. Next, taking five pieces of the unexpectedly obtained saint grade spirit elixirs, Su Yu and Xia Jingyu, under the protection of everyone present, swallowed the elixirs.
Hum—
An hour later, Su Yu and Xia Jingyu both had a breakthrough to Level Seven Upper Tier! Yan Chu watched jealously. He remembered when he and his friends had their breakthroughs to Level Seven—how many years and trials had they gone through to reach that point?
Yet, Su Yu and Xia Jingyu had found one opportunity after another; just ten days in the Evil Forest and they had gone from Level Five Upper Tier to Level Seven Upper Tier!
Long Xiaoyue looked calm, but did not feel that Su Yu and Xia Jingyu had deserved their breakthroughs; so far, they had progressed thanks only to luck. The Evil Forest had existed for a long time, but how many people with inadequate cultivation bases had continuous breakthroughs for ten straight days, as these two had?
It was as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Opportunities were created equally within the Evil Forest; only ability and bravery determined who got what opportunity. Yan Chu, before he had reached Level Seven, would not dare to venture into the Evil Forest—therefore, his breakthrough was slow.
He tried to focus on their survival in the Evil Forest, rather than dwell in jealousy over Su Yu and Xia Jingyu's good luck. How could they defeat the strong slayers who remained, when they stood at a disadvantage?
Finally feeling the power of the Level Seven Upper Tier, Su Yu's and Xia Jingyu's faces lit up. If they were to encounter a Level Eight Lower Tier again, Su Yu and Xia Jingyu were confident they would be victorious; they still had the advantage even in one-on-one combat with a Level Eight Upper Tier.
Long Xiaoyue softly chuckled, "In our coming journey, how many spirit elixirs you get will depend on you—I will not help anyone. Let's go!"
They were a team of eight members, each with a comparably strong Level Eight ability. They were practically invincible! All slayers they encountered would be suppressed and killed! In just three short days Su Yu and Xia Jingyu, relying on the strength of numbers, had snatched six pieces of spirit elixirs.
But, Su Yu was increasingly puzzled. The core zone was the area where the slayers usually gathered, but during these three days, it seemed as if the closer they got to the core, the fewer slayers there were. Long Xiaoyue was also aware that something was not right, and she secretly frowned.
"That ancient temple is the dwelling of the Slayer King." Putting away the doubts in her mind, Long Xiaoyue, concealed within the woods, quietly pointed to a temple hidden within the lush green forest, about two miles away.
Su Yu looked over, his expression slightly apprehensive, "There are three Level Eight Upper Tier guards near the temple!"
"Hey!" Long Xiaoyue looked at Su Yu with an odd expression, "How do you know so many details?"
"Senior Brother Qiu Changjian said that the Slayer King was once a prince of a country. He started a coup and failed, and was reduced to becoming a bandit. He committed indiscriminate killings everywhere, surrounded by four faithful imperial bodyguards; together, they were captured and taken back to the Evil Forest.
"Among them, one is Level Eight Peak, and three are Level Eight Upper Tier."
All this information was not in the profile… How did Su Yu know all of this?
Long Xiaoyue was even more curious about Su Yu's ability. Along the way, he and Xia Jingyu almost never made any direct attacks; all they did was command the three puppets to destroy their enemies.
Su Yu's pupils contracted. There was a Level Eight Peak? He looked around intently but did not find the Level Eight Peak slayer anywhere.
Yan Chu squinted his eyes and snorted, "What a fraud!" Along the way, Su Yu, who had depended only on his puppets, had made him insanely jealous.
"Well, get ready to attack!" Long Xiaoyue's eyes looked fierce, "Three Level Eight Upper Tier imperial bodyguards. We will separate and break them up, then swarm in together and take them out one by one. When they're dealt with, we will consolidate our power, target the Level Eight Peak, and then, finally, I'll deal with the Level Nine Slayer King!" Long Xiaoyue mapped out their plan.
Everyone nodded and they began to sneak forward!
Rustling—
The eight figures were overwhelming and swift like a tsunami! Among them were a Level Eight Peak and a Level Eight Upper Tier; such a formidable combination of abilities meant even Level Eight Upper Tier slayers didn't stand a chance!
Ah—
As they killed the first slayer, Su Yu, with his keen eyes and quick hands, took away the spirit elixir with a tug of the entwined dragon silk, before Yan Chu and Qin Yueming had a chance.
Yan Chu and Qin Yueming immediately killed the second slayer!
Ah, ah—
Two screams, one after another.The last two Level Eight Upper Tier slayers had perished on the spot! Their counterattack had caused Su Yu to sacrifice a puppet, but Su Yu still got all three spirit elixirs!
He'd already gathered nine pieces of the saint grade spirit elixirs—if he could collect another piece, he and Xia Jingyu would have the chance to breakthrough to Level Seven Peak!
Of the remaining slayers, one was a Level Eight Peak slayer, and the other was the legendary Slayer King!
"After breaking in, you all will besiege the Level Eight Peak bodyguard, and I will exterminate the Slayer King!" Long Xiaoyue's eyes sparkled, her palms sweaty.
The Slayer King, the exceptional Level Nine slayer, must be killed with one strike! Although he had serious bodily injuries, he could still easily obliterate them all!
Su Yu and Xia Jingyu were afraid.
Swish—
The team made their move!
Boom—
The temple door, under the conjoined force of eight people, opened with a jolt. However, a nearly vacant hall was what greeted them.
At the highest point of the hall, there was an ancient and decaying throne. On that throne, an imposing figure was faintly discernible! He seemed to be like an old king! An air of tyranny, like a great wild beast, assaulted the senses!
Su Yu's breath froze and he whispered in alarm, "The Slayer King!"
Scanning with his enhanced senses, Su Yu's face became even more aghast, "Oh no! His injuries have been healed!"