Chapter 113: The Golden Man King with No Choice Left

Caught in the encirclement, Zizi remained calm and unhurried. Following the Sleepy Bug, she swung her sword at the gold-men who had been poisoned, turning them into helpless wrecks. Naturally, she was saving the kills for Qin Chuan. Having consumed the blue, green, and purple spirit fluids, Zizi was completely immune to the Sleepy Bug’s toxic mist, and she fought with such fierce passion that she resembled a formidable, high-stakes bandit.

Qin Chuan was the most ruthless of them all; with a single strike, he would fell several enemies at once, and his ultimate area-clearing moves made his efficiency truly staggering.

"Gods, how are they so powerful?"
"It’s no use, we can't hold them back!"
"That black sword is too cruel; it’s practically a demonic blade!"
"Stop fighting, retreat!"

Under the wanton ravaging of the three bandits, the gold-men suffered heavy losses. Before long, their spirit cores shattered from terror, and they scrambled to flee into the depths of the dense forest. Seeing them retreat, Qin Chuan was in no rush. He gracefully collected their essence before giving chase.

Meanwhile, a large gold-man sat upon a throne, listening to his subordinate’s report with mounting anxiety.

"Reporting to the King, our territory is under attack, and we have suffered heavy losses."

The large gold-man was both shocked and bewildered. He stood up abruptly and demanded, "What?! How could this be? Since when did those black mud-blobs become so powerful?"

The large gold-man ruled over nearly ten thousand tribes and had declared himself King, sharing control of the land with the Mud-man King. Because the Seven-Star Region was guarded by the Five-Colored Purple Spirit Beast, no spirit entity could pass through. Over time, the Seven-Star Region had become a sealed-off territory. At some point, the Mud-men and Gold-men had risen, slaughtered most of the other spirit entities, and occupied the region. The two major tribes constantly clashed, neither willing to yield the land to the other.

Hearing his subordinate’s report, the Gold-man King naturally assumed that the Mud-men had launched a massive invasion. However, the next words from his subordinate left him completely dumbfounded.

"No, no, King. Three outsiders have arrived. One is a beautiful girl, and the other two are a sword and a bug."

"They are incredibly savage. That bug spews poison—if you touch it, you’re either dead or severely wounded. But that sword is the most ruthless of all. A flash of blade-light passes by, and our brothers are all dead. It is razor-sharp and eerily elusive, just like a demonic blade."

The Gold-man King could hardly believe his ears. Enraged, he bellowed, "Where did they pop out from? I have ruled here for so many years and have never heard of such a trio!"

"I... I do not know, King."

"Report!"

At that moment, another gold-man came tumbling in, trembling with terror. "King... he... he is coming this way."

His speech was incoherent, which infuriated the Gold-man King, who kicked the soldier over. "Useless trash! Look at you, trembling like a coward and unable to even speak properly. Tell me, what is going on?!"

The gold-man scrambled up, crying out, "King, the black demonic sword is coming! The ground outside is littered with corpses; it is a sight too horrific to behold!"

"Damn you!"

The Gold-man King was fuming, his rage boiling over. To think that his entire Gold-man Kingdom was being turned upside down by a black demonic sword—it was inconceivable!

"Gather the troops and follow me out! I will tear him to shreds!"

"Yes, King."

The Gold-man King grabbed his gleaming golden blade and stormed outside, only to be met with a sight that shocked him even further. A black demonic sword was standing atop a pile of gold-man corpses, looking utterly indifferent. The area was littered with bodies; it wasn't just a scene of slaughter, it was total annihilation.

"You... you wiped out my people?" The Gold-man King’s voice trembled, not from fear, but from extreme fury.

"Indeed, I killed them all," Qin Chuan replied calmly, as if he had merely done something insignificant.

"You deserve to die! You deserve to die! Ten thousand deaths would not be enough!" The Gold-man King stomped his feet in despair. As a king, he was no stranger to decisive slaughter and had often fantasized about massacring the Mud-men. Yet, he never imagined that his own people would be the ones slaughtered first.

Finally, the Gold-man King could not help but ask, "Where on earth did you come from?"

Qin Chuan replied faintly, "From outside."

"Outside? Could it be that you killed that unkillable monster?"

"Indeed."

At that instant, the Gold-man King shrieked, his eyes filled with disbelief. He knew full well that there was a monstrous entity on the Path of Life and Death that was impossible to kill. That monster could wipe out crowds of gold-men with a single release of purple toxic mist—it was truly terrifying. Yet, the Gold-man King never dreamed that the monster he feared so much had been slain by this seemingly unremarkable black sword. This revelation nearly shattered his spirit core.

"Impossible! You are only level 26, how could you have killed him!"

"Hum!" The Dragon-Pattern Cold Jade Sword emitted a ringing sound, glowing with a faint orange light. A soft voice emanated from it: "There is nothing impossible. Killed is killed."

*Hiss!*

Seeing the orange glow, the Gold-man King gasped sharply. He had dreamt countless times of reaching this quality, but he had never been able to achieve it.

"Accursed Mud-men! If not for your obstruction, I would have become an orange-grade spirit long ago! I curse you—may you never be reborn!"

The Gold-man King’s overwhelming fury turned toward the Mud-men. Meanwhile, at the other end of the Seven-Star Region, the Mud-man King couldn't help but sneeze. "Damn it, who is cursing me? It must be that bastard, the Gold-man King."

The Gold-man King suppressed his shock; his spirit core was now filled with nothing but hatred and bitterness. He had no other choice.

"Although you killed that monster, I do not believe you can defeat me!"

The Gold-man King’s logic was sound. He had feared the Five-Colored Purple Spirit Beast’s toxic mist and its impenetrable toughness, which had left him helpless. But this black demonic sword before him clearly did not possess such high toughness. Even if its sharpness was terrifying, he still had a chance.

As a gold-man nurtured by the Spirit Realm, he possessed unique attributes and skills just like other spirit beings. This was the source of his confidence, and he had reached level 29.

Golden Blade Fury (Active): Phase 1, Level 3 "Angry Slash." Swings a blade forward with five meters of blade-aura, displacing toward the target and gaining 0.5 seconds of immunity. Each level increases sharpness by 10% and reduces cooldown by 1 second. Phase 2, Level 6 "Half-Spin Violent Slash." A 180-degree horizontal sweep with two meters of blade-aura; hits are guaranteed critical strikes. Each level increases blade-aura by 0.5 meters.

Gold-man Invincibility (Passive): Each level increases toughness by 10% and speed by 5%. Currently level 9.

Ruyi Golden Blade (Active): Immobilizes the target for 2 seconds and reduces all attributes by 10%. Cooldown is 10 seconds. Each level reduces cooldown by 0.5 seconds. Currently level 6.

Hundred Taboos (Active): Increases toughness and speed by 5% per level for ten seconds. Grants 1 second of immunity upon activation. Currently level 5.

The Gold-man King’s stats were: Sharpness 950+, Toughness 1000+ (including passives), and Speed 900+. Looking at the data, the Gold-man King was well-rounded, a true triple-threat. However, his maximum attack cap was only 1400+, which was why he could do nothing against the Five-Colored Purple Spirit Beast—its purple toxic mist was simply too formidable, leaving him in awe.