Chapter 148: The Hideous Facade

In the state of slaughter, the speed at which Qin Chuan killed was too fast to clearly describe, but the outcome was always the same.

Qin Chuan perhaps harbored no direct enmity toward the Black Wind Cliff, but surviving and living freely in the Spirit Realm was no easy feat.

If Qin Chuan did not kill them today, they would eventually come to enslave or kill him tomorrow.

This was a certainty that Qin Chuan could not escape, leaving him with no choice but to use slaughter to stop slaughter.

Long Ao was right; strength was forever the greatest foundation of confidence.

Rather than passively suffering, it was better to proactively strike.

Qin Chuan understood this thoroughly, which was why he never showed the slightest hesitation or mercy.

The once erratic and playful Qin Chuan had now transformed into a man with clear goals and a distinct personality.

Walking through the Spirit Realm wearing a stolen human skin, there was no guarantee he wouldn't be seen through by some supreme grand figures, forcing him to continuously devour and grow stronger without stopping.

In short, it all boiled down to one sentence: Crush them, obliterate them!

At the very end, Qin Chuan unleashed a massive ultimate skill, wiping out the outer sect disciples attempting to flee, comfortably racking up a critical hit.

"Bang!"

Qin Chuan kicked open the grand hall doors, just in time to see a figure leap out from beneath the floor of the hall.

"Ding! Discovered Black Wind Cliff Outer Sect Branch Master, Level 42."

"Ding! Discovered Tier 4 Intermediate Light-Fixing Jade Crystal Axe, Unique Quality, Level 42."

The branch master possessed sinister, gloomy eyes. Seeing the corpses strewn all over the outside, he did not reveal even a trace of anger.

Such emotional composure was truly astonishing.

This man was named Ding Guang, a proud disciple of an inner sect elder of the Black Wind Cliff, and could be considered a man who had seen the world.

"You are strong, completely unlike someone at Level 35, and you possess a red-grade spirit weapon."

"I truly cannot fathom when such a monstrous talent emerged in the Spirit Realm."

"You might even be comparable to the You Jinghong of the past."

In his early years, Ding Guang had traveled widely across the Spirit Realm, befriending many people, and had naturally heard tales of the realm's prodigies and monsters.

Yet, looking at the man in black before him, he could not discern his origins. The only certainty was that Qin Chuan was genuinely only at Level 35.

Fighting opponents of higher levels was not difficult for supreme prodigies, so he was not foolish enough to think Qin Chuan was an invincible powerhouse.

From this single point, it was clear that Ding Guang was several tiers above the so-called elders.

Qin Chuan had no idea who You Jinghong was, and whatever his name was, it made no difference to him.

Qin Chuan smiled faintly and said, "Each generation of talents replaces the old. You are lagging behind."

Facing Qin Chuan's confidence and nonchalance, Ding Guang felt as though he were once again facing the You Jinghong who had filled him with dread.

Back then, a Level 35 Ding Guang could not even last a few moves against You Jinghong, a humiliation he regarded as a lifelong stain.

Years had passed, and through arduous cultivation, he had finally reached Level 42 and attained the position of an outer sect branch master.

At this moment, Qin Chuan's appearance instead stirred an irrepressible excitement within him.

In Ding Guang's mind, defeating Qin Chuan would be just like defeating the You Jinghong of the past.

To a certain extent, it would satisfy his vanity.

Ding Guang's mindset was somewhat peculiar, as if defeating Qin Chuan meant he would have defeated You Jinghong.

Over the years, Ding Guang's three primary stats had improved considerably, which was the source of his confidence. Back then, all three of his stats were below 2,000+.

His current stats were: Attack 2,100+, Spirit Defense 2,900+, Agility 2,450+.

However, had Ding Guang known that Qin Chuan had already casually toyed the Soul General Cheng to death, he likely wouldn't have been so confident.

Given Ding Guang's strength, defeating Soul General Cheng would already be extremely difficult, let alone slaying him.

The corners of Ding Guang's mouth curled into a cold smile as he said with utmost confidence, "To kill you, I only need three moves, and I shall claim the red-grade spirit weapon in your hands!"

Hearing this, Qin Chuan couldn't help but find it amusing, replying indifferently, "You are not only arrogant but utterly foolish."

By this point, Qin Chuan had already sensed that Ding Guang's strength was roughly on par with Soul General Cheng's, so he no longer had the patience to play with him.

This time, Qin Chuan took the initiative, moving forward like a fleeting shadow, followed by two consecutive blinks that made his movement technique appear profoundly bizarre.

This eerie movement technique caused the smile on Ding Guang's face to freeze instantly, for even the You Jinghong of the past was incapable of such a feat.

"Intimidation!"

"Flowing Strike!"

However, Ding Guang's shocks were far from over. As Qin Chuan closed the distance, he erupted with a terrifying aura that caused Ding Guang's mind to momentarily stall.

In that exact fraction of a second, the Dragon-Vein Cold Crystal Sword pierced through the air.

"Ding! Triggered critical hit, damage increased to 150%, and generated a knockback effect."

"Ding! Triggered 40% deceleration effect."

"Ah!"

Sent flying backward, blood gushed from Ding Guang's chest, his eyes bulging as large as copper bells.

He would never have believed such a scenario was possible; a single move had instantly reduced him to near-death health.

"He... he is even more monstrous than You Jinghong!"

Qin Chuan had leveled up, obtaining the 5-Star Senior Elite title, and had undergone another evolution just moments prior.

Consequently, his current sharpness value stood at: 984 + 1,377.6 (140%) + 492 (50%) = 2,850+.

Furthermore, the stacking of Intimidation and the deepening of frost damage had increased his sharpness value by an additional 10%, bringing it to over 3,130+ before striking Ding Guang.

Therefore, the final damage of this critical hit reached 4,700+.

"To kill you, I only need one move. Claiming you'd kill me in three moves is sheer nonsense."

Flowing Strike consisted of three distinct phases, which essentially meant one move contained three strikes, so claiming a single move was no empty boast.

Qin Chuan glided forward a few meters and smashed his sword down toward the airborne Ding Guang.

"Heavy Strike!"

"Bang!"

"Ah!"

"Ding! Obtained 168 merit points. Slaying the Black Wind Cliff Outer Sect Branch Master additionally grants 336 merit points."

"Ding! Obtained 42 points of primordial energy."

Ding Guang's body was smashed into smithereens, departing this world with a hundred thousand unanswered questions.

Meanwhile, the Light-Fixing Jade Crystal Axe automatically glowed, narrowly escaping destruction, though it subsequently passed out from the shock.

The Light-Fixing Jade Crystal Axe had just utilized its defensive skill—Jade Crystal Protection—but since Ding Guang had not yet comprehended this skill, he could only meet his end.

Qin Chuan stepped forward and picked up the Jade Crystal Axe, noticing only faint cracks on its surface. With a little cultivation and rest, it would be able to recover.

"You fellow are quite vigilant."

With that remark, Qin Chuan tossed it into his storage ring and proceeded to thoroughly loot the area, uncovering two Earth Crystals.

"You lack other skills, but you certainly know how to hoard wealth."

"Ding! Obtained 10 billion evolution points."

......

After cleaning up the area, Qin Chuan arrived at the underground formation and initiated devouring on the sixty-four Dragon Soul Crystals.

"Ding! Obtained 20 billion experience points."

......

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for reaching Level 36. New skill points acquired."

At this moment, Qin Chuan leveled up once again while simultaneously unlocking the third phase of his ultimate skill.

Phase 1: 70% of base sharpness value.

Phase 2: 100% of base sharpness value, plus a 10-meter displacement.

Phase 3: Each level adds a Falling Sky Flowing Strike with a diameter of five meters.

Seeing the effects of this third phase, Qin Chuan couldn't help a surge of pleasant surprise: "That means there will ultimately be six Falling Sky Flowing Strikes, equivalent to six ultimate skills."

Only at this moment did Qin Chuan's ultimate skill truly reveal its ferocious visage.

"Ah! Heavens, I am free!"

Simultaneously, the spirit entities within the region controlled by this branch recovered their freedom and began scattering in all directions.

Qin Chuan had uprooted two branch sects back-to-back, yet he remained unsatisfied, embarking once more on a new journey.

And at this very moment, the people of the Black Wind Cliff finally received the news.