The Skygreen Serpent King Awakens

The cold covered this mound of earth. The frozen bodies, some fallen, some still standing, were like sculptures, drained of all life. There were over six hundred corpses, and the sight of more than five hundred innocent people among them only sharpened Ji Ning’s killing intent.

“Human child.” The Water Rhinoceros King’s four legs were like massive pillars as it looked down at Ji Ning. “You have angered me. Those were my rations.”

Frost enveloped Ji Ning, covering his brows and skin with a layer of ice. He gave a slight shake of his body, shattering the thin layer, but more frost gathered around him. All he could do was knock it away again and again.

“No matter how powerful your sword art and footwork may be, you are still only Houtian. I, however, am a mighty Xiantian being.” The Water Rhinoceros let out a rumbling laugh. “Since a few dozen humans managed to escape, I will use you to make up for it. The flesh of such a powerful human youth tempts me more than a thousand ordinary people.”

“I have never slain a Xiantian creature before.” Ji Ning looked at the Water Rhinoceros, his skin still covered with a thin layer of frost. His voice was cold. “And so I have never craved the death of a Xiantian creature as much as I do now. Water Rhinoceros King! As the first Xiantian being to die by my hand, you should be proud! I will cut off your flesh and taste it myself. I will even let my parents and my clan taste your flesh!”

Whoosh!

A second divine sword appeared in Ji Ning’s left hand. Now, he held a Northsea Sword in each hand.

“Twin swords? It seems your sword art is mediocre. In all the Yan Mountains, no one who uses twin swords has ever been truly skilled!” The Water Rhinoceros looked down at Ji Ning with its massive eyes, then began to move. Its hooves stomped into the ground, causing the earth to tremble as it charged forward like a moving mountain. “Die!”

Boom!

A hoof the size of a massive boulder descended from on high, stomping directly towards Ji Ning. The air screamed with a piercing howl, completely exploding. The resulting shockwave carved furrows into the ground. Before the descending hoof even touched him, Ji Ning already knew its power.

“Swoosh!” Ji Ning lashed out with a sword. The sword-light was like water, forming an almost invisible silken thread that sliced across the massive hoof. It barely managed to cut through the thick skin before it could go no deeper. Ji Ning turned into a gust of wind and retreated.

Boom!!!

The earth shuddered as a crater several zhang wide appeared. Ji Ning had already dodged over ten zhang away.

“You cannot escape.” The Water Rhinoceros roared as it charged. Despite its seemingly clumsy appearance, its massive size meant each step covered a vast distance. Its hooves slammed into the ground again and again, leaving deep craters in their wake. Soon, the chase led them to a nearby patch of forest, just a few li in size.

“These trees are nothing to me!” The Water Rhinoceros bellowed, crashing through them. Trees, before its mountain-like form, were knocked aside as easily as a man pushing through tall grass.

“Truly, in its true form, this Water Rhinoceros is far stronger than ordinary great demons,” Ji Ning mused. “And its hide is incredibly thick. Even my Unity of Man and Heaven sword art, powered by internal Ki alone, cannot penetrate it. It seems I must rely on my Fiendgod Body Refining.”

Swoosh!

Ji Ning leaped, landing lightly on a tall tree crown. He stood there without sinking, his eyes level with the Water Rhinoceros.

“Hm?” The Water Rhinoceros suddenly stopped. It could sense a change in the human youth’s aura. The intensity of his energy was now just barely weaker than its own. “Fiendgod Body Refining?”

“Yes.” Ji Ning’s skin began to flush red. The power of the Sunstar and the Taiyin Star began to surge within him, pushing his physical strength to its absolute limit.

If he could break through to the Xiantian level, the divine power within his body would even be able to manifest externally.

“Haha, you are merely a Houtian creature. Even with Fiendgod Body Refining, you are far inferior to me!” The Water Rhinoceros charged forward with a sudden burst of speed, its path one of sheer destruction. Trees exploded into splinters as it rushed forward, unable to even slow its charge.

“Hmph.”

Ji Ning stood on the tree crown, his twin swords held calmly as he watched the charging Water Rhinoceros.

The Water Rhinoceros was massive. Its charge was like an avalanche; only a creature with the monstrous strength of the Winged Serpent could hope to meet it head-on. But as a master swordsman, Ji Ning would not clash head-on with such brute force.

Shua!

In the instant before impact, Ji Ning pushed his Unity of Man and Heaven footwork, the Windshadow Steps, to its absolute limit. With a single, fluid motion, he dodged the Water Rhinoceros’s charge. Compared to itself, the Water Rhinoceros was far less agile. As he evaded, Ji Ning’s Northsea Sword carved a line across the Water Rhinoceros’s flank.

The sword-light was like a silken thread, a crystalline strand formed from countless droplets of water. It sliced across the Water Rhinoceros’s belly.

The ‘Silk Rain Forms Threads’ technique of the Dripping Sutra!

The ‘Entering the Realm’ strike!

It was the same technique he had used to defend against the Water Rhinoceros’s stomp, both drawing upon the power of Heaven and Earth. But that time, he had relied on his internal Ki. This time, he had exploded forth with the full power of the Sunstar and Taiyin Stars, using his Fiendgod-level strength as a foundation. The resulting power was over a hundred times greater!

“Riiip~~~” The tough hide of the mighty Water Rhinoceros was carved open by the sharp Northsea Sword, leaving a massive wound. Fresh blood, like a burst dam, gushed out in a torrent, with even severed intestines visible inside.

Swoosh.

Ji Ning landed and turned to look.

The rampaging Water Rhinoceros came to a shuddering halt, letting out a pained, enraged roar. The muscles on its flank writhed as the massive wound began to shrink, but the cut was simply too deep. Even with its best efforts, blood continued to flow out, albeit no longer in a torrent.

“Water Rhinoceros King, your time is up.” Ji Ning transformed into a blur, charging at the great beast with incredible speed.

“Roar!”

The Water Rhinoceros let out a howl, but instead of attacking, it turned and fled, running for its life!

It was running away!

“It’s running?” Ji Ning was stunned.

He quickly understood. His father had once told him that great demons were cunning. The moment they sensed their lives were in danger, they would immediately try to flee. Clearly, the Water Rhinoceros King had realized that its one great advantage, its thick hide, had been breached by this youth. Its most important defense was useless!

Ji Ning’s footwork and agility were far superior to the Water Rhinoceros, as even the Winged Serpent had been unable to catch him.

The Water Rhinoceros had relied on its thick hide and immense strength, hoping that even if the youth couldn’t be crushed, a single hit would severely wound or kill him. But now that the youth had proven he could easily cut open its belly, continuing this fight would be suicide.

“Flee!” The Water Rhinoceros ran for its life.

“My hide… even other great demons find it hard to break. How can this human child’s sword be so sharp?” The beast fled in panic.

But…

Could it escape?

Ji Ning’s Unity of Man and Heaven footwork was only slightly slower than the Winged Serpent’s top speed. Compared to the Water Rhinoceros, he was far, far faster.

Shua! Shua! Shua!

Ji Ning quickly caught up.

“I am under the command of the Skygreen Serpent King! You cannot kill me!” The Water Rhinoceros bellowed as it ran, letting out a sorrowful cry. “Great King! Save me!”

“Great King! Save me!”

The low, mournful cry echoed through the distance.

Swoosh!

Ji Ning agilely leaped upwards. His twin swords spun as one as he stabbed upwards. In an instant, he transformed into a dazzling streak of fire, a moth diving into a flame, with a single-minded sense of finality. The fiery streak drilled straight into the base of the Water Rhinoceros’s neck with a wet thump. A final, explosive boom echoed as the beast’s skull shattered. The streak of flame shot over ten zhang into the air before resolving back into the figure of a youth in animal hides: Ji Ning.

“Ak-” The Water Rhinoceros’s eyes went wide. It could not believe that it, after a lifetime of arrogance, had fallen to a human youth. As a Xiantian-level great demon, its vitality was immense; even a pierced heart would not necessarily kill it. But Ji Ning had aimed for its true vital point: its head. Even a Xiantian-level Fiendgod Body Refiner would almost certainly die from a pierced cranium.

Boom~~~

The massive corpse of the Water Rhinoceros crashed to the ground, snapping several trees beneath its weight.

“As expected, ‘Moth to the Flame’ is the strongest of the three killing moves in the Thunderfire Sword Fragments.” Ji Ning drifted lightly back to the ground, not a single drop of blood on him. “And now, I have been able to ‘Enter the Realm’ with all three killing moves of the Thunderfire Sword Fragments as well.”

The Dripping Sutra had nine moves, and Ji Ning had already managed to ‘Enter the Realm’ with all of them, drawing upon the power of Heaven and Earth for each technique.

The Thunderfire Sword Fragments were more difficult. In particular, the final move, ‘Moth to the Flame’, had eluded his attempts to ‘Enter the Realm’. But just now, the great demon ‘Water Rhinoceros’ had been about to reach a nearby lake. Once it entered the water, Ji Ning would have had no way to pursue it. To kill such a tenacious beast in a short period of time… common techniques would not have been enough.

In his desperation, he had thought of ‘Moth to the Flame’.

As he performed the technique, drawing upon the power of Heaven and Earth, he had transformed into a moth diving into a flame, piercing straight through the Water Rhinoceros’s hardest bone: its skull.

“A great demon.” Ji Ning looked at the corpse, which lay like a small hill before him, a look of excitement on his face. “This is the first Xiantian great demon I have slain. But it said it was under the command of the Skygreen Serpent King. I should leave quickly, in case there are unexpected complications.”

Shua!

Ji Ning appeared beside the Water Rhinoceros’s corpse. With a flash of his sword, he quickly cut open its hide. The dead beast’s skin was much softer. In a few seconds, Ji Ning had dug out a black, palm-sized object from its body that gave off a faint, pleasant fragrance. It was the most valuable treasure a Water Rhinoceros possessed: its bezoar. A true antidote to all poisons. Just this one bezoar could be traded for an ordinary magic treasure.

“Time to go.” Ji Ning took the bezoar and, transforming into a gust of wind, quickly fled the scene, running across the water’s surface to put as much distance between himself and the corpse as possible.

He had barely run a few li across the water when…

Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~

The wide, calm surface of the water began to tremble. A massive whirlpool was forming ahead of him.