Chapter Eight: Unbridled Slaughter!

“You want to bargain with me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll just kill you along with everything else?”

Yu Chuan’s mind raced. He could sense that this man possessed some cultivation, but it was shallow—barely a tenth of his own strength. Moreover, it seemed he did not practice the Qi Condensation Sutra, but some other art, and his spiritual energy was impure, tinged with something sinister.

Not that Yu Chuan cared about such details.

“You are a clever man, and your power is formidable—naturally, you have no interest in a mere low-grade beast soul,” the stranger coaxed, his words not without reason. “Why not name your price and sell the beast soul to me? If, in the future, we work together at the county office, we can look out for one another.”

Had it been someone else, they might have agreed on the spot.

Yu Chuan let out a cold laugh. “Look out for me? What nonsense. Say one more word and you’ll have no future at all. Get out!”

The stranger’s face stiffened. “Since you refuse a toast and insist on punishment, don’t blame me for what happens next!”

Suddenly, the air grew chilling; several figures rushed at Yu Chuan, their murderous intent thick and suffocating.

Yu Chuan immediately saw through it—these were not living men, but corpses controlled by the stranger. So, this man was a corpse-refining cultivator; no wonder he possessed some cultivation.

“If you insist on courting death, allow me to oblige!”

Yu Chuan’s figure shot forward like a cannonball, charging straight at the stranger. His spear swept wide, slicing the blocking corpses clean in half. In a flash, he was nearly upon the stranger, who recoiled in terror, but Yu Chuan’s spear cleaved away half his body before he could escape.

A blood-curdling scream echoed out, but was abruptly cut short. A severed head tumbled into the grass and vanished from sight.

Yu Chuan shook his head. “If you lack the strength, don’t try to act tough. I gave you a chance to leave.”

With a deafening bang, the stranger’s corpse exploded, scattering a longbow and a quiver of forty or fifty arrows. Each arrow was crafted from the finest tungsten steel, capable of piercing any mortal armor—a supreme weapon for long-range attacks.

Delighted, Yu Chuan nocked an arrow and took aim at a circling crow overhead.

With a sharp twang, the arrow flew like a black streak, piercing the crow’s body in an instant.

Feathers fluttered down as the bird plummeted to the ground, lifeless as a discarded rag.

If only his strength were greater, he thought, he could fully draw this bow.

A new plan began to take shape in Yu Chuan’s mind: while cultivating, he would also temper his body. If he could utterly overwhelm his enemies with sheer physical might, there would be no need to expose his true cultivation.

From now on, he would strive to become not only quick-witted but also a paragon of brute force—a true colossus of strength. Only by broadening every path to power could he climb, step by relentless step, to the very summit.

A true master must possess the ambition to devour the heavens and swallow the earth!

Strapping the bow and quiver to his back and gripping his spear, Yu Chuan leapt away from the scene.

By now, he was deep within the outer reaches of Five Wave Mountain, where ferocious beasts began to reveal themselves. Humanity employed cunning to hunt these monsters, but the beasts relied on raw power and guile to slaughter mortals.

At that moment, a group of dozens was hunting a low-grade black bear demon. Though not a high-level beast, the bear was vicious—one swipe could shatter a mortal’s skull and send the cap flying.

Yu Chuan watched for a while, tempted to loose an arrow, but restrained himself. These people clearly belonged to the same faction; provoking them would only bring needless trouble. Besides, the black bear was not a ninth-rank monster but merely a powerful common beast—hardly worth the risk.

After weighing his options, Yu Chuan slipped away to search for a ninth-rank demon beast.

Days passed, and still he found no trace of such a creature.

A vague sense of unease began to creep over him. He noticed that the trial participants were no longer hunting monsters, but turning on one another in deadly conflict.

He was puzzled until he witnessed someone extracting the beast soul from a slain rival’s stone token with their own. Then it became clear.

More and more people fell into this cycle of mutual slaughter, losing their lives in the process.

Yu Chuan felt nothing—this was only natural. From his earliest days, he had understood that only power could secure greater rewards and ensure survival. Otherwise, one would only be plundered and betrayed.

Suddenly, a commotion rippled through the crowd, followed by cries of astonishment, as if something beyond belief had appeared.

Yu Chuan followed their gaze and indeed saw something different. He had expected the appearance of a ninth-rank monster, but as time passed, he sensed something was amiss.

It seemed that one group had begun to massacre another.

Yu Chuan was stunned. He could no longer discern the true purpose of this trial. Was it truly designed to kill as many as possible, or to drive people to slaughter one another?

For now, the wisest course was to avoid the chaos.

Extending his senses, Yu Chuan took in everything around him; his reactions were several times swifter, and weaving through the crowd cost him no effort at all.

The air was filled with screams, the clash of weapons, desperate pleas, and pitiful wails—it was a living hell.

Suddenly, Yu Chuan’s eyes flashed red and he roared, “Fight back!”

In an instant, the scattered mortals rallied, following Yu Chuan’s lead. They brandished their weapons and launched a counterattack.

A surge of energy coursed through Yu Chuan; for the first time, he felt the power of leading others.

He did not look back—even if only a handful followed, nothing could halt his advance.

His spear swept wide, felling all who stood in his path, their bodies bursting apart.

He did not spare only the predatory warriors who hunted mortals like wolves; even mortals who blocked his way were cut down without hesitation.

It was a massacre.

As time passed, Yu Chuan felt his strength boil within him; his Thunderforce roared and surged without pause. The spear in his hands grew lighter, cleaving through the enemy ranks, scattering the hunters’ formation.

“Stop!” someone shouted, then more voices joined the call.

Yu Chuan licked the blood from his spear and said coldly, “Give me an explanation.”

Before him stood warriors, all clad in the insignia of a single faction.

“An explanation? Are you even worthy?” came a voice, as a figure in black robes and a black cloak appeared before him, arrogance radiating from his every gesture. On his chest was embroidered the exclusive crest of the Yu family.

Yu Chuan’s eyes grew cold, his grip tightening on his spear. “Kill!”

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

A deafening roar erupted as the once scattered mortals, united around Yu Chuan, unleashed a formidable force.