Chapter 8 : Chapter 8
Chapter 8: Proper Cultivation Requires Pills
Lu Zhan sprinted straight toward the ox demon.
Under the malicious gazes of Zhang Qin and the other two, he drew his saber, then sheathed it again in one clean, efficient motion.
His strike was incredibly fast.
So fast that Zhang Qin first saw a streak of crimson flash across the space between heaven and earth.
Only after that did he hear a clear saber cry.
And only then did he see the ox demon’s corpse collapse into a pool of blood.
Zhang Qin was dumbstruck and did not dare move rashly.
He had originally planned to snatch the prize from Lu Zhan, but now... the three of them were drenched in cold sweat.
Still, they could not help feeling puzzled. Could that ox demon’s realm have been fake?
Or had the Demon Beast merely looked fine on the outside while actually being heavily injured already?
Yes, that had to be it.
Otherwise, how else could they explain this man killing a Demon Beast at the sixth level of the Qi Condensation Realm in a single strike?
Damn it, that brat had actually gotten lucky and picked up a huge bargain. They had suffered a terrible loss.
Zhang Qin and the others exchanged glances, a trace of regret showing in their eyes.
“Thank you,” Lu Zhan said.
To be fair, these people were unexpectedly nice, leaving a Demon Beast for him to kill.
After saying that, he turned and prepared to leave, but at that moment, Li Zeyu finally cast off his timid, cowardly disguise.
“Hold it. You think you can just walk away like that?”
There were three of them on this side, after all.
The advantage is ours, so what is there to fear?
“Hm?”
Lu Zhan turned his head. One hand settled on the Longevity Saber almost unconsciously, and his brows drew together slightly, as though displeased.
The killing intent around him spilled out on its own.
In that single instant, it seemed as if a gust of wind had swept across the grassland. In the blazing heat of summer, it somehow made people feel chilled to the bone.
Danger!!!
The hearts of Zhang Qin and the other two instantly lurched in terror.
They seemed to see King Yama already lifting his brush.
In the blink of an eye, the young man whose face all but had the words I am a good person carved into it vanished, replaced by a cold-blooded butcher.
“Hmph. What is it? Don’t tell me you’re thinking of joining forces to eliminate me?”
Lu Zhan was not unaware of what these people had been plotting. He simply could not be bothered to waste time and energy scheming with them.
It was not that he did not know how.
He was simply too lazy to bother.
But if they intended to set their crooked ideas on him, then he would not mind disposing of them either.
“Damn, we’ve hit a steel wall.”
Li Zeyu was alarmed. He was a seasoned schemer himself, and he instantly realized how serious the situation was.
Zhang Qin hurriedly waved his hands and forced out an ugly smile. “No, no, Big Brother, you’ve misunderstood. How could the few of us possibly have that kind of ability?”
Inside, he was cursing furiously.
Was this idiot trying to get them all killed?
A moment ago, they had thought Lu Zhan had only killed the ox demon because of good luck.
But now that they had personally felt the killing intent emanating from him, they understood that his strength far surpassed theirs.
In truth, Zhang Qin had no desire to save an idiot like Li Zeyu, but Lu Zhan had clearly tied the three of them together as one group in his mind.
Li Zeyu had angered him, and they would very likely get swept aside by this expert as well.
So Zhang Qin was secretly frantic, trying to think of some way to remedy the situation.
Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind.
“Big Brother, it’s just that we saw how powerful you are, so we wanted to ask whether you might be interested in the location of a Demon Beast at the eighth level of the Qi Condensation Realm.”
Zhang Qin’s mind truly was quick. As soon as he finished speaking, he began furiously winking at Li Zeyu.
He was terrified Li Zeyu might say something stupid again.
“Oh?” Lu Zhan asked.
Li Zeyu had merely underestimated Lu Zhan’s strength earlier; he was not actually a fool, so he hurriedly changed his tune.
“Yes, yes, yes!”
“That Demon Beast is to the west, about a thousand meters away.”
He quickly pointed out the direction.
But Lu Zhan asked in return, “Oh? You’re not lying to me, are you?”
Before Li Zeyu could answer, Lu Zhan smiled. In an exceptionally gentle tone, he said, “But it doesn’t matter. Even if you are lying to me, I won’t do anything to you.”
Lu Zhan’s hand left the saber hilt.
At that moment, bathed in sunlight, he looked sacred and radiant.
But Zhang Qin and the others felt their scalps go numb. Not even a dog would believe those words.
Li Zeyu shook his head like a rattle drum, his palms slick with sweat.
“How would I dare lie to a great expert like you?”
“Hahaha, thanks!”
Lu Zhan was rather pleased. These people were really too good to him.
Not only had they handed him a Demon Beast at the sixth level of the Qi Condensation Realm for free, they had even thrown in information about one at the eighth level as well.
How warm and enthusiastic.
Now that he had learned the location of a Demon Beast at the eighth level of the Qi Condensation Realm, Lu Zhan no longer hesitated and dashed off in the direction Li Zeyu had indicated.
After Lu Zhan left, Li Zeyu let out a sigh of relief.
What a strange man.
He was as innocent as a child with empty hands, yet the instant he gripped his saber, he became a butcher.
“Damn it, who exactly was that freak?”
“He’s only at the sixth level of the Qi Condensation Realm. With strength and talent like that, he shouldn’t be some nobody.”
“And yet, before the assessment, I’d never heard of anyone like him. Sigh, Linhai City really has far too many prodigies.”
“Do you think he can really kill a Demon Beast at the eighth level of the Qi Condensation Realm?”
Li Zeyu still remembered that when Zhang Qin mentioned a Demon Beast at the eighth level of the Qi Condensation Realm, what had flashed through Lu Zhan’s eyes had not been fear, but excitement.
But if one said this man could kill a Demon Beast at the eighth level of the Qi Condensation Realm, he still found it hard to believe.
His strength was a mystery, impossible to read.
“Heh. If you ask me, he’s just too arrogant. It’d be best if he died at the hands of that Demon Beast.”
Li Zeyu kept muttering.
Zhang Qin, meanwhile, tried to suppress the lingering fear in his heart.
At the instant Lu Zhan had released that killing intent, Zhang Qin had nearly lost control of his mind.
When he heard what Li Zeyu said, he grew even angrier.
“You still dare run your mouth? If he hears you, watch your head.”
“If you’re not convinced, then cultivate harder and become stronger. But before you get stronger, you’d better learn to keep your head down.”
On the surface, he seemed to be teaching Li Zeyu how to conduct himself.
In reality, he was only venting. He had originally intended to retreat just now, but Li Zeyu had nearly gotten him killed, so naturally he was full of resentment.
After cursing him as an idiot in his heart, Zhang Qin went off to search for other Demon Beasts to kill.
Meanwhile, Lu Zhan glanced over the system rewards he had just received while on the road.
【Ding! Congratulations, Host. You kill a Demon Beast at the sixth level of the Qi Condensation Realm and are rewarded with 600 Slaughter Points】
【The title First Showing of One’s Edge is activated. You additionally gain 60 Slaughter Points】
【Current Slaughter Points: 750】
【Ding! Congratulations, Host. You obtain one Essence Condensation Pill】
The rewards were fairly ordinary, but besides the Slaughter Points, there was also a Essence Condensation Pill.
That was something more than ten times better than a Qi Condensation Pill.
Pills were already exceedingly hard to come by in this world, and the Essence Condensation Pill was the finest of the finest among them, making it extraordinarily valuable.
Afterward, Lu Zhan used all of the Slaughter Points he had just obtained to raise his realm.
“System, spend Slaughter Points to raise my realm to the seventh level of the Qi Condensation Realm.”
At the same time, he took the vial containing the Essence Condensation Pill out of his pocket and poured the pill into his hand.
The pill was perfectly round, like polished jade, spotless and pure white. Dense medicinal power radiated from it.
The moment he swallowed it, a surge of pure medicinal force turned into a torrent and began washing through every meridian in his body.
Lu Zhan could not help revealing a look of comfort.
“As expected, proper cultivation requires pills.”