CHAPTER 39: CHAPTER 39: DIE, MONSTER!

The Enchanted Swamp.

The battle came faster than Lu Chengfeng imagined, and as the shadows of beasts moved through the forest, a stench began to fill the air.

Roar!

A beastly roar came from an unknown direction, and dozens of Jungle Scavenger Wolves sprang out, howling and attacking from all directions.

"Kill!" Tan Xiong shouted fiercely, smashing a wolf’s skull with a heavy swing of his copper rod, then sweeping it out, sending seven or eight wolves flying with their skin torn open, unable to get up.

Behind him, Xu Changge and Duan Li seemed to have experience in cooperation. One had Sword Momentum Like Water, the other was Aggressive Like Fire, and in the blink of an eye, they had taken the lives of over a dozen wolves, leaving a ground covered in corpses and blood.

Lu Chengfeng and Lu Lingxi didn’t fall behind either; with a clang, their swords were drawn, both skilled in nimble and swift swordsmanship. From left and right, they unleashed a flurry of Sword Light, accurately slitting the throats of the wolves that lunged at them.

In just a few breaths, the dozens of charging wolves were all dead, leaving only a mess on the ground.

"Let’s go, someone will naturally clean up these bodies," Tan Xiong called, leading the group forward. Usually, the bodies of these beasts were ignored by the sect, but if a demonic threat arose, special personnel had to clean them; otherwise, they would become food for demons, making them more fierce and powerful.

Thus, the sect arranged for the Ministry of Affairs to delegate Outer Peak disciples to handle these cleanup tasks. With a few skillful individuals and professional tools, it wasn’t very dangerous, but it was certainly busy.

As they proceeded, Tan Xiong spoke, "Junior Brother Lu’s strength is beyond my expectations. The swordsmanship displayed earlier is definitely not just the initial Tenth Layer, at least the Eleventh Layer, right?"

"Senior Brother’s discerning eyes see clearly. Indeed, I’ve made some breakthroughs recently," Lu Chengfeng replied without any intention of hiding. Since they would fight side by side, there was no hiding his martial arts skills from others.

His words surprised the other three, displaying astonishment. Lu Chengfeng, at just twenty, had already achieved such a level in martial arts that in a few years, the sect might have another prodigy.

The so-called Three Heroes and Seven Heroes are the prodigies among the True Disciples of this generation. The Three Heroes are the foremost, able to compete with elders at a young age, considered absolute prodigies.

The Seven Heroes are only slightly inferior, yet their martial arts skills surpass their peers, second only to the elders of the sect.

The talent and progress shown by Lu Chengfeng, barring any accidents, would definitely qualify him to be among them, though it remains to be seen if he can overcome that Elder’s obstacle.

Lu Lingxi, closest to Lu Chengfeng, had been secretly observing him and said, "I don’t think Junior Brother Lu lacks battle experience; his swordsmanship is exquisite and unperturbed."

"It’s only a pity you just entered the Inner Peak and haven’t started cultivating the Profound Crane Thousand Shadows Ghostly Sword Technique. Otherwise, we five could form a Five Elements Sword Array and directly charge into the swamp’s depths."

Xu Changge laughed and said, "If not for Junior Brother Lu, how would the sect allow Senior Brother Tan to join us? Clearly, there’s an intention of care. The sect knows we can’t form a Sword Array, so naturally, it needs a master to back us up."

Lu Chengfeng now understood that the team assignment wasn’t random, but well thought out.

As they spoke, they moved faster and faster, the surrounding vegetation flashing by.

Lu Chengfeng gradually sensed something was wrong; Tan Xiong wasn’t advancing randomly but seemed to be pursuing a target swiftly.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

As they moved forward, more and more ferocious beasts blocked the way. Hyenas, tigers, leopards, even black bears charged out, their eyes bloodshot and mad with fury.

Lu Chengfeng witnessed for the first time Tan Xiong’s might; with his Rough Copper Rod, he struck down any beast in contact instantly, none could withstand even a single blow.

All they needed to do was keep the beasts from approaching Tan Xiong’s back.

With Tan Xiong’s invincible presence, their speed didn’t slow down despite the beasts, it only increased.

About half a two-hour period later, having killed hundreds of fierce beasts, they finally found their target: a two-headed snake, as thick as a bowl, three to four zhang long, coiled in Black Wind, clearly different from common beasts.

It was Lu Chengfeng’s first time seeing a Demon Beast and only now did he understand what made them demonic. They were anomalies; anything abnormal was demonic, and at first glance, Demon Beasts were markedly different.

"This thing has iron scales, immune to blades and spears, resistant to water and fire. It can spew poisonous mist. I will lead the attack; you back me up with Sword Qi, strike swiftly, and don’t let it get away."

Tan Xiong instructed, then suddenly leapt skyward, somersaulting before roaring down like thunder.

"Demon, die!"

The copper rod emanated a faint yellow aura, resembling Sword Qi yet different, and when swung down, it seemed like a collapsing pillar from the heavens.

Boom!

With earth-shattering impact, the rod crashed onto the snake’s body, its black scales sparking, shattering more than ten scales and revealing a bloody gash.

The demon snake shrieked in pain, raising half its body from the ground, both heads roaring skyward, expelling black poison mist toward Tan Xiong.

"Let’s attack!" Xu Changge called, decisively joining with Duan Li, both unleashing Sword Qi from the tails of the demon snake.

"Junior Brother Chengfeng, we’ll cover Senior Brother Tan from his flank," Lu Lingxi said before charging forward with her sword, its blade shimmering three feet long.

Only then did Lu Chengfeng realize, among their group, besides Tan Xiong, it was actually Lu Lingxi with the highest cultivation, her swordsmanship above the Sixteenth Layer.

"The True Inheritance of the sect really is full of hidden talents; these True Disciples are young yet possess such advanced swordsmanship. Without a Gifted Talent, I wouldn’t compare."

Lu Chengfeng exclaimed, drawing his sword as well, one foot of Sword Qi, flanking Tan Xiong with Lu Lingxi, assaulting with Sword Qi from both sides.

Facing the demon snake’s poison mist, Tan Xiong didn’t dodge, but shouted fiercely, "Fight!"

An invisible sonic wave dispersed the congealed cloud of poison, leaving only wisps of smoke-like clouds drifting in the air.

Lu Chengfeng suddenly narrowed his eyes as he noticed in the cloud wisps were dense layers of venomous insects, falling down thud after thud.

"No wonder Senior Brother Tan’s shout could disperse the poison mist, there were so many venomous insects in it?"

Seeing the dense carcasses of the insects on the ground made his skin crawl, prompting him to exert his swordsmanship to its fullest and slash with Sword Qi.

Yet the Sword Qi only sparked against the black scales, the demon snake clearly in pain but unaffected.

Lu Chengfeng’s expression turned serious, realizing the gap between him and Tan Xiong was much wider than he’d imagined.