Chapter 37: Ascend the Sword Formation!
Bang!
Marshal Tianpeng and the wolf demon collided in midair. Even from dozens of meters away, Yang Dai and his companions could hear the heavy impact of flesh striking flesh.
The two monsters landed, and judging by the distance they retreated, the wolf demon was pushed back farther.
When it comes to brute strength, wolves fall short compared to wild boars!
Marshal Tianpeng’s small eyes were bloodshot and flashed with a vicious glare. He roared, opening his mouth to unleash countless water arrows. The wolf demon, caught off guard, could only lower its head to defend itself; its massive body was slashed with wound after wound, blood spraying everywhere.
Yin Xiaoting couldn’t help but ask, “Is it really a pig demon? How can it use water-based magic?”
Yang Dai smiled. “That’s why I call it Marshal Tianpeng.”
Marshal Tianpeng?
The four trial-takers exchanged odd looks, but they had no time to dwell on the name. Their eyes remained fixed on the unfolding battle.
The wolf demon was tenacious. Though covered in blood, it did not fall. Suddenly, it leapt high; Marshal Tianpeng followed its movement, shooting water arrows skyward. The wolf demon’s speed abruptly increased, appearing behind Marshal Tianpeng as if by teleportation.
Marshal Tianpeng felt a sharp pain in its rear. Turning, it erupted in fury—the wolf demon actually attempted to attack its backside. Fortunately, it was now a soul entity and had nothing to fear.
It spun, stabbing with its tusks like twin blades. The wolf demon dodged nimbly. Marshal Tianpeng pressed the attack, and the two monsters tangled together, locked in a fierce struggle.
“So it’s just scraping skin, all that excitement for nothing…” Liu Junjie muttered behind Yang Dai. Earlier, Marshal Tianpeng’s magic looked impressive, and the wolf demon bore wounds, but it remained lively and unimpeded.
Cang Wolf asked curiously, “What does ‘scraping skin’ mean?”
“Scraping skin is just… superficial damage. It means low harm, like Marshal Tianpeng’s magic—didn’t even give the wolf demon a fatal wound or affect its fighting ability.”
Liu Junjie explained, prompting the four trial-takers to turn their heads.
Yang Dai felt helpless. Why was this guy’s chatter getting worse?
“Deploy the sword formation!”
Yang Dai commanded in a deep voice. Tian Bu Zhong, Bai Wei, and the others immediately charged forward. Though unarmed, they wielded spiritual power, shaping it into swords.
Nine soul followers in total, Tian Bu Zhong led the formation, rushing at the front. He pressed his index and middle fingers together, channeling spiritual power into a sharp blade and stabbing forward. The others did likewise, each using a different sword technique. Sword energy whirled around them, creating a powerful current.
“That’s… a sword formation!” Zhou Yingying’s eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at Yang Dai. She hadn’t expected his soul followers could use a sword formation.
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The other four trial-takers were equally stunned. The number of soul followers reflected Yang Dai’s talent, but their mastery of sword formations spoke of fortune and opportunity.
Either these soul followers came from a sword cultivation sect, or Yang Dai had gained a great legacy.
Suddenly they recalled that Tyrant Crossing the River had inherited the Sword Saint’s legacy…
The wolf demon, engrossed in battle with Marshal Tianpeng, failed to notice the assault from behind. By the time it realized, the Heavenly Gang Great Sword Formation had arrived.
Like a massive tidal wave, sword energy crashed into the wolf demon, eliciting a howl of agony. Marshal Tianpeng followed up with water arrows, trapping the wolf demon between attacks.
Zhou Yingying leapt into the air, a flying sword appearing at her feet and swiftly carrying her above the wolf demon’s head. She slashed downward; the blow was infused with potent spiritual power, and the blade’s energy swept down, forming a three-way assault.
Boom—
The overpass trembled violently. Yang Dai couldn’t help but look at Zhou Yingying with newfound respect. She was formidable.
It made sense—Zhou Yingying was only one minor realm below Liang Zixiao.
Yang Dai began to worry the wolf demon would be shattered, making it impossible to absorb its soul.
Soon, the wolf demon stopped struggling. The soul followers and Zhou Yingying ceased their attacks; sword energy dissipated. The wolf demon lay heavily on the ground, blood pooling beneath it.
Tian Bu Zhong returned to Yang Dai’s side. “It’s dead, through and through.”
Yang Dai nodded and stepped forward, soul followers closely guarding him.
Zhou Yingying did not intervene. Yang Dai absorbing the wolf demon’s soul would only make their team stronger.
Yang Dai knelt beside the corpse, raising his hand to absorb the soul. A sharp pain stabbed through his mind, filling him with delight.
This wolf demon was powerful!
To fight Marshal Tianpeng’s soul form to a standstill—perhaps even stronger, in some ways.
Two minutes later, Yang Dai successfully absorbed the soul, but his head felt heavy and he was unsteady on his feet, supported by his soul followers.
Returning to the rear of the group, Yang Dai sat cross-legged, resting against the pigeon spirit.
None of the other trial-takers disturbed him; the battle had made them realize just how strong Yang Dai was.
Zhou Yingying didn’t dissect the demon’s corpse, instead returning to her post to keep watch.
Throughout the night, beasts occasionally charged onto the overpass, but Zhou Yingying and the other trial-takers dealt with them. With Yang Dai half-unconscious, his soul followers remained inactive unless Zhou Yingying’s team called for help.
So far, the small team was more than capable of handling the overpass.
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Guo Yu’s worries proved unfounded; this overpass was not the main thrust of the beast tide.
When Yang Dai recovered, it was already past five in the morning.
His cultivation finally broke through to the fifth level of the Qi Gathering Realm. After absorbing over a hundred demon beasts—and the wolf demon—his strength had advanced, and he now possessed much greater physical power than others at the same level.
Yang Dai was secretly delighted.
He had achieved a true revelation.
He didn’t need to meditate and cultivate daily; he could leave that to his soul followers. His path to power was to continuously absorb souls—by far the fastest method.
He resolved that, after the beast tide, he would continue collecting soul followers in the Deep Domain, assigning some to meditate and cultivate in fixed locations.
The thought pleased him greatly.
In the distance, beastly roars continued, but were quieter than before. The main body of the beast tide seemed to have passed by.
Whoosh—
The night sky suddenly brightened, as if daylight had burst forth. Yang Dai and the others looked up in alarm to see streaks of light shooting from Taihe City toward the beast tide, like a meteor shower.
A barrage of missiles!
Each missile trailed a white streak, cutting through the night and crashing densely in one direction. When they disappeared beyond the distant mountains, the earth shook violently.
Humanity’s most outstanding means of warfare had arrived—hot weapons!
Zhou Yingying and the others breathed a sigh of relief. Hot weapons were still devastating against the beast tide, though in the early days of the apocalypse, humanity had used too many. Stocks dwindled, especially for nuclear arms. Hot weapon manufacturing sites were often surrounded by powerful demon beasts, including those lurking underground. Even if production continued, demand far outpaced supply.
Yang Dai and his companions kept their vigil, exchanging few words. Zhang Han’s group was exhausted, too tired to speak.
Once his mind cleared, Yang Dai led his soul followers forward and absorbed the souls of the six demon beasts slain by Zhou Yingying’s group.
Yang Dai’s number of soul followers now reached six hundred and twenty-three.
As dawn broke, a squad of soldiers arrived, distributing food and the latest intelligence before quickly moving on to other combat teams. Ordinary soldiers played a limited role against the beast tide; their main tasks were logistics and the protection and evacuation of civilians.
Yang Dai discovered that the Intelligence Bureau’s tablet could not connect to the network here.
After reading the file in her hand, Zhou Yingying turned to Yang Dai, summoning Zhang Han and the others to her side.