Translator: CinderTL
Moments earlier, Taoyang Community.
A deathly silence hung over the area.
Since the Shadow Calamity erupted, most residential areas in Ancheng had fallen into a state of eerie stillness.
No one dared venture outside.
Fortunately, the Blue Star Federation had long ordered all cities to develop underground networks in preparation for the Shadow Calamity.
Ancheng was no exception.
During the Shadow Calamity, all essential supplies—food, daily necessities, and cultivation resources—were transported via these underground networks.
As a result, not a single human figure could be seen on the streets.
Tap... tap...
Jiang Ye strode through the silent streets, reaching the outer perimeter of Taoyang Community.
"The area around the community seems relatively safe," he murmured, surveying his surroundings. "No Shadow Clan presence within a five-hundred-meter radius."
Most buildings in this world were constructed from special materials that offered some resistance against Shadow Clan intrusions.
This was why people sought refuge in their homes.
Of course, older, dilapidated complexes like Taoyang Community could only withstand Shadow Clan Infants.
Anything beyond the Juvenile Form would easily breach their defenses.
Fortunately, no Cosmic Void Passage existed near Taoyang Community.
Otherwise, a mass assault by Juvenile Forms would spell disaster.
"There are no Shadow Clan members nearby," Jiang Ye said, his gaze sweeping the horizon. "Let's check ahead."
With a light tap of his foot, his figure blurred into an afterimage as he darted forward.
Several minutes later, two kilometers from Taoyang Community, he arrived at a devastated residential area. Ruined walls and shattered buildings stood in disarray, many with massive holes blasted through them. Twisted, charred steel rebar protruded from the walls, twisted into grotesque shapes by Extraordinary Energy.
It was clear that a fierce battle had taken place here.
"Judging by the scale of the destruction, these were likely Shadow Clan Juveniles," Jiang Ye said, his expression grave. "Could this be from the battle three days ago?"
Three days earlier, he had heard a series of violent explosions from this direction.
Jiang Ye strode into the ruined neighborhood.
Soon, he discovered numerous severed limbs and bleached bones scattered among the debris.
As he ventured deeper, a thick, putrid stench of decaying corpses wafted up from beneath the rubble.
"How many bodies are buried beneath this ruin?" Jiang Ye's heart grew heavier with each step.
He was witnessing firsthand the cruelty and horror of the Shadow Calamity.
For the past week, the entire city of Ancheng had ground to a halt.
Naturally, no one came to clear away the rubble or the corpses buried beneath it.
Just then, Jiang Ye suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He spotted a corpse clad in a Shadow Hunting Bureau uniform.
On the chest of the corpse's armor was a bronze medal engraved with the words "Qingyang Shadow Hunter."
"A Bronze Medal Shadow Hunter?" Jiang Ye's heart jolted.
The Bronze Medal was a rank within the Shadow Hunting Bureau, equivalent to a captain. Most Bronze Medal holders were strong individuals who had achieved their second breakthrough.
The corpse's eyes were wide open in fury. It knelt on one knee, both arms torn off. Black blood filled its mouth and nostrils, and a massive wound gaped in its chest, filled with viscous, pitch-black fluid.
This Bronze Medal Shadow Hunter from Qingyang City had died in battle here, far from home.
Jiang Ye silently approached, closed the corpse's eyes, and carefully laid it flat on the ground.
At that moment, he was reminded of Teacher Cao Feng, the burly, bearded man who had taught him for over half a year.
He hadn't seen Cao Feng's body, but perhaps, like this Bronze Medal Shadow Hunter, he had died with his eyes wide open in anger.
Teacher Cao Feng was middle-aged, with elderly parents and young children to support. He was the sole breadwinner for his family. His sacrifice meant the collapse of that family's foundation.
"The Shadow Clan..."
Jiang Ye clenched his fists, a surge of hot blood coursing through his chest.
Suddenly, a primal roar erupted from the depths of the ruins.
The bestial howl, capable of stirring ancient fears within human DNA, possessed transcendent properties that could easily shatter mental barriers and obliterate consciousness.
It was the roar of a Shadow Clan creature!
Jiang Ye whirled around.
Whoosh!
In an instant, a massive black shadow surged along the ruins' shadows, hurtling toward Jiang Ye with terrifying speed.
Its velocity was impossible to predict!
Within just two seconds—
Whoosh! A colossal, pitch-black humanoid figure lunged at Jiang Ye.
Five meters tall—a Shadow Clan Juvenile Form!
Shriek!
Jiang Ye's body blurred as he evaded the initial strike.
Simultaneously, the berserk power within him rapidly awakened.
An overwhelming surge of energy coursed through his body. With a flick of his fingers, a faint silver starlight flashed, circulating through his meridians.
Boom!
Jiang Ye's aura erupted violently. Stellar energy surged like subterranean magma, unleashing an incomparably powerful life magnetic field.
This was the most direct manifestation of a cosmic martial artist's power after breaking free from life's shackles:
Martial Dao Aura!
Any enemy below the first breakthrough would be swiftly suppressed in its presence.
However, the Shadow Clan Juvenile had already surpassed the first breakthrough, rendering it immune to this effect.
Moreover, this Juvenile Form stood five meters tall, indicating it had already progressed one-fifth of the way from the first to the second breakthrough!
Its cultivation realm even seemed to subtly surpass Jiang Ye's.
"Roar!" The Shadow Clan Juvenile charged again.
This time, Jiang Ye didn't evade.
"Kill!" Jiang Ye strode forward, throwing a punch.
Simultaneously, hundreds of compressed strands of silvery-white stellar energy surged from his hourglass-shaped Guanyuan Acupoint, converging into his fist.
Boom!
The punch erupted with thunderous force.
Eight Trigrams Thunderclap Fist!
Silvery-white stellar light exploded with deafening thunder.
The fist slammed squarely into the Shadow Clan Juvenile's abdomen. Eightfold Thunder Resonance reverberated, followed by a shattering sound as pitch-black blood splattered outward.
"Roar~!" The Juvenile Form let out a pained roar.
In the next moment, it seemed to erupt in fury, its attacks raining down on Jiang Ye like a violent storm.
Against a five-meter-tall Juvenile Form, my Eight Trigrams Thunderclap Fist can no longer inflict fatal damage, Jiang Ye thought grimly.
The Eight Trigrams Thunderclap Fist was ultimately just a mid-grade yellow tier cultivation technique, gradually losing its effectiveness against enemies who had achieved their first breakthrough or higher.
It couldn't unleash the true power of stellar energy!
Whoosh!
Whoosh! Whoosh~
After repeatedly dodging, Jiang Ye's eyes hardened.
If that's the case, let's try this move. He stomped heavily on the ground.
Boom!
Jiang Ye's body shot upward in a powerful kick, his leg whipping out in a vicious strike aimed at the Shadow Clan Juvenile.
Starlight blazed!
At that moment, Jiang Ye's right leg seemed to be coated in silver light, carving a shimmering arc through the air like a shooting star.
Over a hundred strands of compressed stellar energy converged within his leg.
This strike, fueled by Jiang Ye's grief and unwavering determination to kill, erupted with explosive force.
Nine! Luminaries! Star! Tread!
A devastating chop, like a long blade, cleaved into the Shadow Clan Juvenile's abdomen, nearly severing it in two.
Boom!
A terrifying force erupted.
[Tilting at Windmills: When facing opponents of higher cultivation realms, there is a chance to deal 100% increased damage and inflict continuous bleeding.]
100% critical damage!
Silver starlight exploded like a bomb.
Splat!
The Shadow Clan Juvenile's abdomen burst open, pitch-black blood gushing out in a frenzy.
Roar! It let out a piercing shriek as its upper body crashed limply to the ground.
"Die!"
Jiang Ye took a step forward, raised his leg high, and brought his foot down with crushing force on the Juvenile Form's head.
A terrifying force surged down from his thigh, striking the Juvenile Form's skull like a meteor.
Starlight flashed.
Boom! A deafening roar shook the ground.
The earth instantly collapsed, rocks shattered, and fissures radiated outward, forming a crater over ten meters in diameter.
Within the crater, the Juvenile Form's head had been pulverized, its life extinguished.
Shadow Clan Juvenile Form—dead!
At the same moment, a system notification silently appeared before Jiang Ye's eyes.
[Killed a member of the demonic path +1]
(End of the Chapter)
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