The silver Monster Core on the side of the greatsword's guard suddenly flared to life. A thick, silver energy erupted from within, pouring into the blade itself!
Instantly, the sword was engulfed in a brilliant silver light, with arcs of electricity seeming to flicker across its surface! Amidst the dazzling, blinding glare, it tore through the air with terrifying power, slashing straight down toward the black-clad man's head!
"Vwoom!"
The air boomed. The black-clad leader hadn't expected Zhou Changqing to be so fast and could only raise his long saber in a hasty block!
"Shink!"
The moment the greatsword made contact with the saber, it sliced through the latter without the slightest resistance, cutting it in two. Then, with unstoppable momentum, it cleaved down onto the black-clad leader's head!
"Schlick!"
With the soft sound of a blade biting into flesh, the greatsword slammed into the ground, its tip burying itself more than three inches deep!
Silence. A dead, profound silence.
Nearly all the men in black had frozen mid-charge, their eyes wide as they stared at the spot where Zhou Changqing and their leader had been.
But there was no leader there anymore. All that remained was a gory mess of blood and entrails, and a corpse that had been split in half!
It was shocking. Absolutely shocking.
The horrifying scene left the men in black struggling to process what they had just seen.
We had a leader a second ago, where is he?
How did he just disappear in the blink of an eye?
That bastard was a six-star Dou Shi!
Are Monster Core Weapons really that powerful?
What kind of joke is this!
To ensure they wouldn't be at a disadvantage with their weapons, the higher-ups had provided each of the six leaders with a Treasure Weapon!
No matter how formidable a Monster Core armament was, it shouldn't be able to sever a Treasure Weapon in a single blow!
What they didn't know, however, was that the few Monster Core armaments Zhou Changqing had auctioned off were his worst creations. Not only were the materials of a lower grade, but their sharpness and durability were only a cut above a common blade that could slice through iron.
Even the inscriptions on them were minimal, giving them only a single, simple function: the ability to launch a ranged attack in the form of a blade aura.
How could such weapons possibly compare to the Monster Core greatsword in his own hands? Let alone a common Treasure Weapon.
Naturally, he kept the best for himself and auctioned off the inferior items.
Zhou Changqing's reasoning was simple: he wanted to prevent a situation where someone could use a weapon he had forged to turn against him.
"Everyone, be careful! Don't fight him head-on! Look for a chance to ambush him!"
Fortunately, one of the leaders was a seasoned veteran. He quickly snapped out of his shock, forcefully suppressing his fear as he shouted a warning.
His words jolted the other men in black back to their senses. They gripped their weapons warily, their eyes fixed on Zhou Changqing's every move.
Zhou Changqing hadn't planned on a second sneak attack anyway. One was enough. His opponents weren't fools; they wouldn't give him another opportunity.
"It doesn't matter who you are. I'll give you one chance. Tell me who sent you, and I'll let you leave. How about it?"
Zhou Changqing pulled his greatsword from the earth, flicking the blood from its blade as he smiled at the crowd.
The sight sent a strange chill down the spines of the black-clad men.
After all, there was something deeply unsettling about a handsome, otherworldly youth in white robes wielding a greatsword nearly as large as himself.
It was even more disturbing that he could smile and speak so calmly after cleaving a man in two!
It was a perfect fusion of ethereal beauty and bloody violence! The contrast was just too damn jarring!
Gulp.
Gulp.
Someone swallowed hard, and the sound soon became a chorus.
"You little bastard, when I was out there killing people, you were still pissing in your mother's womb! Trying to scare me?"
"All of you, attack! The higher-ups have promised a Xuan Class low-tier Dou Technique to whoever captures this brat! And if that's not possible, killing him will still earn you a Huang Class high-tier Dou Technique!"
Seeing that his men's morale was wavering, the strongest-looking of the remaining leaders stepped forward and roared.
He backed his words with action, being the first to charge toward Zhou Changqing!
The promise of a great reward stirred their courage.
Hearing his words, the other men in black stared at Zhou Changqing with greed burning in their eyes, their avarice ignited.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
Following their leader's charge, the rest of the men in black let out a unified battle cry and swarmed toward Zhou Changqing!
Seeing this, Zhou Changqing knew that further words were useless. He hadn't intended to let any of them leave alive anyway.
Time to fight.
Hefting his greatsword, Zhou Changqing charged to meet the mob of black-clad men!
"Form!"
Almost simultaneously, the five remaining leaders erupted with a dense wave of Dou Qi. In the next moment, the signature Dou Qi Cloak of a Dou Shi materialized around each of them!
Zhou Changqing did the same. His Lightning-attribute Dou Qi was instantly retracted, replaced by his Gold-attribute Dou Qi. A faint, golden cloak of energy appeared, clinging tightly to his robes!
The men in black were startled by this, but they quickly recovered and continued their charge.
They had been assigned to this mission to capture him, so naturally, they had information on their target.
A high-level Dou Zhe, even a nine-star one, might be able to barely form a Dou Qi Cloak, but it would only be a partial one.
This thin film of energy covering him had to be the effect of a Monster Core Inner Armor!
The leader who had charged first was the first to clash with Zhou Changqing!
"Screech!"
Their weapons collided, and once again, the leader's saber was effortlessly sliced in two!
The leader had anticipated this, however, and was prepared. The instant their weapons met, he dodged the greatsword as it continued its horizontal sweep after cutting through his weapon.
At that same moment, two other leaders reached Zhou Changqing from behind, thrusting their weapons toward his back!
Zhou Changqing didn't press his attack on the strongest leader. Instead, he spun around, swinging his sword in a wide arc to block the two attacks and sever both their weapons!
Two more Treasure Weapons were ruined!
The men in black couldn't fathom how this greatsword could be so sharp, so easily and repeatedly slicing through their Treasure Weapons!
With that level of sharpness, it could probably even cause significant damage to the Dou Qi Armor of a one-star Da Dou Shi, couldn't it?
"Die!"
As Zhou Changqing turned to attack, he left his back wide open, giving the leader behind him the perfect opportunity!
Seizing the opening, the leader's eyes lit up with glee. He didn't hesitate, channeling his Dou Qi to execute a Dou Technique and lashing out with a powerful kick!
His leg, already encased in its Dou Qi Cloak, began to glow with an even brighter crimson light as his Fire-attribute Dou Qi gathered furiously. Radiating a heat intense enough to cause severe burns, his foot slammed viciously into Zhou Changqing's waist!
"Clang!"
A muffled sound of metal striking metal rang out, much to the leader's disbelief.
At the same time, a faint smile graced the lips of Zhou Changqing, whose back was still turned to his attacker.
"Shhh!"
Before the leader could react, Zhou Changqing moved as if he had been ready all along. His waist twisted, and taking advantage of the leader being airborne, he used the momentum from his previous horizontal slash to bring the greatsword around, swinging it at the leg that was still pressed against his waist!
"Splsh!"
The greatsword, glowing with a dim golden light, descended with terrifying sharpness and immense force upon the man's thigh!
In an instant, the leader's flesh, muscle, and bone were severed. The cut was so perfectly smooth that blood didn't even have time to spray out.
"Thud!"
"Aaaargh!!!"
The searing pain hit a moment later, and the black-clad leader who had fallen to the ground let out a bloodcurdling scream!
It was fast! Far too fast!
Everything had happened in the blink of an eye!
The two leaders whose weapons had been cut didn't even have time to intervene!
"Manager Xun!"
"You little bastard! Die!"
Fortunately, they reacted quickly, launching another attack immediately.
Both men gripped their broken blades and thrust them toward Zhou Changqing's left side, which was now facing them as he had twisted his body.
Manager Xun was the strongest among them, a nine-star Dou Shi. If he fell, the rest of them would have little hope of completing the mission, and their own fate would surely be grim!
But Zhou Changqing didn't even spare them a glance. The greatsword moved again, slicing across the neck of the leader with the severed leg.
"Screee!"
The two broken Treasure Weapons struck the faint golden film on Zhou Changqing's left side. Instead of cutting through it as they'd expected, the broken blades scraped against it with a harsh, grating sound of metal on metal!
"How is this possible!?"
"This can't be real!"
The two men cried out in shock.
While a Treasure Weapon could indeed break through a Dou Qi Cloak, and by extension the defensive film of a Monster Core Inner Armor, they didn't know that their own Treasure Weapons weren't of the highest quality. Against the Dou Qi Cloak of a nine-star Dou Shi, they would have had to strike with their full strength several times to breach it.
And the inner armor Zhou Changqing wore for himself was, predictably, of the highest quality. Inlaid with two peak Tier 2 Gold-attribute Monster Cores, the defensive film it generated was comparable to the Dou Qi Cloak of a peak nine-star Gold-attribute Dou Shi!
This was why the kick from their strongest leader, empowered by a Dou Technique, had failed to break his defense!
"Shink!"
The greatsword swept toward them, aiming for their necks!
One of them managed to react just in time to dodge the blow, but the other wasn't so lucky.
The Dou Qi Cloak around his neck was instantly sliced open, and with a spray of blood, he collapsed to the ground, his life extinguished.