Chapter 49

Zhuge Xiang was only at the fourth level of the Qi Cultivation Realm, but today he got a taste of the power of the Body Tempering Realm in advance.

Previously, whether it was killing a two-star demon bear or a two-star demon moth, it was extremely difficult because their defenses were too high. Hitting them once would barely cause any pain, but their attacks could almost instantly kill. Today, Zhuge Xiang finally experienced the benefits of strong defense himself.

Like a tiger among sheep, Zhuge Xiang was now in such a state. The slashing blade in his hand transformed into a dense flurry of sword light. With the Courage Medal boosting all attributes by 100%, his movement speed, attack speed, attack power, and defense were all doubled. Combined with the Steel Secret Medicine, Zhuge Xiang's combat power could now rival that of a disciple at the Body Tempering Realm.

Screams of agony echoed continuously. His fierce attacks and the special effects of the slashing blade were far beyond what the Qi Cultivation Realm disciples could match. After all, the special effects of the slashing blade were essentially a complete killing tool for disciples at the Qi Cultivation Realm.

System prompts kept ringing in Zhuge Xiang's ears, sounding so pleasant to him. The experience points on his character panel kept rising, and at the same time, various items dropped into his inventory, most of which were Qi Recovery Pills and Blood Recovery Pills, but there were also some other items.

One minute is not a short time in battle, but it wasn't very long either. The one-minute effect of the Steel Secret Medicine finally passed, and Zhuge Xiang's defense suddenly dropped from over 400 to over 200. Although this defense was still strong, the dense attacks began to cause injuries on Zhuge Xiang's body. These small injuries accumulated, making his condition increasingly severe...

The life value on his character panel kept dropping, and even the attacks of several sixth-level Qi Cultivation Realm disciples could now cut his skin and make him bleed.

"Is he bleeding? He's bleeding?" With over 400 defense, Zhuge Xiang was almost invulnerable, but now that he was bleeding, the Green Willow Peak disciples were both shocked and overjoyed: "Haha, this guy's defense has dropped, our attacks can now hurt him."

Even with 200 defense, it was still strong. A sixth-level Qi Cultivation Realm disciple could only deal 7-8 points of damage per attack, while a fifth-level disciple could only deal 2-3 points. This amount of damage was not significant, but with the large number of disciples, Zhuge Xiang's injuries were accumulating. After one minute of full effort, about half of the Green Willow Peak disciples had lost their combat ability. However, the remaining disciples were even stronger...

Swallowing a Blood Recovery Pill, Zhuge Xiang's life value recovered at a rate of 10 points per second, but this speed couldn't keep up with the rate of injury. Although Zhuge Xiang's speed was still fast, even with the use of the Burst Step, the surrounding disciples were all at the fifth level of the Qi Cultivation Realm or higher. On average, Zhuge Xiang's life value dropped by more than 15-16 points per second, and the recovery speed of the Blood Recovery Pills couldn't keep up.

"Haha, I wonder how many healing pills you have left," the Green Willow Peak disciples laughed as they saw Zhuge Xiang swallowing Blood Recovery Pills and his injuries getting worse. They saw hope for victory.

Although his defense was still strong and he had many healing pills, the Green Willow Peak disciples were even more numerous. With so many attacks, his injuries were getting worse. Defeating him was just a matter of time.

Checking his status, the Courage Medal still had 2 minutes left. Zhuge Xiang felt his injuries getting worse, and he only had 7 Blood Recovery Pills left in his inventory.

His injuries were getting worse, and if this continued, he would lose his combat ability in just a dozen seconds. Clenching his teeth, Zhuge Xiang put away the slashing blade and drew the Blood Refining Blade from his waist...

In a group battle, although the Blood Refining Blade's attack power was far inferior to the slashing blade, its blood-sucking effect, combined with Blood Recovery Pills, allowed him to fight longer. Relying on his 200+ defense and the recovery speed of the Blood Recovery Pills, Zhuge Xiang swung the Blood Refining Blade horizontally...

Without the slashing effect, but with double attack power, Zhuge Xiang's attack was still very strong. Combined with the typical high attack and low defense of Qi Cultivation Realm disciples, each of his strikes could deal at least 50-60 points of damage. With the double attack speed, the Blood Refining Blade in Zhuge Xiang's hand also formed a dense flurry of sword light.

Although his damage-dealing ability decreased, his injuries stabilized and slowly began to recover.

The Blood Refining Blade's 10% blood-sucking effect, combined with the recovery from Blood Recovery Pills, allowed Zhuge Xiang's life value to recover to over 80 points, a safe range, after another minute...

Looking around, after more than two minutes of intense fighting, over 70 of the more than 100 Green Willow Peak disciples had fallen. The remaining 40-50 were all elite disciples. The 70 fallen disciples had given Zhuge Xiang over 6,000 experience points, and with the experience he had previously gained, he now had 7,000 out of the 10,000 needed to reach the fifth level of the Qi Cultivation Realm.

Taking a Burst Step, Zhuge Xiang retreated and stood a short distance away. He swallowed the last Blood Recovery Pill, and the remaining 40+ Green Willow Peak disciples looked at him with intense fighting spirit.

Zhuge Xiang had already swallowed over ten healing pills. One of the seventh-level Qi Cultivation Realm disciples sneered at him, "Heh, looks like you've run out of healing pills, haven't you?"

"That's right, I've run out. But to defeat you, I don't need healing pills anymore," Zhuge Xiang nodded frankly, without any intention of hiding.

"Arrogant!!!", hearing Zhuge Xiang's words, the Green Willow Peak disciples, who had already seen his defense drop and his healing pills run out, were enraged and charged at him again.

"You, you've all lost...", the remaining 40-50 Green Willow Peak disciples were all elite disciples, but Zhuge Xiang had a confident smile on his face. Each disciple rushing at him seemed like experience points.

Putting away the Blood Refining Blade, Zhuge Xiang took out the slashing blade again and silently activated the Bloodlust Technique in his mind.

A blood-red aura emerged from Zhuge Xiang's body, and ghostly faces appeared, some with fierce expressions, some howling in pain, and some in a bloodthirsty frenzy...

"Bloodlust Technique!? He actually learned the Bloodlust Technique? And he's reached a proficient level?" The Green Willow Peak disciples and the onlookers were shocked. They didn't expect Zhuge Xiang to have this trump card.

"It's no wonder. The Bloodlust Technique is probably only learnable by such a madman," many people secretly sighed with a bitter smile.

With the Courage Medal doubling all attributes, and now the Bloodlust Technique boosting them by another 50%, how strong was Zhuge Xiang?

Without the Steel Secret Medicine, Zhuge Xiang's defense was indeed weaker than before, but with 200+ defense boosted by 50%, it reached over 300, not much different from before. More importantly, his attack power, speed, and attack speed were all significantly increased.

Kill!!!

With a low shout in his mind, Zhuge Xiang's speed became a blood-red lightning bolt. Even without using the Burst Step, his speed was nearly four times that of a normal person. His movement speed was equivalent to the continuous use of the Burst Step...

Normal speed, doubled by the Courage Medal, and then boosted by 50% with the Bloodlust Technique, this was three times the normal speed. With the additional 30% from the Star Chasing Boots, it was almost four times the normal speed. This was the speed of Zhuge Xiang's Burst Step under normal circumstances.

The slashing blade swung, attack power and attack speed increased by 50%. If Zhuge Xiang was like a tiger among sheep before, now he was like a demon tiger. Screams, piercing screams, a crimson figure, a dense flurry of sword light, one-sided suppression, blood flying in the air, never falling...

With the speed equivalent to continuous Burst Steps, the terrifying triple attack and triple attack speed, the Green Willow Peak disciples, who were still shouting angrily, were now terrified. In the Bloodlust Technique state, Zhuge Xiang was even stronger than at the beginning. They couldn't even touch his shadow, but his attacks could instantly kill most of them.

"No... impossible... Is this really a new disciple? This strength, even in the Body Tempering Realm, he would be among the best..." The Green Willow Peak disciples at the fifth level of the Qi Cultivation Realm and above had no way to fight back. A group of people was being suppressed by one person. The disciples below the fourth level of the Qi Cultivation Realm watched with wide eyes, unable to believe what they were seeing. Those once hailed as geniuses were now being one-sidedly suppressed by the new disciple.

"So... so strong..." Even the group led by Niu Geng in the back watched with wide eyes. Zhuge Xiang's speed, attack power, and defense were so different from what he had shown in the big competition. It was as if he had become a different person.

"Is this really a new disciple? How did he do it?" The onlookers all gaped in amazement. Even the disciples at the Body Tempering Realm were no longer calm. The strength Zhuge Xiang displayed now put immense pressure on them.

The remaining 40-50 disciples fell like cut grass under Zhuge Xiang's attacks. In one minute, Zhuge Xiang became a demon, and even the seventh-level Qi Cultivation Realm disciples were killed with just two strikes of the slashing blade...

"Ding, defeated a seventh-level Qi Cultivation Realm disciple, gained 282 experience points, obtained a Phantom Shadow Scroll."

"Ding, level up, gained 1 skill point, current level: fifth level of the Qi Cultivation Realm."

As the last Green Willow Peak disciple was slashed away by Zhuge Xiang, a series of system prompts sounded.