"Kill..."
The war cries shook the heavens. The demons who had just passed through the crack in the barrier were still bewildered.
They were met by human cultivators, who had been prepared, and were cut down one after another.
"One hundred and eighty-third, Zhang Er Gou, how many have you killed?"
Piercing a demon that had just emerged from the barrier with his sword, Li Xun turned and provocatively glanced at Zhang Er Gou.
The two had been competing to see who could kill more quickly.
"Heh heh, sorry, I just killed one more than you, one hundred and eighty-four."
Casually swatting away the head of a demon, Zhang Er Gou replied.
"Hmph, still not as good as you!"
The smug look on Li Xun's face vanished instantly, replaced by endless killing intent.
"Aren't these two childish, competing over such things."
Qu Yao and Li Zhan, standing nearby, watched them speechlessly.
Thanks to their efforts over the past few days, the demon invasion had been suppressed at the barrier and had not spread to various parts of the continent.
More and more human cultivators also rushed from all directions to the land invaded by demons, engaging them in battle.
As the battle continued, Zhang Er Gou gradually felt that his previously rapidly increasing strength had become more stable.
He guessed that it wouldn't be long before his cultivation realm would see a new breakthrough.
...
Three years later, the entire continent's landscape had undergone immense changes.
The major sects no longer fought independently. The human cultivators, led by an alliance, engaged in an endless war with the demons.
The barrier between the demon realm and the cultivation world had also been completely opened due to the increased frequency of battles.
Demons poured into the cultivation world in large numbers, devouring and plundering the cultivation resources of human cultivators, turning the entire cultivation world into a cesspool.
People finally realized how complacent they had been over the years and the vast gap that existed between them and the demons.
...
"Hoo..."
Exhaling a turbid breath, Zhang Er Gou felt an unprecedented surge of power, finally breaking through once more.
This was his third breakthrough this year.
For others, breaking through a small realm was as difficult as ascending to heaven, but Zhang Er Gou faced no such difficulty.
Instead, as the number of battles increased, his subsequent realm breakthroughs became faster and faster.
...
Another three years passed.
"Master, Martial Uncle, Cui Lan Jie..."
Looking at the somewhat unfamiliar faces before him, Zhang Er Gou was filled with emotion.
From an unknown village scamp to achieving what he had today, Zhang Er Gou couldn't help but sigh.
"Er Gou, are you really leaving?"
Liu Cui Lan's eyes were filled with reluctance. Sudan Novel Network
The emotions of the others were not much better. The place Zhang Er Gou was going to was a new and unfamiliar place to them.
The last time they went to explore, it was Chi Chen, the sect leader of Misty Sect, but how many years had passed without them hearing any news of Chi Chen.
"Master, Cui Lan Jie, I haven't felt any realm improvement for a long time. I have a premonition that to improve further, I must go to that place. Something seems to be drawing me in."
Zhang Er Gou's expression was firm. His realm had been stagnant for the past three years.
He had hit a bottleneck and wanted to explore the demon realm, as he had heard there were paths to other realms there.
But with this departure, who knew when they would meet again...
"Er Gou, take care."
Mu Chen and Hua Xu also arrived at Misty Sect. The young man who was several realms below them back then had now grown into someone they all looked up to.
"Senior Hua, Senior Mu."
Zhang Er Gou nodded at them. He had a thousand words to say but didn't know where to begin.
...
"Everyone, take care!"
Zhang Er Gou cupped his fists towards everyone.
"Let's go..."
Several figures gradually faded into the distance until they became mere specks...
(The End.)