"They say the Great Dao has three thousand paths, and our path of cultivation has countless more. Some cultivate the physical body, some cultivate psychic energy, some cultivate true essence, and within these three major systems, there are also classifications of levels, attributes, and so on..."
"The vastness of the Great Dao, even with humanity's growth over hundreds of thousands, even millions of years, we can barely glimpse a fraction of it."
Xue Dao Guang's sigh echoed in Ye Yun's ears.
Ye Yun ignored him, enduring the pain as he stood up. He looked at the surrounding demons and revealed a faint smile. Since he could become stronger, what was a little pain compared to death?
Ye Yun opened his right hand slightly, and the sword that had fallen to the ground instantly flew into his hand. Purple arcs of lightning immediately spread across its blade.
"In my previous life, I feared nothing for the sake of survival, yet I failed to reach the peak. Now that I've been given a chance to start anew, how could I possibly miss it?"
"Kill!"
Ye Yun roared, his figure swiftly charging towards the surrounding demons. His long sword was like a rainbow, slicing through a demon's neck.
Crack... Hiss...
Arcs of lightning raged around Ye Yun, striking down enemies within a few meters of him.
The biggest difference between reality and the game was the autonomy in energy usage. In the game, the energy consumption, attack power, and range of every skill were strictly defined.
Ordinary players would simply cast skills and spam attacks. Slightly better players would manage their positioning. High-level players would position themselves based on skill characteristics, the environment, and their prediction of the enemy's movements while also controlling their positioning.
In reality, however, skill characteristics were almost nonexistent. Attack power and true essence consumption were entirely at the individual's discretion.
Flames continuously contracted, forming a dark red armor on Ye Yun's body. His long sword, amidst the lightning, shone with a dazzling purple light.
Roar...
Eighth-level strength!
Bashan felt the terrifying aura emanating from Ye Yun and his face instantly changed. However, he didn't feel the same oppressive pressure from Ye Yun as he did from Hei Yi. He found that although Hei Yi's strength seemed comparable to his own, fighting against him always made him feel restricted.
Then, as if remembering something, he let out a great roar and took out a sword talisman.
"Sword Talisman?! Kid, retreat!" Xue Dao Guang, who had been observing the battle, was greatly alarmed upon seeing Bashan produce the sword talisman and quickly urged Ye Yun to retreat.
Bashan, now holding the sword talisman, slashed his palm with his large saber, causing blood to flow onto the talisman. The entire talisman seemed to be guided, and it instantly swelled to ten times its original size, manifesting three illusory white swords, then thirty, then three hundred, then three thousand... pointing menacingly at Hei Yi and Ye Yun while firmly protecting Bashan in the center.
"Sword Talisman? What the hell is that?" Ye Yun was stunned by Xue Dao Guang's voice, but his figure continued to charge forward.
"Kid, a Sword Talisman is inscribed by a Demon Emperor. Each talisman contains an attack with eighty percent of a Demon Emperor's power." Xue Dao Guang's voice was now tinged with nervousness. The Sword Talisman had been activated, locking onto its targets, and escape had become meaningless.
Eighty percent of the power? According to Xue Dao Guang's earlier words, Ye Yun, even relying on his strength and physique, was comparable to an eighth-level demon king. He believed he could withstand it.
"Kid, get serious. Once a Sword Talisman locks on, it's an endless pursuit."
"Hahaha, an eighth-level human? A seventh-level high-tier demon general? All of you die! Hmph! Kill!" Bashan looked at the densely packed three thousand great swords above his head and laughed triumphantly.
As Bashan controlled them, the three thousand great swords trembled slightly, emitting a series of sword cries. They then churned the winds for a hundred miles from the inside out like a whirlwind, instantly darkening the sky and kicking up dust and stones.
Then, the great swords within the whirlwind, as if guided by something, were hurled out, some slashing and some thrusting towards Ye Yun.
Swish...
Three great swords attacked, and a confident smile appeared on Ye Yun's lips as his divine sense expanded slightly.
Ding...
Ye Yun dodged one of the thrusting great swords, then raised his long sword to block a slash. A deafening sword cry erupted, and Ye Yun was instantly forced back three steps. The great sword, in its confrontation with Ye Yun, shattered into pieces.
However, Ye Yun did not stop at all. He quickly dodged the attack of the third great sword.
Bang...
Ye Yun, who had just been forced back, hadn't even recovered when he was violently sent flying forward. The great sword that Ye Yun had dodged earlier returned, lifting Ye Yun with a flick.
Ye Yun, who had been sent flying, was enraged. Before he even landed, he saw several great swords rushing towards him. True essence surged within him. The flames, which had been slowly retracting, once again covered Ye Yun's body within a three-meter radius.
Ding...
Ding...
The flames couldn't stop the great swords' attacks, but Ye Yun noticed that their speed slowed down significantly upon entering the flame's range. Even their attack power seemed to have weakened.
Damn it, what kind of divine skill is this, Myriad Swords Return to One? But how can it have a tracking system?
And isn't this supposed to be just one move? This is so many moves!
One engagement, and Ye Yun understood the immense gap between eighth-level and ninth-level strength. Fortunately, Ye Yun's divine sense covered a hundred-meter radius, and the surrounding wall of fire made things considerably easier for him.
Within the massive whirlwind, more and more great swords were unleashed, from three at a time initially, to ten, then twenty. Before long, Ye Yun's divine sense was filled with sword shadows.
"Xiao Hei, move closer to me!" Ye Yun shouted. At this moment, Xiao Hei was moving rapidly on the ground, with great swords trailing behind him, creating a sword trail dozens of meters long.
'Arc of Lightning'
'Heaven-Splitting Fire Rain'
...
The great swords pursuing Hei Yi were instantly entangled by purple arcs of lightning and shattered. Then, a rain of fire began to fall from the sky.
Ding...
A crisp sound rang out. A phantom great sword was pierced by a fiery rain, emitting a mournful cry, and the entire blade exploded. Then, more and more fiery rain fell from the sky, shattering the great swords.
"Holy crap! Young friend, what kind of move is this?" Xue Dao Guang hadn't paid much attention the first time he saw Ye Yun summon the fire rain, thinking it was an atmospheric phenomenon from the Heaven and Earth Spirit Eradication Array. But now, he could clearly feel the fluctuations of fire elements emanating from Ye Yun.
"Old man, go play more games if you're free." Ye Yun didn't have time to deal with him; his back still hurt fiercely.
Brush...
"Master! Are you injured?" As Hei Yi approached Ye Yun, he saw large patches of blood on Ye Yun's back.
"It's nothing. These great swords can only be shattered through direct confrontation. Otherwise, it's an endless pursuit," Ye Yun said to Hei Yi. This injury was nothing compared to the wounds he sustained in the slums during the great world convergence in his previous life; it was merely a band-aid. However, this skill of the opponent was too outrageous; it was unavoidable.
Even with my micro-control skills, it's useless.
Clang clang clang...
The fire rain fell into the whirlwind, filling it with flames. Thousands of great swords fell from the sky, much to Ye Yun's frustration.
Habitually, from his gaming days, he had forgotten that skills could be controlled in reality. Thus, the 'Heaven-Splitting Fire Rain' covered an area of over three hundred meters, but most of it was wasted, achieving nothing.
If the fire rain had been concentrated on the whirlwind, the number of great swords destroyed would have been more than double. That would have significantly reduced his pressure.