Ding Shijie had just reached level 8, and from the prompts he received, he understood that while the boost from level 7 to 8 was modest, advancing from level 8 to 9 would bring another qualitative leap in strength.
So he finally realized that Su Li had been at level 8 before, had just broken through to level 9, and with this sudden surge in power, had managed to defeat him.
Of course, all of this was merely his own speculation; he wanted to hear Su Li confirm it himself.
Hearing Ding Shijie’s question, Su Li was slightly taken aback before shaking his head. “No, I just reached level 7.” He wondered how Ding Shijie could have thought he was level 9.
Ding Shijie froze, hardly believing his eyes.
“You’re only level 7?”
He felt the world spin around him. So Su Li had been just level 6 before, only now reaching level 7, while he himself was already level 8—and still Su Li had overwhelmingly defeated him.
“Ha—haha—”
Ding Shijie suddenly burst into wild laughter, tears and snot mixing with blood as he laughed until they sprayed out.
He had always believed himself to be an invincible presence among those of the same level, that no one could be stronger than him at the same rank, that only he could kill those of higher levels. So he had consistently assumed Su Li was at a high level, even thinking Su Li might have just broken through to become a level 9 spirit source user.
Arrogant and conceited, he simply couldn’t accept that Su Li, with a lower level, could still be stronger than him.
Su Li’s final words completely shattered his pride and confidence. After the wild laughter, a gurgling sound came from his throat, his face turned a bluish-purple, his eyes rolled back, and his already cracked chest suddenly split open. Amid the airflow, his internal organs sprayed out, creating a miniature explosion spectacle.
Su Li stared in shock. Had this guy’s chest actually exploded from anger at his last words? How furious could he be?
With the chest burst open, a spirit source emerged and sank into Su Li’s mind.
“Level 7 Spirit Source User: Spirit Source 4/110”
Ding Shijie was one level higher, and by killing him, Su Li gained four spirit sources.
After absorbing the spirit source, Su Li suddenly noticed the ice sword in Ding Shijie’s hand shrinking, transforming into a translucent ice sphere that flew over and vanished into his own chest.
“Huh?” Su Li watched as the ice sphere merged into his chest, followed by a surge of energy taking shape within him, and new information appeared in his mind.
“Ice Python Sword: After killing the rare creature Ice Python King Beast, the python king pill within its body fuses with the spirit source to form the weapon Ice Python Sword. Activating the spirit source within the sword unleashes the lingering soul of the Ice Python King Beast, simulating a powerful attack called ‘Ice Python King’s Bite.’”
Processing the information in his mind, Su Li floated on the water, watching Ding Shijie’s corpse slowly sink. He hadn’t expected to acquire the other’s weapon; now he possessed not only the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword but also this Ice Python Sword.
“So that giant phantom ice python was called ‘Ice Python King’s Bite.’ Its power was considerable, but Ding Shijie was no match for me—the gap in strength was too great. That’s why his ‘Ice Python King’s Bite’ was suppressed by my ‘Dragon Rhinoceros Slash.’ Of course, that doesn’t mean ‘Ice Python King’s Bite’ is inferior to ‘Dragon Rhinoceros Slash.’”
Carefully analyzing the “Ice Python King’s Bite,” Su Li quickly realized that compared to the straightforward “Dragon Rhinoceros Slash,” the former was more flexible and versatile in use, capable of being released around the body or even entangling an opponent.
Comparing the two sword techniques, Su Li immediately understood that in pure slashing power, “Dragon Rhinoceros Slash” surpassed “Ice Python King’s Bite,” but the latter excelled in adaptability, especially when facing attacks from all directions.
“So that’s it. No wonder it was broken by my Dragon Rhinoceros Slash—it’s not entirely because my strength far exceeds his. ‘Ice Python King’s Bite’ is better suited for group combat; in a one-on-one fight, it’s indeed inferior to ‘Dragon Rhinoceros Slash.’”
Su Li extended his left hand to his chest and drew out the Ice Python Sword. Now holding the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword in his right hand and the Ice Python Sword in his left, he felt the energy within both swords pulsing, experiencing an unprecedented sense of power.
With the acquisition of this Ice Python Sword, his strength had taken another leap forward.
“Right, I need to check on Jiang Shuijue and the others. Without Ding Shijie, those Golden Eagle Alliance members shouldn’t be a match for them.”
This time, the Golden Eagle Alliance had been too overconfident. Ding Shijie, arrogant to the core, believed he could single-handedly handle the Jinhui Center Building and hadn’t brought a large force. Of course, his arrogance had some basis—if not for Su Li’s intervention, Jiang Shuijue and the other two might not have been able to defeat him together.
A single “Ice Python King’s Bite” could have taken all three of them out at once.
But fate had other plans, and he happened to run into Su Li.
Su Li stored both the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword and Ice Python Sword back into his chest and began swimming toward the Jinhui Center Building, a few hundred meters away. Occasionally, he activated “Spider Walk” in the water, as if growing eight legs, stomping through the water and kicking up waves several meters high, his speed suddenly surging like a torpedo.
Beneath the water, numerous dark shapes emerged. Su Li glanced down and saw they were all level-six White Jade Centipedes and level-seven Bloody Giant Earthworms.
His battle with Ding Shijie had stirred up these spirit source beasts below. Now that he was on the surface, the swarms of beasts had followed him.
Seeing the monsters surging up from below, Su Li frowned slightly. He extended his right hand and drew the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword from his chest again.
As he swam toward the Jinhui Center Building, he occasionally swung the sword downward. The White Jade Centipedes and Bloody Giant Earthworms that got close couldn’t withstand the blade that cut through iron like mud; any contact shattered their limbs.
Now a level 7 spirit source user, killing White Jade Centipedes yielded no effective spirit sources—only Bloody Giant Earthworms gave him one each.
But to reach level 8, he needed 110 spirit sources.
He looked forward to leveling up. Last time, after killing the Blood Crystal Beast, he had obtained a mysterious blood crystal that required him to reach level 8 to have enough spirit source power to unlock it. He was curious about what treasure that blood crystal might be.
Along the way, he killed over a dozen White Jade Centipedes and seven Bloody Giant Earthworms, gaining seven effective spirit sources. With the speed of “Spider Walk,” despite the horde of monsters, they couldn’t surround him effectively, and in a short time, he neared the Jinhui Center Building.
“These guys are persistent—they’re still chasing me without letting up.” Su Li noticed the turbulent currents below, with White Jade Centipedes and Bloody Giant Earthworms not only failing to thin out but increasing in number.
He reached the back of the Jinhui Center Building and began swimming along the outer wall toward the front, wondering if Jiang Shuijue and the others had settled things with the Golden Eagle Alliance members.
Soon, he spotted numerous rafts and climbed onto one. A White Jade Centipede leaped viciously out of the water toward him on the raft.
Su Li swung his right hand, cleaving the centipede in two with one stroke, then leaped across to another raft.
Behind him, swarms of White Jade Centipedes and Bloody Giant Earthworms crawled onto the rafts, pursuing him.
Quickly traversing the rafts, Su Li reached the front of the Jinhui Center Building but found no sign of Jiang Shuijue or Gu Mingfeng. Instead, he saw a group of strangers holding various weapons, standing on different rafts. Some rafts were piled with supplies, while others had people tied up with ropes. Most notably, on one raft, three women were bound hand and foot, with several men holding swords to their necks and groping them with their other hands.
The three women looked furious but dared not speak or resist.
People were moving supplies up and down the building’s stairs onto the rafts.
Seeing this, Su Li was taken aback. The others, startled by the commotion, turned to look at him and noticed the White Jade Centipedes and Bloody Giant Earthworms chasing him.
“Who are these people?” Su Li’s heart tightened as he bounded across the rafts, closing in quickly.
“You again?” One of the men suddenly called out, his face showing surprise.
Su Li found the man vaguely familiar and suddenly remembered—he was one of the Golden Eagle Alliance members, a subordinate of Ding Shijie. Back then, he had fled into the water, and Ding Shijie had chased after him, while these men had fought with Jiang Shuijue and the others. Since Su Li had dived underwater, he didn’t know the outcome. Now, returning, he saw no sign of Jiang Shuijue but instead this crowd of strangers moving supplies and three bound women.
Seeing this man, he immediately understood the situation.
The people holding weapons were likely all Golden Eagle Alliance members. Apparently, after he left, reinforcements had arrived, taken over the Jinhui Center Building, and were now looting its supplies. The three captured women were probably from the building.
“I wonder what happened to Miss Jiang.” Su Li’s heart tightened as he accelerated, charging toward them.
The man who recognized Su Li looked baffled. Su Li had fled into the water, unable to defeat Ding Shijie. Now he was back, but where was Ding Shijie?
Though Su Li wasn’t a match for Ding Shijie, he was still formidable. Having witnessed this earlier, the man immediately retreated, shouting, “Everyone, be careful—this guy’s strong! Attack together!”
He yelled for a group assault but kept backing away, wanting to assess the situation first.