My Core is the Boss

Tyrannical Might! Heaven-Cleaving Sword!

Using both major skills simultaneously, Qi Yuan's aura rose to its peak.

Leaping up violently, he slashed downward with the butcher knife. "Come to me, my substitute white moonlights!"

On one side was a terrifying giant with a sci-fi, mech-like aesthetic. On the other were demons in the strange eerie style of classical ghost tales, consisting of yellow weasels and old mountain goats. The two sides collided violently within the hall.

His long-coveted Rooster Demon was the first to have mutual feelings with him. The blood blade crashed into its skull, slicing its comb clean off and reducing its face to mangled flesh and blood.

With Little Bride's enhancement, Qi Yuan displayed terrifying strength through martial prowess alone. Under the buffs of the two major skills, one slash killed three substitute white moonlights.

The remaining demons turned pale with fear.

"Monster!"

"Kill him!"

However, the battle had already begun, and there was no room for retreat. Unfortunately, they had no idea they were facing more than just a monster.

Though Qi Yuan had no martial techniques, his combat skills were far beyond anything these demons could compare to. Crushing these low-level demons was still effortless, like a reborn Nascent Soul easily slaughtering Qi Refinement cultivators without using spells.

With another slash, the blood-colored butcher knife reaped the lives of three more demons.

Bathed in crimson, Qi Yuan's eyes were filled with killing intent. "Die, die, die!"

He was savage and overbearing, each slash impossible to resist. Not a single demon could withstand even one exchange with him.

Even Elder Huang's eyes filled with deep wariness. That human was supposed to be at the early stage of the Qi Blood realm! Even after fusing with the Wedding Garment Demon, he was only at the mid-stage Qi Blood realm. However, the battle prowess Qi Yuan displayed was enough to move even him. How did he achieve this without any martial techniques?

As more and more demons fell, Elder Huang's expression hardened. He knew he had to step forward lest Elder Kun’s plan collapse. If that happened, Elder Kun would not spare him. He would certainly die.

His white bone cane enlarged as his blood boiled. "Good, very good. You're the first person to force me this far! Profound Demon Grinding Slash!"

Gathering all his strength, Elder Huang unleashed the martial technique gifted to him by Elder Kun. It was a Jade Blood realm technique, which was extremely tyrannical and vastly stronger than the Qi Blood realm.

A flicker of surprise appeared in Qi Yuan's eyes. "Looks like I underestimated you NPCs. This martial technique is rather interesting."

Indeed, even Qi Yuan sensed a faint threat from this strike. He abruptly lifted his knife, using the blade to block the bone cane.

Crack.

The knife snapped on impact. However, the crimson light still remained, blocking Elder Huang's attack. The Jade Blood realm martial technique was incomparably fierce and highly destructive. Qi Yuan's knife completely crumbled into powder under the strain.

Qi Yuan appeared nostalgic. "Your strike reminds me of an old acquaintance. Back then, he also burst my capillaries!"

Even ordinary people could rupture plenty of capillaries just from scrubbing themselves too hard in the bath.

"No wonder you're my white moonlight. It turns out all the white moonlights in my heart are pretty much the same."

Since he could block even a Jade Blood realm martial technique, Elder Huang lost all means of taking him down. Like a colossal god of death, he relentlessly reaped the lives of the demons.

Tables shattered, dried meat fell to the floor, the roof was torn open, and demon after demon mutually rushed toward Qi Yuan.

Qi Yuan moved as though the space were empty—kill, kill, kill, slash, slash, slash.

No demon could survive a single exchange.

After about a hundred breaths, Qi Yuan released his fusion with Little Bride. He panted heavily as he stood among the corpses. "Haa... Why am I so weak? I used up all my blood martial qi after fighting for only this short while."

Blood martial artists consumed blood martial qi during combat. If he ran into another Elder Huang in this state, he'd be done for.

Nevertheless, Qi Yuan was very pleased. "But the harvest is plentiful. My substitute white moonlights are quite generous."

Before him, one hundred and twenty-five drops of demon essence blood had condensed.

Qi Yuan took a deep breath, many thoughts passing through his mind. "Good thing they didn't listen to my Plan A, or it would've wasted too much glucose."

Elder Huang's martial technique had left a deep impression on him. Had a Jade blood realm demon used that technique, even his in-game self would have had some difficulty dealing with it.

"Looks like I need to level up. System, come out!"

Of course, he had none.

Still, he could always dub one for himself, "You have consumed twenty-five drops of demon essence blood. Your blood martial qi is replenished and rises once more. Heaven-Shocking Art begins circulating rapidly. You break through to the mid-stage Qi Blood realm.

"Suddenly, you gain an insight and seem to comprehend the true meaning of the Heaven-Shocking Art. All the essence blood is consumed in this contemplation. You consume another 50 drops of demon essence blood. You suddenly discover that the key to Heaven-Shocking Art lies in the word 'shock.'

"A single strike that shocks the enemy can replenish your own blood martial qi. You have modified Heaven-Shocking Art beyond recognition. All the essence blood is consumed in this deep contemplation. You finally step into the realm of peak Qi Blood."

After finishing the voice-over, Qi Yuan wore a smug expression. "Now, even without Little Bride, I can still easily chop all these white moonlights to death."

The way he said it sounded exactly like some melodramatic TV villain. He kept fifty drops of demon essence blood stashed away. After all, not only were fifty drops not enough to cultivate to the Jade Blood realm, but his understanding of blood martial artists was still too shallow. It would be somewhat wasteful to use them immediately.

Just then, Qi Yuan sensed a trace of danger. In the distant night sky, a white figure was rapidly approaching. It was humanoid, with disheveled hair obscuring its appearance

Even Qi Yuan’s unique eyes failed to glean any useful information. "Jade Blood realm!"

The white figure halted in midair. When he saw the corpses in the courtyard, a flicker of clarity flashed through his crazed eyes. Then, he burst into miserable laughter. "They're all dead, all dead, hahaha."

Though laughing, tears streamed from his eyes. He staggered around madly, crashing left and right, knocking down several walls of the abandoned courtyard.

Qi Yuan kindly reminded him, "Hey, if you're mentally ill, then stay at home and stop going around hurting people."

He could never stand people who used their mental illness as an excuse to commit crimes and evade legal punishment. Though, to be fair, he himself had also escaped punishment using a psychiatric certificate. But he was different. His insanity was fake.

The madman halted once more and stared at Qi Yuan, muttering, "Yunyan County is doomed. Run, hurry and run. The sea is black as ink, baleful qi fills the air. No one will survive."

Afterward, the madman stumbled away and vanished. Rather than running normally, he used some kind of martial technique to disappear.

Qi Yuan lamented, "Haa... How pitiful. His mental illness is really severe."

He did not dare imagine what it would be like if he was truly mentally ill. What would he do then? Could it be that the only option was to become a live-in son-in-law? Several dozen breaths passed, and Qi Yuan was still recovering his strength.

At that moment, another sound of air being torn apart came from above.

"Huh? Qi Yuan, why are you here?"

An Qiao, the man in black, and the tracking dog appeared in the courtyard. When they saw the demon corpses all over the courtyard, shock filled their eyes. These demons were all at the Qi Blood realm, with one of them at the peak of the Qi Blood realm!

The black-clothed man lowered his head, lingering fear visible in his eyes as he looked at Qi Yuan. "Your luck is pretty good. That madman probably still retained a shred of reason, so he only killed these demons and spared you."

They had come here by secretly following that white-clothed madman from afar. The demon corpses were still warm. It was obvious that the madman had done it. Qi Blood realm demons were child’s play for a Jade Blood realm cultivator. Of course, it never even crossed his mind that a newcomer like Qi Yuan could have done this.

An Qiao smiled as well. "Look at how weak you are. First mission, and you already ran into such a huge scene. Must be both terrifying and exciting, right?"

Qi Yuan asked, wanting to ask for help again, "Hey, can you help me with something?"

"What is it?"

"I was throwing a party here with these white moonlights, and I accidentally beat them all to death. I feel really bad about it, so could you help bury them? Otherwise their corpses will stink up the place and pollute the environment. Protecting the environment is everyone's responsibility."

Qi Yuan's words jumped around so much that ordinary people simply could not understand them.

An Qiao froze for a moment. "You mean, you killed these demons?"

The black-clothed man also widened his eyes, unable to react for a moment. "You've got to be kidding!"

Qi Yuan shrugged. "Saying ‘killed’ sounds unlucky. This is called a mutual rush toward each other. Look, they were so selflessly devoted that even in death, they left their essence blood to me."

With a clap of his hands, the remaining fifty drops of demon essence blood appeared.

An Qiao and the black-clothed man were completely stunned.