Deep within the Guixu, not far from Supreme Academy.
A ferocious beast, a hundred meters tall, faced off against a figure clad in green.
The beast's head bore a horn over three meters long, with two shorter ones on either side. Around its neck, fan-like membranous wings extended half a meter.
Its massive form stretched a hundred meters high and several hundred meters long. Spikes like sharp swords protruded from its back. It resembled a prehistoric Triceratops, but far more ferocious and awe-inspiring.
The savage beast bared its fangs, yet it was slowly retreating.
Upon closer inspection, a gaping wound bled on its back.
In contrast, the young man opposite it had a ruddy complexion, showing no signs of fatigue.
Suddenly, the young man's hand moved.
"Vermin, perish!"
With a sharp cry, he swung his sword.
The sword body was invisible to the naked eye, as was any sword light.
Yet, in the next instant, a whirlwind materialized in the air, the trace left by the invisible sword light.
"Roar!"
The beast roared, its three horns glowing with blue light as an ice wall formed before it.
Clang!
The sword light struck the ice wall with a violent impact.
With a crack, the ice wall shattered into pieces under the onslaught of the sword light. Undeterred, the sword light pierced directly through the beast's left eye.
"Roar!" The beast howled in pain, its piteous cries sending shivers down the spine.
The young man took a few steps forward, speaking:
"If you had only sought to escape, I would have granted you a swift end. But you should not have instigated this beast tide, for I detest them. Therefore, you will die by my tenth sword."
Hearing the young man's words, its eyes dimmed.
Suddenly, the surrounding air grew viscous as the beast's energy rapidly compressed.
"Even if you wish to self-destruct, my sword must first grant permission."
Expressionless, he raised his hand and unleashed a burst of sword energy. It streaked through the air, piercing the beast's abdomen and rupturing the condensed energy.
"This is the second sword. Eight more to go."
With every step the young man took forward, he unleashed a sword strike.
The beast roared piteously, but the subsequent eight swords struck its right eye, forehead, five limbs, and three horns. The final sword, a hundred meters long, descended from the heavens.
Like a scythe, it sliced the beast in half from its back.
"Wail!" The beast emitted a final, mournful whimper. Yet, having witnessed such scenes countless times, the young man felt no stir in his heart.
Creatures of different species harbor different intentions. To show mercy is to invite peril.
This was a truth he had proven through three hundred years of experience, shaping his present disposition.
With a wave of his hand, the ring on his finger shimmered. The beast transformed into a beam of light and was absorbed into the ring.
It was, unmistakably, a spatial ring.
He touched the spatial ring and glanced towards the academy.
Observing the scale of the beast tide, he chuckled, "This is for the two of you!"
With that, he flew into the depths of the Guixu.
Meanwhile.
Outside the academy.
Lin Yu's clone, utilizing the Five Elements Formation, was wreaking havoc, felling even fifth-tier ferocious beasts under the siege.
Lin Yu gained a substantial amount of upgrade points. In just tens of minutes, he accumulated hundreds of thousands, which he promptly used to enhance his cultivation.
He was currently at the peak of the fourth tier, with the fifth tier next.
However, reaching the fifth tier required an immense number of upgrade points!
The cost of upgrading his combat power to the fifth tier was the same as upgrading his talent to S+, a staggering five million points.
After advancing his cultivation to the peak of the fourth tier, Lin Yu decided to upgrade his talent clone next. As for reaching the fifth tier in combat power, that would have to wait for another time.
Being able to engage in combat within the academy was a golden opportunity for Lin Yu.
With his senior brother guarding the perimeter, no beast of sixth tier or higher could approach. Lin Yu's clones operated with high efficiency and ferocity.
He initially used the Five Elements Formation to eliminate enemies. When faced with overwhelming odds, he would initiate self-destruction for a mutual demise.
Consequently, explosions erupted amidst the beast hordes, leading to the demise of countless ferocious creatures.
"Junior disciple, your strategy is quite ruthless!" the senior brother exclaimed, watching a self-destructing clone.
Lin Yu offered no reply, instead continuing to replenish his clones and rejoin the fray.
Suddenly, a sixth-tier ferocious beast charged forward.
Seeing this, the senior brother raised his sword, preparing to strike.
However, before his sword could even swing, a flock of sixth-tier flying birds descended, catching the senior brother off guard and knocking him down.
The flock numbered over a dozen, all possessing sixth-tier combat power. The senior brother immediately got to his feet and began fighting, but the sheer number of birds made it impossible to dispatch them quickly.
He was temporarily unable to assist Lin Yu's clones.
Lin Yu remained unhurried. After losing several clones to the sixth-tier beast, he issued a command.
"Exhale heartfire!"
In the next moment, the remaining clones integrated their heartfire into their fiery exhalations.
Each breath of fire seared the beast's soul, causing it to roar in agony and retaliate furiously. Though its soul was damaged, the effect was not substantial.
Several more clones were annihilated.
Lin Yu replenished his clones once more, ordering them all to self-destruct.
Boom boom boom!!!
The self-destruction of hundreds of clones was an attack even a sixth-tier beast could not withstand. While it did not perish, it sustained severe injuries.
Lin Yu felt the energy within him. He could unleash one final batch of clones.
Gritting his teeth, he activated his talent clone.
"Go!"
One hundred Five Elements clones re-entered the battlefield.
Upon seeing the reappearance of the clones, even the unintelligent sixth-tier beast realized what was happening.
It roared and slowly retreated. Once it had gained sufficient distance, it turned and fled towards the Guixu.
However, Lin Yu would not allow it to escape.
"Fusions of same-attribute clones, merge!"
Following the command, same-attribute clones began to merge.
Instantly, five colossal Five Elements elemental clones, each seven to eight meters tall, appeared on the scene.
"Activate the Five Elements Sword Formation, kill!"
Lin Yu issued his orders, directing the merged clones to unleash the formation's attack once more.
After merging, each Five Elements clone's combat power increased by almost a tier, resulting in a vastly more potent formation.
Although they still could not kill the sixth-tier beast, the current one was gravely wounded, and Lin Yu was confident of finishing it off.
Giant swords traversed the sky, descending from above.
The beast roared desperately, struggling to evade the onslaught of the giant swords.
Suddenly, a giant sword pinned its tail.
Then, one by one, more giant swords plunged from the sky, embedding themselves into the beast's body, pinning it firmly to the ground.
"Howl~" The beast shrieked in agony, struggling with all its might, but soon succumbed to blood loss, its cries fading into whimpers.
With a thud, the beast could struggle no longer, its life extinguished.
In the next moment, a system notification chimed in Lin Yu's mind.
"Ding, you have slain a Land-based Trihorn Crocodile (Sixth Tier), upgrade points +22000!"
Only twenty-two thousand upgrade points. It seemed this sixth-tier beast was relatively weak among its kind, Lin Yu mused.
The demise of a sixth-tier beast struck terror into the surrounding beasts, causing them to scatter and dare not approach.
However, it also ignited the fury of other sixth-tier beasts, which began to advance towards the clones.
Seeing the numerous beasts, Lin Yu quickly ordered a change in formation.
Five Elements Shield Formation!
Bang bang bang!!
A continuous barrage of impacts caused Lin Yu's expression to shift slightly.
"Activate self-destruction!"
Before the command could be issued, a piercing roar suddenly echoed from afar.
The sheer ferocity of the sound evoked a sense of pity.
Lin Yu and his senior brother froze for a moment upon hearing it.
Immediately after the roar began, it quickly subsided, eventually fading into silence.
As the sound vanished, all the surrounding beasts erupted in roars.
Roar roar roar~
Their cries, one after another, akin to the chirping of cicadas at noon, competed with each other.
Then, these roars grew urgent. Birds of prey returned, and land beasts descended the mountains. The beast tide had retreated!
Even the group of sixth-tier beasts intent on attacking Lin Yu's clones rapidly withdrew.
Upon witnessing this, Lin Yu quickly understood, but he was unwilling to let so many upgrade points slip away.
"Pursue them, all of you, self-destruct!" He decided to kill a few more before the beasts fully retreated, to reap one last wave of upgrade points.
The clones charged forward, unleashing self-destruction in the most densely populated areas of the retreating beasts.
Rumble rumble rumble!!!
Great explosions resounded, their blasts encompassing an area of several hundred meters.
Beasts, caught off guard, perished in the explosions.
As Lin Yu heard the sounds of explosions, system notifications chimed incessantly, bringing a smile to his face.
"Ding, you have slain a Three-Flower Deer Demon (Fourth Tier), upgrade points +2200!"
"Ding, you have slain a White Ice Snow Wolf (Fifth Tier), upgrade points +11000."
"Ding, you have slain an Eight-Clawed Strange Python (Sixth Tier), upgrade points +30000!"
"Ding, ......"
Beast after beast fell to his attacks, and his upgrade points surged by nearly a million in an instant.