From Sword to Slaughter: Evolution

"Shut up!"

Ma Honghu's face darkened as he heard their taunts. No matter what, he was still a man, and those words made him feel humiliated.

"Oh, can't we talk about it? Did they 'go to war' right in your house?"

"Hahaha!"

The group burst into laughter. Ma Honghu's expression grew even more sullen, but he didn't say anything. He quietly moved inside, quickly finding the Flowing Shadow Blood Sword.

As soon as he picked up the sword, that familiar sensation of power coursed through him again—this was the passive skill All Attribute Enhancement at work. A divine sword, indeed. This sword was clearly extraordinary. Why had he even considered pawning it off?

At that moment, it was as if Ma Honghu's mind started working more clearly. Gripping the sword, his expression shifted back and forth.

"Ma Honghu, did you find it or not?"

"Are you trying to mess with us? If you can't pay up, don't blame us for throwing you into the river to feed the fish."

A threatening voice called out from outside. Ma Honghu's expression flickered with indecision.

"No, I can't give them this sword."

He quickly made up his mind.

"Sorry, everyone, the sword seems to have been stolen."

He hid the sword under the bed and then stepped out. The place was dark, and the others hadn't noticed what he'd just done.

"Stolen?"

A man with a scar on his face asked coldly.

"Yes, it seems so. Could you give me a few more days to pay up? I'll definitely get the money to you."

Ma Honghu said with a forced smile.

"A few days? I'll show you a few days!"

The scarred man cursed and kicked Ma Honghu back into the straw hut.

"This little bastard dares to mess with us? He must have a death wish."

The group exchanged glances and then tossed their torches into the corners and onto the roof of the hut. The flames quickly caught, spreading rapidly.

Ma Honghu, reeling from the blow to his abdomen, curled up on the ground in pain. The intense heat soon surrounded him. He looked around in horror as the straw hut was engulfed in flames.

"My house... my house..."

His eyes widened in shock.

"Hehehe, burn to death."

The men at the door grinned malevolently as they watched the flames consume the hut. These bastards wanted him dead!

Ma Honghu's body trembled uncontrollably. Desperate, he forced himself to stand up.

Wait, my sword...

He reached under the bed and grabbed the black sword, his eyes locking onto the men standing at the door with sinister smiles. His body began to tremble not out of fear but out of pure rage. The killing intent surging within him, combined with the sword's ominous aura, pushed Ma Honghu over the edge.

He had to kill them. But he was only a quasi-warrior, and among them were two first-rank warriors!

"Don't let him escape."

The scarred man commanded coldly.

"Of course, I want to watch this piece of trash burn alive."

The others laughed cruelly.

"You..."

Ma Honghu's body trembled even more, not from fear but from mounting anger.

"Do you need to consume blood to gain power?"

Inside the sword, Ye Fan chuckled to himself. Although Ma Honghu couldn't hear him, Ye Fan could transmit some information through the sword, hinting at what needed to be done. The sword began to vibrate slightly.

"What is this...?"

Ma Honghu seemed to sense something.

"Blood... do you need my blood?"

He suddenly had this thought, and it consumed him.

"If you help me kill them, I'll give it to you!"

He looked at the strange sword in his hand, ready to do whatever it took.

"Excellent."

Ye Fan grinned as Ma Honghu caught on to the hint. Soon, blood began to seep from Ma Honghu's arm, flowing into the Flowing Shadow Blood Sword. A powerful aura emanated from the blade, surrounding Ma Honghu.

Such power! He could clearly feel his strength increasing significantly! He now had the strength of a first-rank warrior!

The straw hut was nearly consumed by the flames, on the verge of collapse.

"You all deserve to die!"

Ma Honghu roared as he charged out.

"Courting death!"

The scarred man sneered as Ma Honghu rushed at him. He pulled a short knife from his waist, ready to kill Ma Honghu. After all, Ma Honghu was just a quasi-warrior.

But in an instant, a blood-red flash appeared before his eyes, and a sharp pain shot through his neck. What...? He was about to look down at his neck when his head fell to the ground. The blood that spurted out was immediately absorbed by the sword, with some of the energy being returned to Ma Honghu.

"Scarface!"

The others were stunned, their eyes wide with disbelief. They hadn't expected their leader to die so quickly!

They turned to Ma Honghu, now standing beside Scarface's body.

"Hahaha, I see now, I see!"

"This is a demon sword."

He looked at the sword in his hand and burst out laughing. Power! Such power! For the first time, he felt a surge of energy throughout his entire body!

"Ma Honghu, you're asking for death!!!"

The others finally came to their senses, drawing their weapons and charging at Ma Honghu.

"Shut up!"

He roared, swinging the sword at them.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Their weapons were instantly sliced in half by the Flowing Shadow Blood Sword. Before they could react, the sword continued its deadly arc. One by one, their bodies collapsed into pools of blood. The blood from their bodies flowed toward the sword in a strange, eerie manner. Ma Honghu's eyes widened as he watched.

[Absorbed quasi-warrior's blood: +0.1 energy points]

[Absorbed first-rank warrior's blood: +0.1 energy points]

[Killed first-rank warrior: +100 evolution points]

[Killed quasi-warrior: +10 evolution points]

System notifications echoed in Ye Fan's mind.

"Not bad, every bit counts."

Ye Fan mused, somewhat satisfied. Ma Honghu was finally showing some backbone.

"Aah!"

But just as Ye Fan was thinking this, Ma Honghu suddenly dropped the sword in a panic. He seemed to have snapped out of his earlier state, his face pale.

"Oh no, oh no, I killed Jin Boss's men... I'm doomed."

He muttered to himself, fear taking over once more.