Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

Such a fast sword!

Seeing Lin Ning's Green Bamboo Sword turn into a streak of light, the three Sword Immortals from the Dragon Soar Team, Ai Lu, Guo Feiyun, and Liu Longtao, were slightly surprised.

The Flying Sword and the Shifting Technique are similar in principle, the more True Yuan you provide, the greater its acceleration. Of course, the prerequisite is that you can control it.

If you can't control it and you provide too much True Yuan too quickly, the Flying Sword will shoot out of the control range in a flash, losing the Sword Immortal's supply of True Yuan, and its speed, agility, and accuracy will greatly decrease, which means it would backfire.

But judging by the sword light of the Green Bamboo Sword and how it pierced through three snow soldiers in a swift and precise arc, it was evident that Lin Ning was truly capable of controlling a sword speed of that caliber.

In light of this, the initial estimate of her combat power was obviously too low... it was just fortunate that there was no team combat this time, otherwise, we'd definitely be in for an unexpectedly big surprise.

"26, if it were a one-on-one fight, could you beat her?" Guo Feiyun whispered.

Ai Lu was silent for a moment before replying:

"How could I not beat her?"

"Her mastery of swordsmanship is better than yours," Guo Feiyun began to bait, "You would probably be pressed hard in a direct confrontation."

"Then I could just sneak attack her from behind," Ai Lu sneered.

"That's low!" Guo Feiyun immediately laughed bitterly, "Big Brother! Rein in the cheap tricks, please, I really can't handle it."

"You two have had enough!" Liu Longtao couldn't listen any longer and scolded, "If you want to be cheap, go outside, don't cause trouble for me here!"

"It's fine." Yan Yu chuckled from the side, "Let's just treat it as listening to a comic dialogue."

Chen Lingyun and Su Yunjin were both covering their mouths and laughing behind them.

Seeing these two beautiful girls looking over, Ai Lu and Guo Feiyun were somewhat embarrassed... after all, they had joked about sneak attacking their teammate and being overheard was somehow awkward.

"Speaking of which," Yang Linhui suddenly said, "isn't it unreasonable to let that girl fight on her own?"

The two teams were in a cooperative relationship, and it was only fair that they contribute equally. Strictly speaking, Ye Jun, who maintained the Xuan Guang Ruler, had the greatest consumption, even though Lin Ning, who fought fiercely outside, actually used up less energy than Ye Jun.

But these things shouldn't be evaluated only in terms of substance; appearances count too. From the perspective of the soldiers from the Dingbei Army observing from behind, it looked as if the big men of the Dragon Soar Team were huddling behind their defensive shield while the girls from the Zhenhai Team were charging ahead on away ground—this didn't look good...

Although the soldiers didn't say anything, they may think to themselves: Why can't our home team put in a bit more effort? Don't be so tight-fisted.

After pondering for a moment, Liu Longtao spoke:

"Ai Lu, go out and lend a hand."

"Alright." Ai Lu immediately stepped out of the range of the Xuan Guang Ruler's protective barrier, and with a twirl of his Verdant Crimson Sword, he killed several snow soldiers who were rushing towards Lin Ning. Then he smiled at Lin Ning and said, "Classmate Lin, I'm here to lend a hand, you don't mind, do you?"

"I mind," Lin Ning replied, "You'd better move to the other side of the team to clear out enemies. I can handle this side by myself; another person won't increase efficiency."

"All right then." Ai Lu was left somewhat speechless, but what she said was indeed correct, so he could only sheepishly turn around and leave.

"26, are you up to it?" Guo Feiyun's mocking voice came from the team, "Why'd you turn tail and run?"

"She doesn't want my help," Ai Lu responded.

"Is it because she finds your strength inadequate?" Guo Feiyun continued to mock.

"Get lost."

The two Sword Immortals cleared enemies on either side of their team, and amidst the whirl of sword lights, hordes of soldiers shattered at their command, greatly reducing the energy consumed by Ye Jun's efforts with the Xuan Guang Ruler.

"How about it?" Chen Lingyun watched Ai Lu for a moment before quietly asking Yan Yu over the channel.

"You first," Yan Yu replied.

"His reaction speed isn't as fast as Lin Ning's," Chen Lingyun answered, "but he's accurate, very accurate. Hence, although he strikes less frequently, his efficiency in killing enemies is on par with Lin Ning's."

"It's not about accuracy," Yan Yu corrected her, "it's that he has calculated the angles and trajectories, a rare instance of a Sword Immortal who uses his brain."

"Like Li Minghu?" Chen Lingyun asked with a smile.

"There's still a gap compared to her," Yan Yu pondered for a moment before answering, "Li Minghu and Lin Ning are quite similar, actually, both are intuitive Sword Immortals, but her physical constitution is not up to par, preventing her from attacking recklessly, which forces her to think more... Her computing ability is acquired through training."

"I see," Chen Lingyun noted, "So whether it's intuitive or calculating, there's no superiority, just different styles of swordsmanship?"

"Exactly," Yan Yu responded, "It varies from person to person, the best style is the one that suits you."

"What about Lord Master?"

"Him?" Yan Yu let out an ambiguous low chuckle, "The strategy we're discussing is akin to software, he simply rolls over everything with hardware."

"Pfft." Chen Lingyun's laugh was filled with evident ridicule, "So in practicing both magic and swordsmanship, he's neither proficient in magic nor in sword skills."

"Or perhaps his talent is too exceptional, and his strength too formidable," Yan Yu didn't deny, "which is why he lacks the interest to delve into the techniques."

The group quickly advanced to a flat area halfway up the mountain, where they found another three corpses frozen in the snow.

As they reached this spot, attacks from the Wind Blade Frost Sword Formation became quite frequent. They faced about two waves of attack per minute, each consisting of seven or eight snow soldiers slaying their way towards them with the whistling sound of blades and swords filling the air, making it impossible to discern the direction of the attacks.

Even with Lin Ning and Ai Lu continuously clearing enemies on both sides, there were still some who slipped through the defenses and crashed violently against the protective barrier of the Xuan Guang Ruler... It was evident that if Yan Yu hadn't had the foresight to suggest Ye Jun activate the magical treasure, the Lu Country team would have already suffered casualties like the Goryeo Cultivators.

"Could it be that they will all have been killed by the formation before we even get there?" Chen Lingyun asked with a smile.

"That would be nice," Ye Jun agreed, "It would save us the trouble."

It wasn't that she was afraid or avoiding battle, but with the Wind Blade Frost Sword Formation, enemy cultivators, and the guardians at the gate, there were simply too many dangers within this Mysterious Realm.

If they could eliminate one of those threats, it would significantly reduce the pressure on the Rikoku Cultivators.

"Tsk tsk," Yan Yu flipped one of the corpses with his foot, "look at this."

"What's wrong?" Liu Longtao asked seriously, looking at the indistinct wound on the corpse's throat, "Is this torn by some sharp tool?"

"Yes, but not by a blade or sword." Yan Yu turned to Chen Lingyun, "Call the medical team over."

Liu Longtao frowned slightly, unsure if they should waste time here... But considering Yan Yu didn't seem the type to joke about serious matters, he tacitly agreed without a word.

Soon, the medical teams from both the Zhendong Army and the Dingbei Army arrived.

After a brief examination of the corpses, they reached a surprising conclusion:

They were killed by sharp claws that tore open their throats.

"By a person or a beast?" Liu Longtao asked in surprise.

"Don't know," the medical team replied succinctly, "The preliminary autopsy determined that the killer did not leave any organic traces in the wounds."

The variables had increased once more. Cautiously, the group continued their way, utilizing the Shifting Technique.

"What do you think it is?" Chen Lingyun quietly moved closer to Yan Yu and, sheltered by the roaring wind around them, whispered, "Could it be a ghost?"
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"The neck bones of the corpse are somewhat deformed," Yan Yu answered, "If it were a specter with overwhelming power, it typically would be quite large and wouldn't rely on tearing the throat to kill."

Chen Lingyun thought of the Yin Ghost Mysterious Realm in the past Fengdu County, where neither the Bull-headed Ghost nor the Judge Ghost would attack with precision targeting the neck; they'd just smash down onto your forehead... They indeed wouldn't aim so accurately at the throat.

To specifically target the throat and also twist the neck bones, the culprit would likely be an enemy of relatively small size but very fast, and with immense strength.

"Could it be vampires?" Chen Lingyun smirked, "The kind from Twilight City?"

"No, certainly not," Yan Yu immediately felt it was a nonsensical suggestion, "This is Lu Country; where would vampires come from? And what you mentioned is a concept from modern literature... But the answer is quite close."

"Similar to vampires, but not ghosts," Chen Lingyun pondered for a moment, "Zombies?"

"Correct," Yan Yu said, "The people from the Northeast often say: 'Beneath Changbai Mountain lies a tomb.'"

"Yun Ding Tian Gong, right?" Chen Lingyun smiled in surprise, "So what's buried inside? The Undead King?"

"I guess it's the heritage of some corpse cultivation sect," Yan Yu shook his head, "Whether it's cultivating corpses using living people or through soul torment, they're essentially inhumane paths of cultivation. That's why this realm was probably tightly sealed in the previous era; I really don't recall anything about it."

"What a pity," Chen Lingyun's eyes gleamed with interest, "I'm actually quite curious to know whether corpse cultivators are more formidable or ghost cultivators."

"Neither are up to par," Yan Yu said indifferently, "At this point in time, any zombie or ghostly creature that appears in the Mysterious Realm cannot be considered 'unsolvable'."

"When you say 'not up to par', you're comparing them to your own strength, right?" Chen Lingyun had gotten a grasp on his pattern of thought and smiled, "What about when compared to us?"

"For you guys, they indeed would be somewhat difficult to handle," Yan Yu calmly stated.

If it truly was a corpse cultivation sect, then the difficulty of conquering this Mysterious Realm would likely far exceed all previous realms they had encountered.