From Sword to Slaughter: Evolution

"Damn it..."

The scar-faced man's eyes widened in shock. What he saw before him was utterly bizarre.

Why? Why had this man's wounds completely healed?

"Now, it's my turn," Zhou Huachao said coldly, his gaze locked on the group, a sneer playing on his lips.

Gripping Ji Mie tightly, he charged toward them!

He could clearly feel the immense power flowing through the sword in his hand. Now, it was time to test its strength by using these people as his sword stones.

"You're courting death!"

The scar-faced man and his group, now enraged and fearful, gripped their weapons and rushed at Zhou Huachao to strike him down.

But in that instant, Ji Mie unleashed a brilliant gleam.

[Phantom Dance]!

The moment Zhou Huachao activated the skill, he felt his body move in sync with Ji Mie, his movements swift and deadly, slashing out at his enemies with incredible speed.

Swish swish swish—

All the assailants saw were flashes of cold light, as if time itself had stopped. Their bodies seemed to freeze in place.

Behind Zhou Huachao, Wolf Brother and the others watched in disbelief, their eyes wide with shock. His swordsmanship was too fast. The sword's trajectory was so rapid that they couldn't follow its movement.

"How… how is this possible…" the scar-faced man muttered. He barely got the words out before his body collapsed to the ground.

One by one, the rest of the attackers fell like dominoes, lifeless.

[Killed martial master-level warrior, gained 100,000 evolution points]

[Killed ninth-tier warrior, gained 9,000 evolution points]

[Killed eighth-tier warrior, gained 8,000 evolution points]

[Killed eighth-tier warrior, gained 8,000 evolution points]

...

Notifications of evolution points earned from killing the warriors continued to appear. At the same time, Ji Mie began to absorb the blood of the fallen warriors, drawing it into its blade.

The scene was surreal, and as Wolf Brother and the others took it in, they couldn't help but shiver at the sight.

"This... is terrifying."

The sword wasn't just absorbing blood—it was also consuming the residual energy left by the slain warriors. Some of that energy even flowed into Zhou Huachao's body, further enhancing his strength.

Zhou Huachao himself was in awe of the sword's power. What kind of sword was this?

But whatever its origin, Ji Mie was now his.

Zhou Huachao turned his gaze to Wolf Brother and the others. Sensing his eyes on them, they took a few instinctive steps back, clearly nervous.

"What are you so scared of? I'm not going to hurt you," Zhou Huachao said with a laugh.

At his words, the group finally let out a collective sigh of relief. The events that had just unfolded were terrifying, and they had feared Zhou Huachao might turn on them as well.

"Huachao, I didn't know you had been hiding your true strength all along," Wolf Brother said with a smile, stepping forward.

"Yeah, Huachao, you're really something," the others chimed in.

Zhou Huachao simply smiled without saying much. He knew that his newfound power was all thanks to Ji Mie, the sword in his hand.

Looking over at the sand beasts that the attackers had left behind, Zhou Huachao chuckled. "Well, at least they brought us some desert walking beasts. We won't have to tire ourselves out on the way back."

…

The night passed without incident, and soon it was morning.

Riding the captured desert walking beasts, the group made their way out of the deep desert. Zhou Huachao was in high spirits. Not only had he obtained Ji Mie, but the slain enemies had carried several storage rings filled with useful resources—enough to last him for quite some time.

They soon arrived at Northern Wilderness City, a sprawling city in the middle of mostly barren land. Despite its desolate surroundings, the city itself was vibrant and bustling.

After seven days of travel, they returned to the city. The coffin bearers resided in the northern part of the city, a less prosperous area.

As they rode their desert beasts through the city streets, many people glanced their way. Most of those gazes were filled with disdain, for coffin bearers were considered the lowest of the low, people without freedom or status.

Soon, they reached their shabby lodgings—a large, rundown building where many of them lived together.

"Hmm? Back already?"

A burly, muscular man with a rough face emerged from the building.

"Brother Feifan," Wolf Brother greeted him respectfully as he dismounted from the sand beast.

This man, Zhang Feifan, was the overseer of the coffin bearers.

"Where'd you get the desert beasts?" Zhang Feifan asked, eyeing the creatures curiously. These particular beasts were rare, especially ones that had been specially trained and tamed like these. They were worth a lot.

"We killed a group of desert bandits and took them," Wolf Brother explained honestly.

"You took out a band of desert bandits?" Zhang Feifan looked at them with surprise. Desert bandits were no ordinary foes—they were seasoned fighters who lived in the harsh desert terrain and were extremely dangerous in combat.

Wolf Brother nodded, not mentioning that Zhou Huachao had been the one to take care of most of them.

"All right, take a break for now. We've got another job tomorrow," Zhang Feifan said.

"Another job tomorrow?" Wolf Brother and the others froze in shock.

Usually, after a coffin-bearing mission, they were given a few days off to recover. After all, it was exhausting work. They had just returned from escorting coffins to the deep desert, a task that usually took over a month.

"Yes. We go tomorrow," Zhang Feifan said coldly. "What's the matter? You all have a problem with that?"

His gaze swept over them, the muscles on his face twitching.

"If you need rest, rest now. Be ready early tomorrow!"