From Sword to Slaughter: Evolution

Zhou Huachao continued cultivating in his room. As he absorbed the energy from the source stones, his strength steadily increased. Before long, the source stones had all turned transparent, their energy completely drained.

Without hesitation, Zhou Huachao took out more source stones from his storage ring and resumed absorbing their power. He knew that the Black Serpent Mercenary Group would likely join forces with the City Lord's mansion to track him down. It was only a matter of time before they found him.

"Search the entire city!"

"Pay special attention to any areas emitting a malicious aura!"

The city of Arid North was restless that night.

"Wuachao is in big trouble..." Wolf Brother and the others stood at the entrance of their residence, gazing out into the distance.

They could hear the commotion and whispered to themselves.

"There's an aura of malice coming from here!"

A group of warriors, combing through the city in search of Zhou Huachao, had sensed the ominous energy coming from the small house he was in.

The sinister aura from Ji Mie was too powerful to be concealed without a proper sheath, and even storing it in a regular storage ring wasn't enough to contain it.

"Damn it..." Zhou Huachao felt something was wrong and opened his eyes. He glanced at his storage ring, noticing cracks had started forming on it. A faint aura of malice seeped out.

The standard storage ring wasn't capable of containing Ji Mie any longer.

Outside, a group of warriors had already surrounded the house.

"I was right. There's definitely a malicious energy coming from inside," the squad leader, Wei Tao, said coldly.

"Captain, shouldn't we report this to the group leader or the City Lord first?" one of his subordinates suggested.

"No need for that right now," Wei Tao replied, already formulating his own plan. He had heard rumors about this sword. If it was indeed the legendary demonic sword, wielding it could grant him unimaginable power.

The thought of such strength excited him.

"Surround the house," Wei Tao ordered.

At his signal, the group moved in to surround the building.

"Charge!"

With a swift hand gesture, the warriors broke through the walls and rushed into the house.

Swish—

A cold gleam of light flashed before their eyes, and in an instant, blood splattered everywhere. Several of the warriors fell to the ground, dead.

"It's here!" Wei Tao's eyes gleamed with excitement as he saw the flash of sword light. He was certain now—this had to be the sword he was looking for!

With adrenaline coursing through his veins, Wei Tao unsheathed his sword and charged inside.

Clang!

The next second, his sword clashed with Ji Mie. The impact was deafening, but Wei Tao's sword shattered immediately. His eyes widened in disbelief.

"This… this is impossible!"

The excitement he had felt moments earlier vanished, replaced by sheer terror. His sword, broken in a single strike. It was too overwhelming to process.

He quickly jumped back, retreating several steps.

"Leave, now. I don't want to kill anyone else," Zhou Huachao said coldly as he scanned the warriors around him. Despite possessing this powerful sword, he didn't want to take any more lives.

Why did they keep pushing him?

The surrounding warriors, though too afraid to attack, didn't retreat either.

"We can't let him leave!" Wei Tao ordered sternly.

Though still shaken, he glanced at his broken sword and, after steadying his nerves, managed a cold smile. From his perspective, Zhou Huachao's reluctance to fight meant he was afraid.

"Don't force me," Zhou Huachao warned, his voice tense as he scanned the group. He knew the situation was becoming dire. If the City Lord's forces or the leader of the Black Serpent Mercenary Group showed up, it would be too late to escape.

"Surrender, Zhou Huachao. You can't escape," Wei Tao taunted as he tossed aside his broken sword and retrieved another one from his storage ring. He couldn't afford to take any chances.

However, as he eyed Zhou Huachao's sword closely, he noticed the intricate Higanbana patterns on the blade. His heart skipped a beat. This was the sword of legend—the demonic sword he had heard about!

"Why don't you put the sword down, and I'll let you go," Wei Tao suggested, his voice deceptively calm.

"You think I'm a fool?" Zhou Huachao growled, his anger bubbling up. He may have been an honest man, but he wasn't stupid. The moment he gave up the sword, they would kill him.

All Zhou Huachao wanted was to buy his freedom and leave this place, but they refused to let him go. Zhang Feifan, the Black Serpent Mercenaries, the City Lord's men—they all wanted to take everything from him.

"You don't realize that your actions will endanger the lives of all the other coffin bearers," Wei Tao said in a low voice. "They'll die because of you."

Zhou Huachao froze upon hearing this, his face paling. His hands trembled. He had a good relationship with Wolf Brother and the other coffin bearers.

If his actions caused them to suffer, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

"Just hand over the sword and go back to being a coffin bearer. Everything will be forgiven," Wei Tao pressed on, sensing Zhou Huachao's hesitation.

"Then I'll have no choice…" Zhou Huachao muttered. His grip tightened on Ji Mie, and in the next moment, his face twisted with resolve.

"Then I'll just have to kill you all!"

With a shout, Zhou Huachao charged at Wei Tao, swinging his sword with deadly intent.

"Not good!" Wei Tao's face turned pale as he realized Zhou Huachao's killing intent.

The other warriors rushed forward to attack Zhou Huachao in an attempt to stop him.

Swish, swish, swish—

But they only saw a flash of sword light before they lost consciousness. Their bodies fell into pools of blood, lifeless.

"Impossible…" Wei Tao looked down at his severed arm, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Before he could react further, Zhou Huachao swung Ji Mie again, and this time, the sword cleaved through Wei Tao's body, killing him instantly.

[Killed Martial Master-level warrior, gained 100,000 evolution points]

"I swear, I won't let anyone else get hurt because of me," Zhou Huachao vowed as he stood over the bodies.