From Sword to Slaughter: Evolution

Zhou Huachao gritted his teeth as he looked at the corpses scattered around him. The blood from the surrounding bodies began to rise, swirling in the air before being absorbed into the blade of Ji Mie.

[Absorbing Martial Master-level warrior blood, gained 10 energy points]

[Absorbing Martial Master-level warrior blood, gained 10 energy points]

...

Once all the blood was absorbed, Zhou Huachao scanned his surroundings. There were no survivors left. He knew he had to leave immediately.

His mind raced with thoughts of escaping through the city gates, but the idea of implicating Wolf Brother and the others caused him to hesitate.

What should he do?

"No choice..."

After contemplating for a while, he gritted his teeth and made his decision.

"Quick, keep searching!"

"I feel a strong aura of malice ahead—it must be nearby!"

The warriors from the City Lord's mansion felt something ominous and shouted orders as they moved forward. As they reached the street, illuminated by the moonlight, they spotted a lone figure walking toward them.

"Rather than waiting to be hunted down, I should just kill them all..." Zhou Huachao muttered to himself as he approached.

"Zhou Huachao!"

"It's him!"

Many of the guards from Arid North City recognized him. As soon as they saw him standing there, they quickly realized who he was.

"Zhou Huachao, surrender yourself!" The leading warrior pointed his sword at Zhou Huachao, shouting with authority.

Zhou Huachao's gaze was cold, and his eyes burned with murderous intent. He had made up his mind—he would kill them all.

With a thought, he channeled his source energy into the blade of Ji Mie.

[Underworld Flame Soul Slash]!

He raised his sword and unleashed a terrifying white flame that shot out at lightning speed.

The warriors who had been advancing toward him widened their eyes in terror. They tried to evade, but the flame was too fast. There was no escape.

Boom—

In the next moment, the flame exploded upon impact, engulfing them in a fiery blast. Their bodies were instantly reduced to ash.

[Killed eighth-tier warrior, gained 8000 evolution points]

[Killed eighth-tier warrior, gained 8000 evolution points]

[Killed ninth-tier warrior, gained 9000 evolution points]

...

The system notifications kept coming.

"'Evil' is increasing," Ye Fan muttered as he glanced at the system panel. Zhou Huachao's "Evil" had already risen to 49.98%. The sword was on the verge of becoming fully aligned with the dark attribute. But maintaining it exactly at 50% without going over was proving difficult.

Zhou Huachao glanced at the bodies on the ground, then bent down and collected their storage rings.

"This world is too dangerous," he muttered as he walked away.

Even though he hadn't wanted to stir up trouble, it seemed inevitable. To survive, he would have to kill anyone who came after him.

After absorbing the remaining source energy from the dead warriors, Ji Mie had once again boosted his strength, pushing him to the level of a ninth-tier warrior.

Now, whenever he encountered anyone from the City Lord's mansion or the Black Serpent Mercenaries, he would kill them without hesitation.

"My power... it's growing," Zhou Huachao whispered, feeling the surge of strength coursing through his body. The more he killed, the stronger he became.

"Finally found you," came a cold voice from above.

Zhou Huachao looked up to see a middle-aged man hovering in the sky.

"Lei Lingfei?" Zhou Huachao's expression shifted.

It was Lei Lingfei, the leader of the Black Serpent Mercenaries, a warrior at the level of a Martial King!

Zhou Huachao's heart tightened. He had never fought someone at the Martial King level before.

"That sword of yours—it's the blood-absorbing demon sword, isn't it?" Lei Lingfei's gaze locked onto the weapon in Zhou Huachao's hand.

Though it was dark, the moonlight provided enough illumination for Lei Lingfei to see the intricate patterns on Ji Mie's blade.

His eyes widened slightly. The patterns... they matched the ones from the legends.

"So this really is the demonic sword from the stories!" Lei Lingfei's heart pounded with excitement.

"Lei Lingfei, I never wanted to stay a coffin bearer. I just wanted my freedom. Can we settle this peacefully?" Zhou Huachao pleaded, eyeing the Martial King. He knew this would be a difficult fight, and deep down, he could feel the changes within himself. Each kill made it easier, and that scared him.

He didn't want to lose his humanity.

"Are you an idiot?" Lei Lingfei paused for a moment before laughing hysterically.

"I may be honest, but I'm not stupid," Zhou Huachao replied, correcting him earnestly.

"You've got to be out of your mind," Lei Lingfei sneered. With a flick of his wrist, a long sword materialized in his hand.

Swish—

The blade sliced through the air, sending a massive sword aura crashing down toward Zhou Huachao.

Zhou Huachao's face paled at the sheer force of the attack. He hastily raised his sword to block.

Boom—

The power behind the strike was overwhelming. Zhou Huachao was blasted backward, crashing heavily into the ground, which cracked under the force of his impact.

Pfft—

A mouthful of blood sprayed from Zhou Huachao's lips. His body was covered in deep wounds, the remnants of Lei Lingfei's sword aura that had torn into his flesh like a hundred tiny blades. His clothes were soaked in blood.

"I can't die... I won't die..." Zhou Huachao murmured to himself, struggling to stand.

With a thought, he channeled his source energy into Ji Mie once again.