Chapter 202: Growing Stronger

Time slowly passed, minute by minute.

No one had come after him.

At this moment, Zhou Huachao's strength also began to recover.

He let out a sigh of relief.

The situation just now had been incredibly dangerous.

He slowly stood up and glanced around.

As he had expected, Lei Lingfei had no idea he had run in this direction.

Now he could take a moment to recover his strength.

With that thought, he sat down cross-legged and resumed cultivating.

The Sword of Annihilation emitted a terrifying aura, so no beasts dared to come near.

Any beasts that sensed its presence quickly fled from the area.

He cultivated like this until the next morning.

By then, Zhou Huachao slowly opened his eyes.

"My injuries are fully healed, and my strength has improved significantly."

He looked at his hands, feeling excited.

Furthermore, after killing so many warriors last night, he had gained a considerable amount of energy.

Now, his strength had reached the peak of the ninth tier!

To think, not long ago, he had only been an eighth-tier warrior.

Now, in such a short period of time, he had advanced to the peak of the ninth tier!

The speed of his improvement was truly astonishing!

"As long as I kill warriors, I can grow stronger..."

He glanced at the Sword of Annihilation in his hand.

"No wonder they call this a demonic sword."

It was indeed terrifying.

If someone with a weak willpower got hold of this sword, they would probably go on a killing spree.

Because killing made them stronger!

"Hmm?"

At that moment, he sensed something, and his eyes widened.

He could clearly feel that the sword was transmitting new information to him.

"The sword's energy has changed?"

Zhou Huachao was momentarily confused.

He hadn't expected the sword's abilities to change!

Quickly regaining his composure, he realized that now was not the time to return to Huangbei City.

However, would Brother Lang and the others be implicated because of him?

Even if he didn't go back, that Martial King would likely still find him.

Because there was a mark left on his body by that Martial King.

He opened his clothes and looked at his chest, where a faint imprint could be seen.

This mark was made of a special energy.

Unless the Martial King removed it, or unless the Martial King died, the mark would remain!

"I need to grow stronger first."

After a moment of thought, Zhou Huachao started walking deeper into the forest.

In the depths of this forest, many powerful beasts resided!

Since killing warriors allowed the Sword of Annihilation to absorb their energy and return a portion to him...

Then killing beasts should have the same effect, right?

And he could even collect beast cores!

Although the sword's terrifying aura made most beasts instinctively avoid Zhou Huachao, some powerful ones still charged at him.

He had barely entered the forest when a massive beast roar echoed through the area.

It's here!

Zhou Huachao's eyes focused on a large figure lunging toward him!

The enormous beast lunged, aiming to tear Zhou Huachao apart with its sharp claws!

But Zhou Huachao showed no sign of panic as he raised the Sword of Annihilation and slashed through the air!

Whoosh—

In an instant, the beast's claws were severed in two!

Blue blood spurted out immediately.

High-tier beasts were tough to deal with due to their massive size and thick hide.

But with the Sword of Annihilation in hand, Zhou Huachao could easily slice the beast in half with one strike.

It was like cutting through tofu!

As long as Zhou Huachao dodged carefully, he wouldn't be hit.

The giant beast with severed claws howled in pain and lashed out with its other claw!

"Hmph!"

Seeing this, Zhou Huachao snorted coldly and slashed out with the Sword of Annihilation once again!

Within moments, the beast was dead.

The Sword of Annihilation began absorbing the beast's blue blood.

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

[Absorbed ninth-tier beast's essence blood, gained 9 evolution points]

[Absorbed ninth-tier beast's essence blood, gained 9 evolution points]

...

The Sword of Annihilation continued to absorb the energy flowing from the beast's body.

As the energy entered the sword, a portion of it was returned to its master, Zhou Huachao.

"Excellent. So killing beasts can also increase my strength."

Thinking this, Zhou Huachao became even more excited.

His eyes turned toward the depths of the forest, and he continued walking forward with the Sword of Annihilation in hand.

...

For the next few days, Zhou Huachao slaughtered beasts like a man possessed.

His strength grew steadily!

Now that the SS-ranked Sword of Annihilation had the ability to [Enhance All Attributes], also at SS rank, it provided him with tremendous power!

He was now on the verge of breaking through to the Martial Master level!

Time flew by.

Another month passed in the forest.

"Martial Master level."

Holding the Sword of Annihilation brimming with sword energy, Zhou Huachao slashed through the air with satisfaction.

After advancing to the Martial Master level, the increase in power was dramatic.

"It's time to return."

He thought for a moment before walking out of the forest.

Moreover, the mark on his body was still a hidden danger that needed to be dealt with.

"It should be around here, keep searching!"

Just as he was about to leave, he heard some voices.

Hmm!?

Zhou Huachao frowned and quickly walked forward.

Soon, he saw several figures.

These warriors seemed to be searching for something.

From their uniforms, it was clear that they were warriors from the City Lord's Mansion of Huangbei City!

"Hmph, that guy probably died somewhere in this forest."

"He must have perished in the depths of the forest, right?"

"This forest has some Beast King-level creatures, after all."

...

As the warriors searched, they chatted among themselves.

Zhou Huachao, with his keen hearing, heard every word, and his expression changed slightly.

It seemed these people were indeed looking for him.

Even after all this time, they still hadn't given up!

"All those coffin bearers were beheaded, yet this guy still hasn't shown himself."

"I heard those coffin bearers were pretty loyal, too, tsk tsk."

...

As one of the warriors spoke, Zhou Huachao's face suddenly darkened.

His entire body froze, as if rooted to the spot.