The thudding finally stopped.
Jiang Dao didn't quit until the ground in every direction was a ruin of craters and shattered earth. He stood over the thing he'd been beating, his face a mask of cold indifference, and let the mangled body drop from his grip.
But it wasn't dead. The creature, which once resembled a young man, was now a barely recognizable mass of flesh and blood. It twitched and writhed on the ground, one of its eyes burst, and the other stared up at Jiang Dao in pure, unadulterated shock. The air thickened with the coppery stench of its blood.
"You... you're not human either, are you?" it gurgled.
Jiang Dao said nothing. He bent down, grabbed one of the creature's arms, and with a savage twist, ripped the entire limb straight from its socket. A sickening black ooze, thick and foul, leaked from the wound.
"Aaargh!"
The creature shrieked, a sound of pure agony, and thrashed wildly. Jiang Dao slammed his foot onto its chest, the impact like a hammer driving a stake into the ground. It was pinned.
"What are you?" Jiang Dao's voice was ice. "You're not human. You're not an Evil Spirit. So what are you?" He tossed the severed arm aside like a piece of garbage. After that fight, he knew this was something else entirely, something outside of his understanding. He was starting to wonder if the world was secretly full of monsters.
"Aren't you... Like me?" the creature gasped through its pain. "Why are you even asking?"
It still thought they were the same kind of monster. It couldn't comprehend how a human could possess such terrifying power.
That answer earned the creature another wave of agony. Jiang Dao's eyes went cold. He reached down, grabbed the other arm, and tore it off with the same brutal finality.
"Aaaaargh!" Its screams tore through the night, now even more desperate. Black blood poured from its ruined shoulders.
"I'm the one asking questions," Jiang Dao stated, his voice dangerously low. "You will answer them. Dare to ask me another question, and I'll start taking you apart piece by piece."
The creature's remaining eye trembled with sheer terror as it stared up at the god of death looming over it. A deep, soul-crushing regret washed over it. If it had known, it never would have crossed this man. This... thing was a hundred times more monstrous than it was.
"Humans... they call us Fierce Monsters," it finally choked out.
"Fierce Monster?" Jiang Dao's brow furrowed. "What's the difference between you and an Evil Spirit?"
"We're on a completely different level of existence. We're both non-human, but Evil Spirits are a much weaker form of life. Only the most ancient ones are a real threat. We... we are beasts who have gained awareness, and with it, long life. Even the weakest of us lives for centuries. The strong ones can live for a thousand years."
Jiang Dao's mind raced. So, they're basically yokai. Demons. This world was getting more dangerous by the minute. Spirit Slayers, Evil Spirits, and now Fierce Monsters. Normal people didn't stand a chance.
"How do you stack up against Spirit Slayers?"
"Our power... It's comparable, depending on our rank and the situation. Usually, whoever gets the first shot in wins. But it's never a sure thing. It all comes down to skill and timing."
"And human martial artists?" Jiang Dao pressed.
"Them?" The creature's face, or what was left of it, was pale. "A handful of them... the truly exceptional ones... can hurt or even kill us. But they are incredibly rare. To the rest, we're practically invincible. Among my kind, I'm just a grunt, the lowest of the low. Our strength is innate, not something you can learn from a scroll. If I were even a little stronger, your martial arts would be completely useless against me."
"What are your ranks? And where would you rank my strength among humans?" Jiang Dao's eyes narrowed.
"Our ranks are the same as the Evil Spirits: Powerful, Annihilation, Nightmare, Dragon, and God. I'm just a Powerful-Grade, the absolute bottom. An Annihilation-Grade could snuff me out without a thought. As for those Evil Spirits I was controlling? They don't even make the chart. A Powerful-Grade is about equal to a human master at the peak of the Blood-Boiling Realm. Your power... I'd say you're at the very peak of that realm... maybe beyond."
Jiang Dao's gaze hardened. "You're lying. You expect me to believe you're just a low-level grunt? If this 'sacred object' in Hengzhou City is so important, why would they only send a nobody like you? Where are the real powerhouses?"
The creature managed a bitter laugh. "The sacred object's appearance... it was a surprise. No one saw it coming. The major powers could only scramble to send their closest agents to check it out. Their true masters were too far away to get here in time."
Jiang Dao went quiet, processing.
"What happened in the city last night? Did the object surface?"
"Yes. The Spirit Child Palace got to it first. Now every other faction is hunting them down. I... I was the only one who stayed behind."
"Stayed behind to make a move on my family?" Jiang Dao sneered.
"Mercy! I was a fool! I had no idea who I was dealing with! Please, spare me!" the creature wailed.
"If the Spirit Child Palace has the object, does that mean Hengzhou will be safe now?"
"Yes," it said quickly. "The city will go back to normal. No more Evil Spirits or Fierce Monsters will come."
"I killed one of their Spirit Children. Think they'll come after me?" Jiang Dao asked, his tone casual.
"I... I don't know," the creature stammered, its voice laced with despair. "Please, just let me go. I've lost both my arms. I'm not a threat to anyone anymore. I'm begging you, spare my life."
Jiang Dao looked down at the broken thing, his eyes narrowing to slits. An almost invisible, predatory light flashed within them. In a blur, his hand shot out, clamping around the creature's head. With a final, brutal yank, he tore the head and a portion of the spine clean from the writhing torso.
Squelch.
The headless body continued to twitch and spasm for a few moments before finally going still.
Jiang Dao tossed the head aside, a heavy feeling settling in his chest.
Terrifying. The thing could still move without a head. Both the old Taoist and this monster claimed human martial arts were all but useless against them. Their biology was just... wrong. He'd advanced his skills to a level that should have taken 120 years to achieve, and it was still this hard. If he ran into something stronger, he'd be dead.
And this thing was supposed to be the weakest of the weak.
He pulled up his internal panel, his eyes scanning the display.
After killing the Fierce Monster, the word [Modifiable] had reappeared next to each of his five martial arts.
A flicker of grim satisfaction cut through the dread. Killing Fierce Monsters works the same way as killing Evil Spirits. It fuels my progress.
It was the only good news he'd had all night.
They said martial artists were useless against them. He refused to accept that.
Let them be invincible. He'd find a way. He'd push his skills to the equivalent of a thousand years of training. Two thousand. Let's see what kind of monster could stand up to that.
This panel. This was his path. His ultimate weapon.