Spells Grinding: From Basic Sparks to Divine Arts

Chapter 218: A Heaven-Sent Fortunate General

“Hah!”

The giant, blood-colored palm slammed down, aiming to crush Qin Lu into paste. He raised his sword, meeting the blow with a desperate block.

CRUNCH.

The impact was devastating. The force traveled through his arms and exploded in his chest, forcing a mouthful of blood from his lips.

“Ugh…”

Qin Lu shook his head, fighting the dizziness. His Spiritual Qi was dangerously low, his limbs heavy as lead. But he wasn’t dead yet.

He gritted his teeth, seizing a split-second opening. He thrust his hand skyward, channeling the last dregs of his energy into a single, blinding spell.

RUMBLE—!

A bolt of purple lightning, thicker and more violent than any before, smashed down from the heavens. It struck the blood avatar dead center.

The avatar shuddered, its form flickering. Behind it, the twelve evil cultivators paled, their connection destabilizing for a heartbeat.

That was all the time Qin Lu needed.

Bang!

He kicked off the ground, darting to the left. He scooped up the semi-conscious Gu Yue in one arm and fled.

Gu Yue’s secret technique had burned out. The power that had allowed her to fight above her level was gone, replaced by a crippling weakness that left her unable to lift a finger. She was dead weight, and Qin Lu knew he couldn’t protect her in a prolonged fight.

“Hah… hah…”

Qin Lu panted heavily, flying on sheer willpower. Every muscle screamed in protest.

“Qin Lu…” Gu Yue whispered, her head resting against his chest. Her eyes were hazy, filled with a strange, soft light.

Qin Lu didn’t have the breath to answer. He just focused on the horizon, praying they could reach the market’s formation before the enemy recovered.

BOOM!

A tremor shook the earth behind them.

The Blood Demon had stabilized. The twelve cultivators stomped the ground in unison, launching themselves into the air. They were still at full strength, their injuries negligible thanks to the damage-sharing property of their formation.

“You can’t run!” the Blood Demon roared, the blood avatar surging forward with renewed speed.

Qin Lu’s heart sank. They were closing the distance too fast.

Is this it? he thought, despair clawing at his throat. Is this where we die?

Just then, a figure appeared ahead of them.

It was a young boy, streaking toward the battlefield from the direction of the market. He wore a faded, crimson robe patched at the elbows and knees, looking more like a beggar than a savior.

But he was smiling. A wide, sunny grin that seemed completely out of place on a battlefield.

“Who is this?” Qin Lu frowned. The face felt oddly familiar, but he couldn’t place it.

He activated his Heavenly Eye Technique.

Late-stage Foundation Establishment… at seventeen?

Qin Lu was shocked, but his hope quickly faded. Even a late-stage genius couldn’t stop the Blood Demon’s formation alone. Jiang Ge and six other experts had failed; what could one boy do?

“Fellow Daoist! Turn back!” Qin Lu shouted. “Run while you can!”

“Hehe! Don’t worry about it!”

The shabby boy didn’t even slow down. He brushed past Qin Lu, landing softly between the fleeing couple and the pursuing monster.

He stood tall, facing the titanic blood avatar with his hands on his hips.

“Hey!” Qin Lu yelled, turning back. “Are you crazy?”

The boy ignored him. He raised a hand, and a simple, unadorned white longsword materialized in his grip.

Tap.

He hefted the blade, looking up at the Blood Demon with bright, curious eyes.

“Another suicidal fool!” the Blood Demon shrieked, his patience gone. “Die!”

The blood avatar raised its massive palm and brought it down, a strike carrying the weight of a mountain. It was an attack meant to pulverize anything in its path.

Qin Lu tensed, expecting the boy to be crushed.

But the boy didn’t move. He didn’t dodge. He didn’t even stop smiling.

Tap.

He took a single step forward.

His right hand moved. A simple, horizontal slash.

SHING!

A blinding white light flashed across the battlefield. It was so fast, so pure, that it seemed to cut the sunlight itself.

CLANG!

Sparks flew. The giant blood palm didn’t just stop; it was severed clean off. The massive limb dissolved into mist before it could hit the ground.

But the slash didn’t stop there.

A wave of sword light, thin as a wire and bright as a star, shot forward. It passed through the avatar and struck the twelve cultivators behind it.

The Blood Demon’s eyes went wide. For the first time, he felt true terror. The power in that light was vast, unstoppable, overwhelming.

“Who are you?!” he screamed.

The sword light answered him.

Schlick!

The Blood Demon was bisected at the waist.

The light continued, tearing through the formation without slowing down.

Schlick! Schlick! Schlick!

In the blink of an eye, twelve bodies fell to the ground in two pieces. Not a single one survived. Not a single one even had the chance to scream.

The blood avatar collapsed into a cloud of red mist, dissipating into the wind.

Silence fell over the wilderness.

Qin Lu stood frozen, his mouth hanging open. He stared at the carnage, his mind unable to process what he had just seen.

The invincible formation… the twelve experts… gone. Ended with a single, casual swing.

From the walls of White Jade Market, a roar of disbelief and adoration erupted.

“He did it!” “One strike! One strike!” “Who else but him?!” “Su Hao! Su Hao! Su Hao!”

The chant rolled over the battlefield like thunder.

Qin Lu blinked, the name unlocking the memory buried in his mind. He looked at the shabby boy, who was now sheathing his sword and checking his nails as if bored.

He remembered the portrait in the Nine Truths Langya List.

This wasn’t just a beggar. This was the number one genius of the Nine Truths Region.

Su Hao.