Chapter 252 A Quiet, Secluded Place

Deep within the snowy plains, in the Sacred Ruins.

A massive figure moved with exceptional agility, dodging and weaving through the "ocean of white ghouls," effortlessly slaughtering one ugly creature after another.

However, her danfeng eyes (almond-shaped eyes) occasionally glanced into the distance, towards the figure trapped in the "quagmire."

With her height advantage, Er Wei could easily see Jiang Xiao, bathed in blood as he fought.

What worried her was that Jiang Xiao's face was becoming increasingly somber, his movements more skilled, but his heart seemed colder.

She remembered back in the Bai Shan Mountains, when they had struggled together for a month in such harsh conditions, Jiang Xiao had remained carefree and mischievous.

But after only ten days of training in these snowy plains of the Sacred Ruins, Jiang Xiao had undergone a tremendous change.

Frankly, Er Wei preferred "robots." She liked soldiers who followed orders without question, stern and cold comrades. She didn't like that grinning, mischievous kid.

Although Jiang Xiao was usually playful and unrestrained, he was always reliable in battle, so Er Wei had never said anything.

But now it was different. With each passing day of slaughter, Jiang Xiao became increasingly gloomy and cold-blooded. He was gradually becoming the person Er Wei preferred, but she found it hard to watch.

After all, she was not just his superior, but also his teacher.

Sadly, Jiang Xiao was one of Er Wei's few friends, so she was worried about his mental state.

"Jiang Xiao," Er Wei called out softly, expecting an immediate response, but her voice seemed to vanish without a trace.

Jiang Xiao wielded his giant blade, coordinating perfectly with the dagger at his side, clearing the area around him and using his bow to pin down the retreating white ghoul witches.

The arrows were incredibly fast and powerful.

He drew and loosed with lightning speed.

This was a skill forced upon him by real combat. He had to be faster, his movements sharper.

Dagger to the throat, giant blade to clear a path.

Jiang Xiao suddenly retreated, taking two quick steps up the wall, plunging his giant blade deep into the structure. Suspended on the high wall of the Sacred Ruins, he suddenly unleashed five streams of dark light, now able to see the whole battlefield.

The five dark rays resembled massive tails; perhaps Jiang Xiao was better suited to be the "Five-Tailed" now.

Four streams of Reverse Current shot towards the white ghoul witches pinned in place, while the last one flew towards the massive Er Wei in the distance.

"Answer me," Er Wei said, seizing the opportunity.

Her response was a rapid depletion of her star power and a portion of her life force.

Jiang Xiao,

Was a killer,

Devoid of emotion,

And devoid of soul...

Jiang Xiao kicked off the wall, extracted the giant blade, and charged towards a white ghoul witch that had been enhanced.

In Er Wei's eyes, his gaze was numb. His mechanical movements, honed through thousands upon thousands of repetitions, should have refined his actions, making them even more precise, but for some reason, they now seemed devoid of spirit.

To him, these restless white ghouls were no longer living beings.

He disregarded everything,

And had lost all sense of awe.

*Clang!*

The giant blade suddenly struck a silver spear. Sparks flew as Er Wei's hoarse voice rang in Jiang Xiao's ear: "Jiang Xiao!"

Jiang Xiao suddenly snapped back to reality, only to be grabbed by his collar. She leaped onto the head of a white ghoul and dashed out of the Sacred Ruins.

As Er Wei carried Jiang Xiao out of the Sacred Ruins, her body shimmered with starlight. A stream of sparkling stars flowed from Er Wei's body, and a Bai Shan snow feather instantly appeared in this world.

Er Wei grabbed the horse's hoof, flapping her wings slightly as her body was pulled downwards, almost submerging Er Wei in the ocean of white ghouls.

Xiao Xiao struggled to fly upwards as the white ghoul swarm piled up, desperately trying to climb and grab them. Er Wei casually swept them away, and a gust of cold wind rendered their efforts futile.

Thus, Er Wei flew out of the snowy mountain canyon with one hand clutching the horse's hoof and the other holding Jiang Xiao, heading towards the Night Watchers' stronghold.

The two of them flew in silence with Xiao Xiao until they entered a cave within the Night Watchers' base, where Er Wei dropped Jiang Xiao on the ground.

Jiang Xiao held his forehead, seemingly aware that something was wrong with him.

The Night Watchers quickly dispersed, knowing that the Dawnlight Squad leader was instructing her apprentice. It had been ten days, and they would return exhausted after each outing.

It was said that this apprentice was not allowed to use star techniques, and had to struggle for survival in the Sacred Ruins using only his body, blade and bow skills.

The Night Watchers' attitude towards Jiang Xiao had changed again and again. Initially, they believed that this guy was using his connections to train in the Sacred Ruins. Naturally, the Night Watchers looked down on such privileged individuals.

But now, every time they saw Jiang Xiao return covered in wounds, they were filled with respect for him.

He might be a privileged kid, a second-generation scion of some family, but he was definitely a real man, a resilient and determined warrior!

The Night Watchers had also witnessed a child gradually becoming silent and taciturn, but they had never dared to remind him due to their status.

Now it seemed that the Dawnlight Squad leader had noticed it too.

Er Wei had sensed it all along, but only now felt that she should intervene in Jiang Xiao's thinking.

"What was that just now?" In the empty cave, Er Wei looked down at Jiang Xiao and asked.

Surprisingly, she didn't seem angry or overly stern. Her voice was as gentle as possible.

This might have been her softest side, but Jiang Xiao was in no mood to appreciate it.

What was that?

Jiang Xiao smiled bitterly. What else could it be? He was numb.

Although the Snow Mountain Domain was a hundred times more dangerous than this place, they had rest periods when carrying out missions there. They had to travel, make plans, and talk to each other. But here...

In this Sacred Ruins, there was only slaughter, slaughter, slaughter...

Endless slaughter, endless white ghouls.

Jiang Xiao's world seemed to be filled with only white and red. This world was so monotonous that even the most cruel acts were buried beneath the monotonous passage of time.

With every minute, every second, Jiang Xiao's blade added new souls to its tally.

When living beings were no longer treated as living beings, that was a big problem.

Fortunately, Jiang Xiao was still aware of his problem. It wasn't too late.

Er Wei casually stuck the silver spear into the ground and walked to Jiang Xiao's side. She knelt down and gently placed her hand on Jiang Xiao's head: "My training method was wrong. I turned you into a machine."

Er Wei was right. Judging solely from Jiang Xiao's inner vision star chart, his thousands upon thousands of sword strikes hadn't improved his Xia Family Blade Technique by even a fraction!

The Xia Family Blade Technique was still stuck at Bronze Quality Lv.9!

Perhaps Jiang Xiao's killing skills had become more proficient, but his blade technique hadn't improved in essence.

Come to think of it, this ten-day special training had raised his dagger skills from Bronze Quality Lv.4 to Bronze Quality Lv.7!

Star Power Replenishment had risen from Bronze Lv.2 to Bronze Lv.3.

Bow and Arrow Mastery had also been upgraded from Brass Quality Lv.8 to Brass Quality Lv.9.

Uh... so, upgrading the small levels without upgrading the large quality doesn't require a soul?

Only proficiency?

Jiang Xiao lowered his eyes and remained silent for a long time before saying, "We don't need to end the special training. Maybe we should rest for a day?"

This voiced response reassured Er Wei, and she gently rubbed Jiang Xiao's head: "I'll take you to eat fish."

"No." Jiang Xiao shook his head, raised both hands, and took Er Wei's hand off his head, saying, "Let's take a walk in these snowy plains."

Very rarely, Er Wei's tone also had a hint of inflection: "Hmm?"

Jiang Xiao played with her long fingers and asked softly, "You've been a Night Watcher here for so long, have you ever seen the edge of the snowy plains?"

Er Wei was slightly stunned by this question.

It had stumped her. She had never seen the boundary line of these snowy plains.

"Let's go." Jiang Xiao dropped Er Wei's hand, quickly stood up, and picked up the blood-red giant blade that had fallen to the ground.

Er Wei looked up at Jiang Xiao and said in a hoarse voice, "Changing clothes, washing your body, food, and sleep will improve your condition."

But Jiang Xiao replied, "I need a white ghoul witch and a quiet, secluded place right now."

Er Wei raised an eyebrow, looking at Jiang Xiao's determined expression. She nodded thoughtfully and said, "If you enter that state again, I will take you away from here immediately."

Jiang Xiao nodded heavily.

He was filled with gratitude towards Er Wei.

Without her, Jiang Xiao's platinum blessing and platinum bait goals would be distant dreams, or perhaps impossible to achieve.

And at this moment, in Jiang Xiao's inner vision star chart, the blessing and bait slots read:

Blessing, Gold Quality Lv.9 ()

Bait, Gold Quality Lv.9 ()

Just one more silver-grade white ghoul witch star orb, and Jiang Xiao would be able to see platinum blessing and platinum bait.

Platinum Blessing,

What kind of effects will it have?

Platinum Bait,

What kind of surprises will it bring me?