Facing the Abyss as a Demon Cultivator

Chu Xiu's cold words left Guan Ke stunned, her face full of astonishment.

She had always known that Chu Xiu wasn't the easiest person to get along with, but she always thought he was just a bit solitary, a normal person in the end.

But the Chu Xiu before her now exuded a violent aura, his black eyes devoid of any emotion. She had no doubt that if she took even one step forward, he would strike her down without a moment's hesitation!

"You..."

Guan Ke opened her mouth, then gritted her teeth and quickly said, "Chu Xiu! You don't understand how strong that monster is! I've been hiding my true..."

"I know."

Before she could finish, Chu Xiu interrupted her.

A mocking smile played on Chu Xiu's lips. "Did you think I was as slow as those fools in the stronghold? Unable to even notice the extra battle marks in the apartment building?"

"Isn't it just a high-level Profession at Rank 5? Scram, and don't waste my time!"

Chu Xiu's words completely rooted Guan Ke to the spot.

She had always thought her disguise was flawless, but she never expected that Chu Xiu had long seen through it, even accurately determining her rank!

What terrifying observation ability!

And he didn't even care about her being a Rank 5 high-level Professional! He even looked down on her!

This was something Guan Ke couldn't comprehend. What gave him the right? What could he, a mere Support Profession, possibly rely on?

But... the blow Chu Xiu had unleashed just now made her realize that both his speed and strength surpassed hers!

This gave her a huge sense of defeat.

The urge to compete with Chu Xiu welled up within her, but she quickly suppressed it.

Because she sensed an extremely dangerous aura emanating from him!

Guan Ke took a deep look at Chu Xiu, ultimately deciding to trust her instincts—she turned and ran down the stairs.

Seeing her figure disappear completely, Chu Xiu withdrew his gaze.

Shen Zhuo and Yun Lu couldn't die, but Guan Ke didn't matter, even if her talent far exceeded the other two.

The reason was simple: she was useless to him.

So what if she was a Rank A Profession, so what if she had S-rank talent?

Useless people, even if they were SSS-rank, wouldn't make him hesitate for a second.

Guan Ke's potential was great, but could it ever compare to his?

If she were a powerful Rank A Profession in the early stages, or a fool easy to manipulate, Chu Xiu might have considered offering some benefits to rope her in.

But unfortunately, she, like him, harbored deep distrust towards everyone, making her extremely difficult to exploit. Moreover, her Profession only truly shined in the very late stages.

By the time Guan Ke's talent fully blossomed, Chu Xiu would have long left her in the dust, possibly even surpassing her by two or three ranks.

"Especially in the early stages, every bit of resource is extremely precious, allowing one to snowball their advantage until it becomes an insurmountable gulf!"

Under such circumstances, Chu Xiu couldn't afford to relinquish any benefits, just like how top students from top universities wouldn't give up their startup capital to win over a mediocre student from a second-tier university.

He didn't care about exposing his true colors to Guan Ke or any potential repercussions. The nature of a Demonic Cultivator couldn't be hidden forever. Otherwise, wouldn't that make him a true saint? When it came to conflicts of interest, decisive action was necessary.

As for Guan Ke badmouthing him to Shen Zhuo and Yun Lu, he couldn't care less. Due to the Blood Moon's influence, Guan Ke's strength couldn't be concealed. After tonight, the trust between her and the others in the stronghold would crumble.

"Now then—"

Chu Xiu turned his bone spear, aiming it at the Heavy Armored Ghoul not far away, a faint smile playing on his lips. "There's only one problem left."

As if sensing Chu Xiu's disdain, the Heavy Armored Ghoul let out a low growl and pounced, swinging the wrecking ball on its right arm towards Chu Xiu!

With its strength, if this blow landed, Chu Xiu would undoubtedly be turned into a puddle of flesh!

"Bang!"

The wrecking ball slammed heavily onto the concrete ground, sending debris flying as a large crater appeared. However, Chu Xiu's figure had already reappeared five meters away, not only unharmed but without a speck of dust on him.

Having missed its attack, the Heavy Armored Ghoul became even more enraged, charging towards him like a madman. Chu Xiu grinned, not retreating but advancing. Just as the two were about to collide, his figure shifted like a phantom, effortlessly dodging the ghoul's sharp claws. At the same time, his bone spear thrust forward, piercing the ghoul's neck!

Instantly, a large amount of black, viscous blood, like crude oil, splattered out. Even the ghoul's tough skin couldn't withstand this blow!

Trait [Armor Penetration!]

"Roar!!!"

The Heavy Armored Ghoul swung its arm furiously, but Chu Xiu's figure moved with uncanny agility, easily evading the attack. His bone spear struck again, adding another wound to the creature's body.

Moreover, with the [Bleeding] trait, even with the ghoul's monstrous regenerative abilities, the wounds couldn't heal immediately!

And so, Chu Xiu nimbly circled the Heavy Armored Ghoul, occasionally striking out like a nimble boxer toying with a sluggish fat man. Despite its best efforts, the ghoul couldn't land a single blow on Chu Xiu, only accumulating more wounds!

If Guan Ke had witnessed this scene, she would have been stunned speechless. The same ferocious beast that had chased her down was now nothing more than a comical clown before Chu Xiu!

In truth, it wasn't that the Heavy Armored Ghoul was weak. It was an 8th-rank monster, further enhanced by the Blood Moon.

It was just that Chu Xiu's counters were too perfect.

Physique encompassed various attributes such as Strength, Agility, and Endurance.

Excluding the 50% Strength boost, the Heavy Armored Ghoul's base Physique should be between 16 and 19.

This value wasn't much higher than Chu Xiu's own Physique.

At the same time, it was clearly a Strength-type creature, meaning its Strength attribute would be higher than this value. Consequently, its other attributes, such as Agility, would be lower.

Although the increase in Strength would also boost its Agility to some extent, it would at most bring it to the same level as Chu Xiu's.

And that's where things took a turn for the worse for the ghoul.

Chu Xiu possessed [Minor Accomplishment] level [Phantom Steps] and a Spirit attribute of 7.24! On the other hand, ghouls generally had low Spirit.

This meant that Chu Xiu held an overwhelming advantage over the ghoul in both movement and reaction speed!

Not to mention, the two traits on his bone spear perfectly countered the ghoul!

This resulted in the current one-sided slaughter!

Even when the ghoul activated its Power Burst skill, it still couldn't pose a significant threat to Chu Xiu.

Finally, after having countless holes pierced through its body, the blood-red light in the 008-Type Ghoul's eyes began to fade, replaced by fear.

It turned to flee, but it was too late.

The prolonged blood loss had severely weakened its body.

"Thud!"

With a soft sound, Chu Xiu's bone spear accurately pierced through a gap in the ghoul's armor, impaling its heart.

"Boom!"

The heavy corpse crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. At the same time, a pleasant notification sound rang in Chu Xiu's ears.

[Slain a living being, Profession Experience +588]

[Obtained item: Karma Points *56]

[Level Up!]

[Current Rank: F-rank Level 7]