Chapter 46: Kodo Beast (Part-2)

With Phantom Step, Ryan could evade even if his reaction was slightly slow. The Kodo Beast was terrifyingly strong, but its speed was mediocre. Power without precision meant nothing to him.

However, the beast had no intention of stopping.

Seeing Ryan escape, the Kodo Beast bellowed in fury and charged again, its massive legs pounding the earth. One stomp followed another, relentless and brutal, determined to grind the intruding human into meat paste.

Ryan could only keep dodging, weaving left and right, his figure flashing repeatedly as Phantom Step carried him out of danger again and again.

“Trying to bully me with raw strength?”

Ryan snorted coldly. Being chased and trampled like this ignited his temper. No matter how calm he was, anyone would snap under such treatment.

While evading, he raised his hand and condensed a Wind Blade, hurling it toward the Kodo Beast. This was the skill he wanted to train, and now was as good a time as any.

Clang!

The sound was sharp and metallic. The Wind Blade struck the Kodo Beast’s scales, leaving only a faint scratch before dispersing into nothingness.

It dealt no damage at all.

The Kodo Beast snorted angrily, streams of hot air blasting from its nostrils. Its stomps grew even heavier, its rage escalating.

Ryan’s eyes narrowed.

That single exchange had told him everything. The description of the Kodo Beast mentioned terrifying defense, but now he understood just how absurd it was. Even a Sky rank martial skill like Wind Blade could barely scratch it.

If he relied on Wind Blade alone, he might still be fighting this monster next year.

“What now?”

Ryan retreated with Phantom Step, his thoughts racing. Switching skills would defeat the purpose of training Wind Blade, yet continuing like this seemed pointless. Other than his finishing techniques, he doubted any of his current skills could truly injure the Kodo Beast.

Still, Ryan was not someone who surrendered easily.

He refused to believe that a high-ranking Sky martial art was completely useless against a beast that looked like an oversized rhinoceros.

Stubbornness flared in his eyes.

He raised his hand and fired three Wind Blades at once.

Clang! Clang!

As expected, useless.

Without stopping, Ryan immediately condensed another three Wind Blades and struck the exact same spot again.

Clang! Clang!

Still nothing.

Only then did Ryan pause, exhaling slowly. He had known this was unlikely to work, yet part of him had insisted on trying.

But just as he was about to give up and switch tactics, his eyes caught something unusual.

The area struck by the Wind Blades… looked different.

The scratch there was deeper than the others.

Ryan’s pupils contracted. “This…” A spark of realization flashed through his mind.

Without hesitation, he condensed a Wind Blade and launched it.

Before it even reached its target, he formed a second, then a third, a fourth, and finally a fifth, firing them in rapid succession.

This was not a multi-blade attack released at once.

This was a combo.

Five consecutive Wind Blades, all aimed at the exact same point.

Ryan called it the Five-Strike Wind Blade Combo.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Boom!

The first three impacts rang like metal striking metal, but the fourth and fifth produced a different sound entirely.

A dull, tearing thud.

Blood splashed.

The Kodo Beast roared as a wound split open where the Wind Blades had struck. Thick scales cracked, flesh was exposed, and dark blood streamed down its massive body.

It worked.

The first Wind Blade could only scratch. The second deepened the mark. By the third, flesh was already visible. The fourth and fifth finally pierced through, shattering the beast’s defense through accumulated force.

Drip by drip, water pierced the stone.

Ryan’s heart surged with excitement. Another technique, discovered through instinct and stubbornness.

Multi-blade attacks for suppression. Curved Wind Blades for control. And now, consecutive Wind Blade combos for penetration.

Even a defensive monster like the Kodo Beast could not withstand it.

Originally, Ryan had been prepared to waste a powerful finishing skill to break the beast’s defense. Instead, inspiration saved him the cost.

Sometimes, strength alone was not enough. Understanding how to use it mattered just as much.

It had to be said that Wind Blade truly lived up to its reputation as a ground-grade martial art.

Its explosive power might fall short of Landslide, and its close-combat lethality could not rival Heavenly Star Palm, but when it came to long-range combat, flexibility, and adaptability, Wind Blade was astonishing.

Distance, control, variation, sustained damage, it possessed everything. Once mastered, it was terrifyingly complete.

Now that Ryan had confirmed Wind Blade could injure the Kodo Beast, his hands moved without pause. One blade after another condensed and shot forth in clean, ruthless arcs.

Another five-strike Wind Blade combo landed.

Clang, clang, clang.

Then, puff.

A fresh blood hole burst open on the Kodo Beast’s massive body. Thick blood splashed down its scales, and the beast let out a furious roar.

*Graaaaa*

The Kodo Beast was completely enraged.

Its enormous eyes burned red with humiliation and fury as it stared at Ryan, murderous intent pouring out uncontrollably. Since it had taken over this territory in the Forest of Death, no creature had ever dared injure it so recklessly. Even other fifth-rank monsters avoided provoking it.

Yet now, a mere human, small enough to be crushed underfoot, had wounded it again and again.

This was unforgivable.

The Kodo Beast went berserk.

It charged wildly, stomping, ramming, swinging its massive body in clumsy but devastating arcs. Every step shook the ground, every movement carried terrifying force. Unfortunately for it, raw power alone meant nothing when it could not land a single hit.

Against Ryan, who possessed God’s Boots and a fully mastered Phantom Step, the Kodo Beast’s attacks were laughably slow.

Ryan calmly weaved around the monster, never once entering its attack range. While evading, he continued launching Wind Blades from afar, treating the Kodo Beast like a living training dummy to refine his technique and raise proficiency.

At this point, even if the Kodo Beast wanted to flee, it no longer could. Its speed was insufficient. Ryan could catch up whenever he pleased.

Unable to strike, unable to escape, all it could do was endure.

After a long, brutal struggle, the Kodo Beast finally let out a grief-filled roar and collapsed heavily to the ground. Blood soaked the earth, staining the battlefield crimson.

Its massive body, once like an iron mountain, was now riddled with hundreds of wounds, flesh torn open, scales shattered.

A fifth-rank powerhouse fell in such a miserable state.

Ryan stood calmly, not even breathing heavily. The battle had been long, but never dangerous. The Kodo Beast’s defense had only made it slightly more troublesome to kill.

Then, the familiar system notifications rang out.

“Ding, congratulations to player Ryan for killing the fifth-rank monster Kodo Beast. Gained 500,000 experience points and 10 All-Attribute Pills.”

“Ding, congratulations to player Ryan for completing a leapfrog challenge. Gained an additional 100,000 experience points and 10 All-Attribute Pills.”

“Ding, You leveled up. Current level: 38 (Eight-Star Exalt).”

A total of 600,000 experience points.

Ryan advanced smoothly to the Eight-Star Exalt realm and received twenty All-Attribute Pills as well. Although the reward was slightly less than his first kill of the Golden-Blood Polar Shadow Bird, it was still an extremely generous harvest.

At this stage, Ryan could already be considered a powerful figure, only a single step away from the Upper Exalt realm.

But it was still not enough.

To challenge Heaven’s Gate. To stand before the Luo family. To marry Li Xue.

This strength was far from sufficient.

Ryan lifted his gaze toward the depths of the Forest of Death, exhaled slowly, and his eyes grew even more resolute.

If it wasn’t enough, then he would simply work harder.

With a flash, his figure vanished once more into the forest, continuing his relentless hunt.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep