Night Rain discovered that with his body's increased strength, his sword techniques and movement skills had become much faster.
Often, the moment a thought arose, the strike had already been executed—this was an improvement in his reaction speed.
In other words, the previously measured neural response standard was incorrect.
The proper standard for neural reaction speed should be at least one level higher.
After finishing a set of sword techniques, Night Rain felt completely invigorated.
He didn't specifically grind the basic sword and movement techniques,
because while cultivating the Ninefold Thunder Blade, his basics improved alongside it.
In the following days, Night Rain dual-cultivated at night with Tang Xiang and Fu Junyu, and practiced sword techniques during the day to gain experience.
Under Night Rain's guidance, the two women unlocked many new positions.
Occasionally, he visited Xu Xin and Liu Ting's homes—yes, just visited, didn't do anything else.
Life was comfortable and satisfying.
Before long, the date for the college entrance exams, June 6, arrived.
Night Rain performed very steadily, once again ranking first in the school, with Xu Xin as the second.
The two were clearly in the top tier!
In the original story, Xu Xin was quite smart—she joined the HR Alliance's biological research project shortly after entering university.
Originally, Night Rain came to Yangzhou just to befriend Luo Feng. Once that goal was achieved, the college entrance exam didn't matter much.
But then he met Xu Xin and Liu Ting, didn't he?
Night Rain didn't intend to let them go out into the wild hunting monsters—attending university was good enough.
And, maybe, they could bear him a few children.
Both women applied to Jiangnan University—the best university in Jiangnan Base City.
Of course, with their previously demonstrated martial prowess, they had already been guaranteed admission and didn't even need to take the exam.
---
City 003, outskirts – under the blazing sun baking the earth.
"Boom!"
A thunderous crash echoed—
A massive Demon Ape, nearly a hundred meters tall, smashed into the ground.
Its corpse, weighing several hundred tons, made the earth tremble as it landed.
Dust flew everywhere.
This high-level lord-tier beast had been slain, its head pierced by Night Rain's flying sword.
"Clang!"
With a flash of sword light, seven flying swords returned to the sword box beside Night Rain in a blink, leaving trails of icy glints across the sky.
Night Rain stood on a flying sword, hundreds of meters above the ground, clad in a black and red alloy battle suit.
He wore a long robe made from the hide of a high-level lord-tier beast, fluttering fiercely in the wind.
"Roar!"
Just then, a sorrowful, thunderous roar came from not far from the fallen Demon Ape—
A female ape, filled with grief and hatred, glared at Night Rain in the sky.
She charged toward him, seeking revenge.
"Return!"
But just as she moved, a flash of sword and blade forced her back.
Wounds appeared on her body, blood flowing freely.
Tang Xiang and Fu Junyu stood left and right atop nearby buildings, surrounding the she-ape.
They too wore alloy battle armor—their tall, curvy figures heroic, hair flying in the wind.
Murderous aura radiated from them.
Their blade and sword locked firmly onto the high-level lord-tier beast—
There was no escape.
The she-ape went berserk, hammering down with mountain-crushing fists at the red and white figures.
"Boom boom boom!"
Under the onslaught, buildings crumbled like tofu.
"Need help?"
From the sky, Night Rain called down, alert to his surroundings.
Tang Xiang and Fu Junyu, despite being pressured, replied,
"No need—we got this!"
They were proud. For three years, they had protected Night Rain. Now, he had far surpassed them.
Seeing him easily slay the male Demon Ape in under a minute—they couldn't fall behind.
Their pride was at stake.
Earlier, they had only temporarily evaded the she-ape's ferocity—it didn't mean they couldn't win.
"Phantom Blade Art – Fifth Form: Slash!"
Fu Junyu, in silver-white armor, bit her lip, stomped, and burst forth.
The petite girl unleashed terrifying power, collapsing the rooftop beneath her as she dove from a tall building.
She turned into a streak of light aiming straight for the she-ape's eye.
Not to be outdone, Tang Xiang, in red alloy armor, also used her signature skill: Heavenly Sound Sword Art—
An SS-ranked technique on par with the Phantom Blade Art.
It used resonance to sharpen the longsword's edge, enabling it to cut through even the toughest monster hides.
The faster the vibration, the sharper the blade.
Red and white—perfectly coordinated.
One attacked the eyes, the other the lower body—splitting the she-ape's attention.
"Roar!"
The she-ape, although furious, retained her intelligence—lord-tier beasts had exceptional minds.
Unlike foolish beasts like the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle that attacked cities alone.
Her muscles bulged, emitting a terrifying force.
Her black fur stood up like steel needles, glinting as her defenses surged.
She ignored Tang Xiang and instead struck at the charging Fu Junyu.
But Fu Junyu wasn't afraid.
Phantom Blade Art excelled in speed—perhaps not as good as the Ninefold Thunder Blade,
but still first-class.
The Demon Ape specialized in strength, not speed.
Moreover, after dual cultivation with Night Rain, she had awakened spiritual power—
her control and agility had improved dramatically.
With a thought, she could change direction mid-air.
Most importantly, her physical strength had reached an astonishing level.
Ordinary peers couldn't break her defense easily.
She was no longer a fragile martial artist.
Her SS-grade alloy armor could even withstand attacks from king-tier monsters.
Even if struck by the Demon Ape's full power, she'd at most be rattled—not even lightly injured.
Let alone killed.
In other words, with her current strength, she could clash head-on with the Demon Ape.
Charging fearlessly, Fu Junyu showed no sign of retreat—enraging the she-ape further.
But it was useless.
Fu Junyu unleashed her full speed, combining it with her awakened spiritual power—
her velocity surpassing even regular high-level War Gods.
She reached Mach 3.5.
Though slower than airborne kings like the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle,
it was more than enough to deal with the brute-force Demon Ape.
"Slash!"
Her SS-grade alloy blade pierced through the she-ape's eye—
Blood gushed out like a fountain.