Chapter 63: It Was Truly I Who Killed Him [First Update]

In Luffy's eyes, Qin Bailing's words were not mocking but filled with concern. A warm feeling spread through his heart; no matter what, he could not let her be hurt again, regardless of whether his true strength would be revealed.

He charged forward, disregarding whether Qin Bailing was worried or not.

Suddenly, a massive shadow descended from the sky, shrouded in swirling dust that spread in all directions.

In an instant, the surroundings were engulfed in a haze of sand and dust.

“Sand Corpse, you’re finally here. Now the humans can’t see us—we can slaughter and feast as we please,” said the first sixth-tier zombie with bloodlust in his voice.

A cold laugh came from the second sixth-tier zombie, “There’s a little guy at the third tier rushing over—he’s just asking for death. Let’s eat him first.”

“Agreed,” said the sand-clad sixth-tier zombie, his tone icy. “A mere third-tier human isn’t even enough to fill the gap between my teeth. How stupid must he be to come here and deliver himself to us?”

“I like him,” the first sixth-tier zombie said with a sinister grin, reaching out a massive hand for Luffy. One could easily imagine the youth being snatched up with a single grasp.

But there was a sharp crack—the first sixth-tier zombie froze, shocked that he had caught nothing but air.

His expression was bewildered, then doubly so, then geometric in its confusion.

He simply refused to believe he couldn’t catch such a weakling.

With a roar, both hands slammed down. The ground trembled under the impact, but when he looked again, the youth had not been crushed. The zombie cursed furiously, his eyes blazing with rage.

That young man now stood calmly atop a nearby building, his voice cold: “You dared to harm my woman—now you die.”

“You filthy human, go to hell!” The first sixth-tier zombie, furious beyond measure, punched at Luffy with all his might.

Luffy met the attack head-on, his own fist hurtling forward. He summoned the Dragon Qi Overlord Technique, first and second layers, unleashing six thousand times the strength of an ordinary man in an instant.

His punch crashed into the zombie’s fist with the force of a tsunami.

A sickening crunch sounded—Luffy's devastating power reduced the zombie's fist to pulp, and that destruction spread through the creature's arm.

The sixth-tier zombie’s eyes bulged in agony and disbelief. How could this third-tier youth have such power? It was like seeing a ghost. He had never imagined his own fist could be shattered in a single blow, nor that the destructive energy would spread, threatening to break his entire body apart.

His body trembled uncontrollably as he howled in agony, the pain tearing through him.

—

“What’s wrong with you?” the second sixth-tier zombie asked, panic in his eyes; he had no idea what the youth had done to his companion.

“It must be some strange technique. Humans are so damnable,” the third, sand-shrouded sixth-tier zombie said coldly.

Suddenly, the first sixth-tier zombie let out a wail and his body dissolved into a pool of blood.

The remaining two zombies stared in stunned disbelief, their jaws slack, utterly astonished. “That youth must have used some strange power. As long as we don’t meet his fists, we’ll be fine,” the second zombie decided. He hefted a chunk of collapsed wall and hurled it at Luffy. “Die!”

“No, it’s you who will die.”

Luffy’s eyes turned cold as he drew the Thousand Thunder Sword from his spatial ring and slashed at the oncoming boulder.

A crescent of flame leapt from the blade, cleaving the stone in two and flying straight at the second sixth-tier zombie.

With a single stroke, Luffy beheaded the second zombie, who fell without resistance, his head sent flying.

The fiery arc from Luffy’s sword soared far away, leaving only the third, sand-shrouded sixth-tier zombie.

The zombie’s gaze was now cold as the abyss. He could scarcely believe how terrifying this youth was, killing his two companions with effortless ease—it was beyond frightening.

The zombie conjured a massive sword of sand and hurled it at Luffy.

But Luffy activated his Samsara Heavenly Eye, and the zombie’s movements slowed to a crawl. In a flash, Luffy dodged and appeared behind the sand zombie, Thousand Thunder Sword raised.

“Great Flame Sword!” he called, as the blade transformed into a massive sword of fire, descending on the water-based sixth-tier zombie.

With a single blow, he sliced the creature in half, but in the next instant, the two halves dissolved into sand and vanished. Suddenly, a rain of countless sand swords shot down from above, targeting Luffy.

It was a circular mass of sand, swords forming a deadly storm.

Luffy’s figure flickered aside, dodging through the barrage, then swung his sword at the swirling sand.

A rain of flaming swords shot forth, engulfing the sand with fire.

The sand zombie howled in agony, his body reverting to its true, blood-soaked form.

Luffy gave him no chance to counterattack. Raising the Thousand Thunder Sword high, he invoked the Divine Sword Commanding Thunder technique.

The sky darkened, clouds churning into a swirling vortex.

—

Bolts of lightning crashed down in all directions.

At the center of the vortex, a massive bolt of lightning fell directly onto Luffy’s sword, Thousand Thunder, its electric brilliance dazzling and searing.

Even Qin Bailing and the others, outside the sandstorm, saw the explosion in the sky and were startled, unsure of what was happening within. Qin Bailing rushed in, desperate to save Luffy, convinced he would die if she did not intervene.

Her anxiety drove her forward.

“You’re going to get yourself killed! It’s too dangerous in there,” Li Cheng blocked her way, but Qin Bailing replied earnestly, “I cannot let anything happen to Luffy.”

With that, she transformed into a streak of frost and charged inside.

Li Cheng stared after her in shock—he had never suspected Qin Bailing possessed such speed and skill. She had hidden her true strength.

Inside, a bolt of lightning shot from Luffy’s sword toward the sand zombie.

The zombie, still stunned, had no chance to react before the lightning struck him, his body dissolving instantly and leaving only a sixth-tier crystal core clattering to the ground.

Luffy sheathed the Thousand Thunder Sword and landed on the ground, his clothes riddled with holes. He strode over to collect the three sixth-tier crystal cores.

These sand zombies had proven troublesome, but in the face of overwhelming power, they still met their end.

As the sandstorm subsided, Luffy pocketed the crystal cores and turned to see Qin Bailing rushing toward him, worry etched on her face. The sight made him beam with delight.

“Wasn’t I impressive, beautiful?”

“Impressive, my foot! Are those three zombies dead?” Qin Bailing stared at the three corpses in disbelief. “It can’t have been you who killed them—who did it? It’s impossible for someone at your tier.”

“It really was me,” Luffy said, helpless.

***

Author’s Note:
Two hundred recommendation tickets reached, seeking tips, rewards, and positive reviews in the readers’ circle.
(End of this chapter)