One Man, One Sword, Deterring a Hundred Thousand Mutated Beasts!

One man, one sword. Lu Yuan stood over the open sea off Shencheng. Not far ahead of him swarmed a dense horde of mutated beasts. Compared to that endless mass, his figure appeared minuscule. Yet the aura radiating from him was terrifying and vast. Golden vital energy surged through him, rolling outward in waves to fill every fiber of his being. His gaze remained calm as he stared straight ahead, boundless strength rapidly gathering within his physical form. His earlier words had not been loud, and the sea beasts could not understand human speech anyway. But they could feel that aura, and their movements slowed involuntarily. Even the South Sea Giant Demon encircled at their center came to a halt. It was immensely powerful, a colossal creature worthy of its name, standing taller than the steel defensive walls of Shencheng. A pair of massive eyes fixed upon Lu Yuan, eight hundred-meter-long tentacles continuously churning the sea. Clearly, it had not been frightened off by his aura. Yet it chose not to attack directly either, opting instead to stir up a massive wave to test him. *Buzz—* In an instant, the waves surged even higher than before, cresting over a hundred meters. Like a towering mountain of water, it bore down relentlessly upon Lu Yuan. "Is he really going to fight all by himself?" "Just how much confidence does he have? Can he actually pull it off?" "That should be impossible. The ocean beasts are simply too strong, in both numbers and sheer power." Behind him atop Shencheng's steel wall, Commander-in-Chief Zhang and the assembled Awakened watched with their hearts in their throats. By now, they had confirmed that Lu Yuan truly intended to face those ocean beasts alone. Could he actually do it? A beast tide numbering over a hundred thousand, led by the South Sea Giant Demon—this was an unstoppable force. In their eyes, a disaster of this scale had already exceeded what humanity could withstand. Of course, a sliver of hope lingered in their hearts. After all, Lu Yuan had broken through the Shackle Realm. At that moment, Commander-in-Chief Zhang issued another order, commanding the self-propelled artillery, fighter jets, and other forces within the city to stand at the ready. The moment battle commenced, they would open fire immediately and launch a saturated strike against the ocean beast tide. He reasoned that since Lu Yuan was that King of Humanity, his strength was bound to be unfathomable. Even if he could not defeat the entire tide alone, he could hold the line, giving modern conventional weaponry time to provide fire support. Moreover, higher command had already dispatched more troops to reinforce them, even preparing mobile missile launchers. As long as they could hold out until everything was in place, they might genuinely overcome this catastrophe. "Look! Lu Yuan is moving!" Someone suddenly shouted, pointing into the distance. Standing upon the back of the Golden-Winged Great Peng, Lu Yuan faced the towering wall of water without a word, slowly raising the Daluo sword core in his hand. *Clang—!* Sword intent resonated instantly as rays of brilliant light shot forth from the blade. Just as before—one man, one sword. Lu Yuan wasted not a single movement. In the span of a breath, he slashed downward toward the mountain-like wave. *Buzz—* The sword light blazed with dazzling radiance and boundless intent, converging into a hundred-meter-long beam of sword energy that tore across the sea. *Boom!* The massive wave was cleanly severed in two. In the very next instant, the overwhelming sword intent completely shattered it, reducing the mountain of water to a heavy downpour that cascaded back into the sea. Within seconds, the waters returned to calm. "I said, human territory is forbidden to mutated beasts," Lu Yuan said calmly, pointing the Daluo sword core toward the South Sea Giant Demon. His voice was as even as before, but laced with a chilling edge. It was clear that if the beast took a single step forward, he would strike without hesitation. Lu Yuan understood that although the ocean beasts seemed infinite and undoubtedly harbored beings in the Shackle Realm, the situation was just like the one outside Chang'an. As long as he subdued their leader, the rest would pose no threat. Naturally, his goal was not mindless slaughter. Too many mutated beasts roamed the world following the cataclysm; the only way to avert endless disasters was to strike fear into their hearts so they would never dare assault human territory on a whim. His aim was deterrence. But if this beast refused to retreat, he would not hesitate to kill it. "Forbidden? The beasts of the ocean never intended to invade in the first place," the South Sea Giant Demon spoke, its booming voice reverberating like thunder. Its gargantuan body loomed like a mythic behemoth as it glared down at Lu Yuan. "It was you humans who provoked us. Besides, a single human has no right to demand that I stop." With that, dazzling light radiated from its body. Its aura climbed relentlessly, surging straight past the Shackle Realm. Under the pressure of that power, the surrounding sea boiled and churned. At the same time, countless ocean beasts surfaced, roaring fiercely in response. The South Sea Giant Demon possessed high intelligence; entirely unswayed by threats, it rallied the surrounding horde to attack in unison. "Master, it has reached the Golden Body Realm. It is extremely strong," the Golden-Winged Great Peng warned, a hint of wariness flickering in its eyes. Although its bloodline was superior to the demon's, a substantial gap separated their current cultivation levels. Lu Yuan did not turn his head, replying calmly, "Then we fight!" Golden vital energy erupted, enveloping his entire frame. His eyes blazed with brilliant divine light. What if it was in the Golden Body Realm? He had nothing to fear! "They're about to fight! Commander-in-Chief, should we open fire?" a soldier on Shencheng's steel wall asked urgently. "Hold your fire for now. Let's see how this develops," Commander-in-Chief Zhang commanded immediately. Lu Yuan's single strike had just sheared through a hundred-meter tidal wave with terrifying ease. A sudden thought crossed the commander's mind: could this man truly halt an entire war on his own? Meanwhile, the Awakened along the wall were recording the confrontation and broadcasting it live. "Dean, do you think Mr. Lu can really pull it off?" Watching the livestream, Northern Emperor and the others turned toward Dean Zheng. Anyone could see that a full-scale clash was inevitable, yet the South Sea Giant Demon was so powerful it seemed to surpass ordinary mutated beast kings. Coupled with the horde of over a hundred thousand beasts, stopping them seemed completely beyond human capability. Even knowing Lu Yuan was the King of Humanity, the task was staggering. "I believe that since he went, he will succeed," Zhu Qingyu said quietly. Having survived two separate beast tides where Lu Yuan had held the line single-handedly, she chose to believe in him—and firmly believed he could do it again. Dean Zheng did not answer. He knew high command had already mobilized numerous units to reinforce Shencheng. Even if Lu Yuan ultimately failed, holding out for a while would drastically improve the situation. Beyond them, nearly everyone following the news had their eyes glued to the scene. Shencheng was on the brink of destruction, and one man stood on the front line. His feat of bisecting the hundred-meter wave had already sparked a sensation across the country. People knew Lu Yuan was formidable from the battle in Shanghai, but none had imagined he would dare face a beast tide all by himself. Everyone waited on edge for the outcome. Over the waters outside Shencheng, Lu Yuan said nothing more as he watched the sea beasts gather. A sharp light flashed in his eyes. He leaped forward, the Daluo sword core unleashing another burst of radiant sword energy aimed straight for the South Sea Giant Demon. "The ocean is my domain! Let's see what you can do!" the South Sea Giant Demon bellowed. Its hundred-meter-long tentacles lashed forward like coiling flood dragons. Beneath the surface, mutated sharks and winged sea serpents struck simultaneously. Yet a golden flash streaked across the sky, slaughtering dozens of formidable beasts in the blink of an eye. It was the Golden-Winged Great Peng. It would never allow anything to disturb its master. Meanwhile, Lu Yuan swung his sword. *Slash!—* In an instant, one of the South Sea Giant Demon's tentacles was severed clean off. Blood sprayed into the sky, dyeing the surrounding water crimson. *Roar—!* The South Sea Giant Demon roared in agony, fury blazing in its eyes. It had evolved to the Golden Body Realm, and with its innate beast constitution, its physical body was extraordinarily tough. Yet this human had severed one of its tentacles with casual ease. Lu Yuan did not pause. He pivoted and landed upon the beast's colossal frame. Unable to fly freely on his own, his mobility was somewhat constrained, but it hardly mattered. *Buzz—* The South Sea Giant Demon blazed with light as it manipulated the seawater below, driving powerful torrents up across its body. Lu Yuan ignored the rushing water, unleashing several consecutive slashes. *Slash!* *Slash!* *Slash!* Three more massive appendages were sheared away, filling the air with a pungent reek of blood. Combined with the first, half of the South Sea Giant Demon's tentacles were gone. At the same time, the Golden-Winged Great Peng firmly suppressed several ocean beast kings. From the very start of the clash, Lu Yuan had seized absolute dominance. To him, the Golden Body Realm was nothing extraordinary. Unlike the Golden-Winged Great Peng, the South Sea Giant Demon possessed no exceptional bloodline. Following Lu Yuan's transformation in Shennongjia, he had already broken thirty genetic shackles; a single realm's difference could not suppress him in the slightest. Having dealt his strikes, Lu Yuan leaped back into the air. Sensing his movement, the Golden-Winged Great Peng swept in, caught him on its back, and flew a short distance away before halting. Still holding the Daluo sword core, Lu Yuan looked down at the South Sea Giant Demon. "Take one more step, and today you die!" Golden vital energy raged around him with terrifying intensity, his aura soaring straight into the heavens. Paired with the devastating strikes he had just delivered, he resembled an ancient god of slaughter. Everything he had just done was merely a warning; had he truly wanted to slay the beast, he would not have needed to go through such trouble. His ultimate goal was to resolve the crisis facing Shencheng, not to fight an all-out war. Even if individual beasts among the hundred thousand were weak, slaughtering an army of that size would take a substantial amount of time once they scattered. Thus, Lu Yuan had displayed his true might. As he had warned, if the South Sea Giant Demon dared advance another inch, his patience would be exhausted. After Lu Yuan spoke, fury flared within the South Sea Giant Demon. But staring down at its bleeding, severed limbs, it realized this human was not bluffing. One more step, and it would truly die! All around it, the densely packed sea beasts sensed the overwhelming aura pouring from Lu Yuan. For a long moment, not a single one dared to move.