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"Sir... sir, is this the power of the Sword Master?" Bahrain, who was extremely shocked, stammered.

"It seems I was a bit arrogant earlier. The individual combat strength of these people only reached the fourth level of Moon Flame for that one Sword Master. The others are not worth mentioning, but when combined, they gave me tremendous pressure. Fortunately, I managed to take out the mage at the beginning; otherwise, with magic support, it would have been even more troublesome. Overall, the combined combat strength of this troupe is equivalent to a tenth-level human Sword Master. It seems I need to collect some information on human battle formations and tactics to train my subordinates in the future," I completely ignored the desert boy mercenary's question and carefully recalled and summarized the experience and shortcomings of this battle.

Since coming to the human world, this was the first time I had fully utilized my true qi and battle aura. Although I did not use the Moon Attribute, I still exerted full strength. The battle from start to finish took no more than twenty minutes. Although I fought effortlessly and decisively, after unleashing powerful moves continuously, my battle aura was depleted by ninety percent, and my true qi also reached its limit. If not for the inexhaustible nature of innate true qi, it would have been completely drained as well. However, enhancing battle aura and true qi is not something that can be achieved overnight, so it will have to wait for the future. "War Saint" Leimen has promised to fully deduce the Beastman version of the upper half of the *Nine Yin Manual* as part of the reward for my undercover mission in the human world. Although the result will undoubtedly differ from the original, since I am now a werewolf, the original *Nine Yin Manual*, no matter how exquisite, cannot be practiced by me due to the different meridians and acupoints. Instead, relying on Leimen's extraordinary talent and nearly two hundred years of rich experience, I believe he will create a new cultivation method that will greatly benefit me.

"With the destruction of this strongest troupe, once the news spreads back, the Dark Mercenary Guild will need time to gather reinforcements from other areas, which should delay them until we return to Fasin. So, the only remaining trouble is the Assassins Guild."

Chapter 49: Star Shattering Abyss Tower Reaching Heaven

In ancient times, the boundless desert was an almost impassable land due to the scarcity of water, creating a vast uninhabited region in its center. Any attempt to bypass this desert would require an extremely long and arduous route. Six hundred years ago, four of the Twelve Sages—the "Earth Sage," "Sun Sage," "Storm Sage," and "Sky Sage"—joined forces with an army of eighty thousand elf mages to fight against the super magic "Sigh of the Nature Goddess" cast by the elves. The four great forbidden spells merged to counter the elves' magic, resulting in the four sages suffering lifelong injuries while completely shattering the divine avatar of the Nature Goddess, causing the total annihilation of the elf mage army. The aftermath of the magical battle split the desert's center, creating a canyon hundreds of miles long. Unlike the twisted wasteland of the half-orcs, the fragments of the Nature Goddess's power scattered along the explosion direction integrated into the land, forming a corridor of oases and water veins running from south to north. The canyon, now barren and lifeless due to the forbidden spell, guarded the northern exit of the corridor. This corridor eventually became the commercial artery connecting the northern and southern parts of the Mainland.

The crystallized sand from the forbidden spell's melting turned into glass, densely scattered throughout the entire canyon. At night, these crystals with slight magical properties flicker, making the entire canyon resemble a fallen galaxy, dazzling and dreamlike. Thus, the canyon earned the name "Star Shattering Abyss." The fortress city "Star Shattering Abyss," situated between the canyon and the oasis corridor, lies exactly where the Nature Goddess's avatar shattered. Within a ten-mile radius, vegetation thrives, and water sources are abundant. Whether coming from the southern oasis corridor or the northern Star Shattering Abyss, travelers must replenish their supplies here, making it a strategic location. Moreover, beneath the city center, the collision of the forbidden spell and the divine power created an artificial magic source, automatically gathering magical energy from the desert's veins, allowing "Star Shattering Abyss" to possess the Mainland's premier magic cannon, the "Heaven-Piercing Tower," with a range exceeding forty miles and a power that even a tenth-level dragon immune to magic dare not face. Coupled with fierce desert cavalry and a magnificent fortress, it achieved a glorious record of defeating forty-nine invading armies, thus establishing "Star Shattering Abyss" as the "First Great Pass in the World."

After dealing with the Dark Mercenary Guild's attack, our trio proceeded smoothly and finally entered the Star Shattering Abyss twenty days later. Although the canyon is barren, the glass crystals covering the mountains reflect colorful light during the day and shimmer like stars at night, leaving Jin Luosha and me in awe.

The only concern was that the intense battle had ignited Bahrain's passion for martial arts from enthusiasm to obsession. Tempted by my promise to teach him advanced battle aura techniques if he reached the Gold Warrior level, he trained tirelessly every night. Having stagnated at the Bronze level for years without breaking through, he had accumulated significant strength. As a result, his current cultivation progressed rapidly, changing daily. Unfortunately, any force follows its own rules, and attempting to surpass them without a solid foundation leads to backlash.

Ten days later, while practicing swordsmanship under the moonlight, Bahrain suddenly screamed and collapsed, writhing in agony—a classic case of "battle aura rampage" feared by Mainland warriors. Chaotic battle aura violently surged through his body, and without intervention, he would soon die from ruptured blood vessels, twisted muscles, and shattered bones. Only a Sword Emperor-level expert could protect his body while suppressing his battle aura, or a high-level divine technique could soothe the energy. Otherwise, Bahrain was doomed. Normally, the life of any human besides Jin Luosha would not concern me, but Bahrain's timing was terrible, occurring right in the middle of our journey. Faced with the choice of returning to the previous town to hire a new guide, venturing deeper into the desert alone, or saving this troublemaker, I ultimately chose to save him.

In fact, when Jin Luosha suddenly used a light divine technique a few days ago, I deeply regretted not being able to utilize the Daoist healing effects of the Nine Yin True Qi. Therefore, for the past few days, I had been experimenting with the circulation paths and techniques of the Nine Yin True Qi in my own body, trying to understand the functions of human meridians and acupoints. This work was naturally extremely dangerous, but fortunately, the Nine Yin True Qi automatically protected me, correcting any mistakes and saving me from the crisis of losing control. After several days of exploration, I had made some progress, and now was the perfect opportunity to test its effects on Bahrain.