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Chapter 45: The Six Rulers of the Emerald Cavern (3)

The instant the stone floor shattered beneath the emerald scorpion’s leg, the livestream exploded.

[@DrunkenSwordImmortal: Finally! This old man was beginning to think those six would stare forever. Little brat, don’t underestimate that creature simply because it’s the weakest among them. A Level Thirty-Three Boss is still a Boss.]

[@StoneGiantKing: Curious... the other five remain motionless. They’re allowing the scorpion to test him first. Either they’re exceptionally intelligent... or they’re extremely confident.]

[@ShadowWarden: Exactly! And if he truly intends to walk the Dao of Darkness... then his first lesson begins now.]

BOOM!

The Emerald Scorpion King exploded forward, its speed completely contradicting its enormous size. A creature nearly five meters tall and covered in crystalline armor should have lumbered across the battlefield.

Instead it became a green blur. The ground ruptured beneath every step as the monster crossed nearly fifty meters in an instant, both massive pincers snapping toward Dan while its poisonous tail pierced downward from above, perfectly coordinating three attacks at once.

Dan’s pupils contracted.

"So fast..."

He disappeared — not with Shadow Crossing, simply with Footwork.

WHOOSH!

His body slipped between the closing pincers with barely an inch to spare.

BOOM!!

The pincers collided behind him with enough force to send shockwaves throughout the chamber. Stone shattered, emerald crystals cracked, and dust erupted into the air. Dan never stopped moving. Night Sovereign flashed.

SHING!

The black blade slashed across one crystalline foreleg.

CLANG!

Sparks exploded. Dan’s eyes narrowed.

"It didn’t cut."

Not because Night Sovereign lacked sharpness, rather the monster’s armor simply possessed astonishing defensive properties. The Emerald Scorpion King hissed violently before swinging its tail sideways. Dan lowered his center of gravity, and the poisonous stinger passed over his head while its pressure alone split the cavern wall several meters behind him.

BOOOOM!!

Massive chunks of stone crashed to the ground. The livestream erupted again.

[@StoneGiantKing: Incredible armor. That shell possesses defensive strength far beyond Level Thirty-Three.]

[@GoldenFeatherPrincess: More importantly... Dan didn’t attempt a second strike. He’s studying.]

[@DrunkenSwordImmortal: Hahaha! Good! Fight with your brain before your sword! Youngsters these days think strength solves everything.]

Dan calmly retreated several steps, his breathing remaining perfectly steady. He wasn’t trying to win — not yet. He was gathering information. The scorpion attacked again: left pincer first, then the tail, then the right pincer. Dan dodged each one, his sword remaining lowered. One exchange, two, five, ten. The battle strangely resembled dancing rather than fighting as every attack narrowly missed, and every movement became another piece of information.

Dan’s thoughts raced. The left pincer always attacks before the right. The tail follows exactly half a second later. It rotates clockwise before striking. The joints beneath the third armor plate are slightly slower. He continued watching as the Emerald Scorpion King became increasingly furious, its attacks accelerating.

BOOM! BOOM!! BOOM!!!

The cavern trembled continuously beneath its relentless assault, yet Dan still wasn’t attacking. The viewers gradually understood.

[@NineTailEmpress: He’s memorizing the creature.]

[@ShadowWarden: No... he’s doing more than memorizing. He’s building a map inside his mind.]

[@StoneGiantKing: Every movement the monster makes... he’s recording it.]

Ordinary warriors reacted to battle. Masters predicted battle. But those who stood above masters designed the battle itself. Dan intended to reach the third stage.

Another claw descended — Dan sidestepped. Another — he leaned backward. The poisonous tail thrust toward his chest, and instead of retreating, Dan stepped forward. The stinger passed harmlessly behind his shoulder, and for the first time, he had entered the monster’s blind spot.

SHING!

Night Sovereign cut upward, and a thin fracture appeared across the crystal armor beneath the creature’s neck. The Emerald Scorpion King shrieked as a deafening sound echoed throughout the chamber. Dan smiled faintly.

"I found it."

Every creature possessed weaknesses, armor couldn’t cover everything. No matter how perfect something appeared, reality always contained flaws. That was another lesson darkness had taught him. People focused upon what was visible, while darkness revealed what was hidden.

The battle immediately changed. The scorpion attacked, yet Dan no longer retreated, instead he moved exactly where the monster least expected. Left, forward, right, underneath. Each movement looked impossibly dangerous, yet every attack missed by fractions of an inch.

The Emerald Scorpion King gradually became confused, its instincts screaming that this human should already be dead, yet he continued appearing precisely where its attacks weren’t.

Dan quietly understood why. The creature fights through overwhelming momentum. It assumes opponents will flee. But if I move toward its attacks instead... its own size limits its ability to adjust. His eyes brightened.

"So that’s your flaw."

Night Sovereign rose. This time, black darkness quietly wrapped around the blade, as the cavern itself seemed darker, and the livestream fell silent.

"Let’s see whether my understanding is correct."

The Emerald Scorpion King charged once more, its speed surpassing every previous attack. Dan remained motionless. Ten meters, five, three, one — he moved. Not backward, but forward, one single step. The left pincer missed, the poisonous tail struck empty air, and the right claw collided against its own body.

BOOM!!

The monster momentarily lost balance. Dan appeared beneath its neck, and Night Sovereign descended — a single black arc, no wasted motion, no unnecessary power, only precision.

SHHK!

The previous fracture deepened dramatically as dark energy seeped into the wound. The Emerald Scorpion King screamed, and this time its movements slowed, only slightly, but Dan noticed.

"Eternal Dark Heaven Art! The darkness is already spreading."

He didn’t need overwhelming destruction. He only needed inevitability. Darkness eroded, little by little, patiently, exactly as the Dao intended. The scorpion’s movements became increasingly erratic, every attack carrying more force yet less control. Dan calmly circled it as the monster had unknowingly become predictable.

He finally decided.

"It’s time."

His left hand lightly brushed Night Sovereign’s blade, and black ripples expanded across its surface. The first technique he had personally created finally emerged. The darkness surrounding the sword suddenly disappeared, not because it had vanished, but because it had become impossible to perceive.

The Emerald Scorpion King instinctively hesitated, its countless eyes searching desperately. Where was the sword, where was the attack, where —

SHHK!

A deep wound suddenly appeared across its shoulder. No swing had been seen, no slash had been witnessed, only the result existed. The Boss staggered as blood mixed with black darkness flowed onto the stone floor, and Dan had already appeared behind it, his expression calm.

The livestream erupted.

[@GoldenFeatherPrincess: What... what just happened?]

[@StoneGiantKing: I never saw him swing.]

[@DrunkenSwordImmortal: Interesting... incredibly interesting...]

The scorpion roared and spun around — too late. Another invisible slash.

SHHK!

Its left foreleg separated cleanly from its body, and the massive limb crashed onto the cavern floor.

BOOOOM!!

The Emerald Scorpion King stumbled. Dan didn’t stop, another step, another unseen strike, another wound. Each attack landed exactly where the previous one had weakened the armor, and the Boss rapidly deteriorated.

Its crystalline shell cracked further, dark energy spread through every fracture, its breathing became labored, and the creature’s enormous body shook violently. Victory was approaching far faster than anyone expected.

Dan raised Night Sovereign once more.

"This should finish—"

Suddenly —

ROOOOOAR!!

The entire cavern shook. A colossal jade serpent lunged from the side, its enormous body smashing through crystal pillars as it rushed toward Dan with terrifying speed. At the same instant —

THUD! THUD!

The six-meter stone giant took one enormous step forward, then another, its twin black crystal axes rising high into the air. Dan’s eyes narrowed.

"So..."

"They’ve finally decided to move."

The wounded Emerald Scorpion King immediately retreated behind them. The jade serpent opened its mouth as emerald venom gathered between its fangs, and the stone giant swung both axes downward.