Chapter 74 - 71: One Sword, Piercing Through the Weirdness

Chapter 74: Chapter 71: One Sword, Piercing Through the Weirdness

Profound Sword had already explored five Nightmares. It was much easier than he had anticipated.

He was completely alone, having teamed up with no one. Whenever he stepped into a new Nightmare Area, he would first use his Witchcraft Flying Eye to scout the general vicinity. Once he had a lay of the land, he would put the item away and personally explore the locations that might conceal a Nightmare Passage.

His first Nightmare had taken him two hours to navigate, but the second only took an hour and a half. His map-clearing speed was increasing as he gradually grasped the underlying patterns.

The entire process had been smooth sailing. It wasn’t that he hadn’t encountered any danger—rather, the trifling little monsters and traps were no longer enough to even startle him.

But as the old saying goes: if you walk by the river often enough, your shoes will inevitably get wet. Even with a powerful support exploration tool like the Witchcraft Flying Eye, traversing the Nightmare World always carried unpredictable risks.

And right now, that risk had materialized!

The moment he stepped into this new Nightmare Area, he ran straight into an Anomaly. He was practically face-to-face with it! If this had been him from just a few days ago, he would have been severely injured—if not killed on the spot.

But now...

In the blink of an eye, the Butcher Anomaly that had broken free from its restraints appeared right in front of Profound Sword. The creature was massive. Its body, over two meters tall, loomed like an iron tower, casting a suffocating shadow over him.

Its machete slashed down with devastating momentum—fast, fierce, and brutal!

The two Countermeasures Bureau Elites had managed to hold their ground for a few dozen seconds only because they had kept their distance. In a direct, close-quarters clash, they wouldn’t have lasted even three exchanges.

By the time the two Elites heard a deafening BOOM, they finally realized the machete had slammed into the ground, splitting open a long, jagged fissure. However, the young man carrying the sword had vanished.

He reappeared at the Anomaly’s flank.

The Butcher’s blade swept horizontally, kicking up a gale of blood, but it only shattered an afterimage. The sword-bearing young man then materialized on the creature’s left side. His speed was unbelievable!

The Butcher Anomaly was incredibly swift—so swift that the two black-trench-coated Elites couldn’t even track it with their eyes. But the sword-bearing young man was even faster. Using profound footwork, his body darted rapidly, leaving a trail of afterimages as he completely toyed with the Butcher Anomaly.

Profound Sword found it utterly incredible. "Is this really me?!"

Just a few days ago, it had taken the combined efforts of him, Hair Ghost, and Xi Xue just to kill a Ghost Shadow—a creature significantly weaker than a true Anomaly. Yet now, facing a real Anomaly head-on, he actually felt the pressure was quite manageable. He could even handle more.

"It’s time to test the sword."

The fully refined Evil Eye Sword flew into the air, and the closed eyeball embedded within its blade snapped open. Instantly, a demonic, bewitching pupil manifested behind the Butcher Anomaly, causing its massive frame to freeze completely.

And in that exact moment, Curse Power surged. It morphed into a razor-sharp aura that enveloped the Evil Eye Sword before piercing straight through the Butcher Anomaly’s chest.

It blew a hole the size of a washbasin right through the creature.

BOOM!

Countless demonic eyeballs suddenly appeared all over the Butcher’s body before bursting in a series of wet, sickening POP POP POP sounds. Riddled with a thousand gaping wounds, the Butcher Anomaly was reduced to a bloody mess.

Three minutes later, in an isolated corner of the Nightmare.

Profound Sword let out a long breath. "As expected of an Anomaly, it’s still too powerful. If I want to kill a true Anomaly, a single strike is far from enough.

"I can’t be careless. I must guard against arrogance and impatience. I am still not strong enough."

He knew very well that he had only achieved his current level of strength because of the Training Ground built by the Manager. So, what about the Manager who could build such a miracle? He didn’t know what stage the Manager was currently at, but he could imagine that back when the Manager was only in the Refining Stage, he could probably tear Anomalies apart with his bare hands effortlessly.

He had merely injured an Anomaly. What was there to be proud of?

Besides, Profound Sword never actually intended to slay the Butcher Anomaly. He was afraid that killing it might inadvertently clear the Nightmare and force him to return to reality. That wouldn’t be good at all, as he still hadn’t completed the Manager’s task.

Nearby, the two Elites in black trench coats—who had narrowly escaped death thanks to Profound Sword’s intervention—listened to his muttered words. They couldn’t believe their ears. He had pierced through an Anomaly with a single strike and played with it like a fiddle, yet he still thought he was too weak?

What kind of freakish monster was this guy? Did the Shallow Nightmare actually house experts of this caliber?

However, before the two men could ask for the hero’s name, their time in the Nightmare ran out. The dream ended, and they were forced back to reality. Never before had the two of them so desperately wished to stay inside a Nightmare just a little bit longer.

Why did it have to end now?!

"The Sharp Blade Squad is lacking exactly this kind of top-tier expert! If we could invite this powerhouse to join the squad, then its overall strength would undoubtedly skyrocket, and the two of us would earn massive merit!"

But they had absolutely no idea who the sword-bearing young man was.

One of them sighed. "We didn’t react fast enough just now. There’s no point being annoyed about it.

"Still, judging by this hero’s performance, he has at least Deputy Captain Level strength. A powerhouse like him must be an incredibly veteran Dream Descender. He probably just fell into a Shallow Nightmare by accident this time."

They managed to convince themselves. It made perfect sense. If an expert of this Level was actually a young genius, he would undoubtedly have a resplendent reputation throughout the entirety of Baijiang. There was no way they wouldn’t recognize him. Therefore, he had to be an older, highly experienced powerhouse.

After watching the two men in black trench coats vanish, Profound Sword found a rooftop and took out his Witchcraft Flying Eye.

The eyeball item fluttered its small wings and soared into the sky. Looking down from above, it took in the entirety of the Nightmare Area in a single sweeping glance. Through it, he saw the Butcher Anomaly standing in the middle of the street. Granulation tissue squirmed over its body as its terrifying wounds rapidly knit themselves back together. It was already mostly healed.

Profound Sword prepared to head to the next Nightmare. If he stayed in this area any longer, it wouldn’t be long before the Butcher came hunting for him again. Although he didn’t fear the creature, fighting it took a considerable toll on his stamina, and he had no intention of killing it outright.

Just as he was about to put away the Witchcraft Flying Eye and head over to a spot that might contain a passage, he let out a sound of surprise.

Within the Flying Eye’s feed, another figure had appeared.

It was another humanoid monster. With wild, unkempt hair, it looked like a savage Wildman. Its eyes were blood-red, and its entire body exuded a brutal, bizarre aura.

"Another Anomaly? That makes no sense!"

This area was clearly only a small-scale Nightmare. In small-scale Nightmares, even the rarer and more unique ones, there would only ever be a single Anomaly. Only large-scale Nightmares could contain multiple Anomalies. That was an ironclad law. Profound Sword hailed from a major organization; he wouldn’t make a mistake about such basic common sense.

The Butcher Anomaly noticed this new presence. Showing absolutely no fear, the new ’Anomaly’ charged straight at the Butcher, and the two figures violently clashed together.

The Butcher was incredibly bloodthirsty, but the Wildman was no slouch either.

Profound Sword soon began to see through the chaos. The power wielded by the Wildman ’Anomaly’ bore the distinct traces of a Curse Object and Curse Arts! Human Curse Arts! Despite being feral and brutal, its foundation was undeniably rooted in human techniques!

"In other words, this Wildman who looks like an Anomaly is actually...

"A human?!"