Chapter 60: The First Glimpse of Fangs

He had never felt so furious, never so humiliated—not even the first time he killed in anger had he been this enraged. Tang Shen’s words were infuriating beyond measure; not a single vulgarity passed his lips, yet every syllable stoked his fury until it felt as if fire blazed from every pore. With every breath through his nostrils, two clear streams of white vapor shot out.

Hidden off to the side, Geng Shirou furtively wiped the sweat from his brow. These words were venomous—no other way to put it. And with these idiot gods chiming in, he could only silently mourn for that pirate captain. What bad luck, to run into this boy: his tongue as sharp as a blade, each taunt different from the last, never repeating himself.

Sometimes, when he used to needle you, there was nothing you could do about it. Other times, he’d insult you in such a roundabout way you wouldn’t even realize it until much later. Geng Shirou’s greatest impression of Tang Shen was this: if you ever meet someone like him, never give him the chance to speak, never open that door. Just draw your sword and strike, or risk being angered into spitting blood—or worse, dropping dead from sheer rage.

While the pirates wiped cold sweat from their brows, and some struggled to stifle laughter, Tang Shen suddenly bared his fangs, the murderous glint in his eyes flashing forth.

Bang!

He stomped his foot, his figure shooting forward like an arrow, closing the gap between himself and the pirates in an instant.

Clang!

"Draw Blade—Circular Slash!"

In that instant, his ordinary iron sword flashed from its sheath, too swiftly for human eyes to follow. His footwork twisted and weaved, forming a strange, winding path that never brushed against a single pirate, yet traced an irregular circle, trapping five men inside.

At the same time, his iron sword swept beneath the necks of everyone within that circle—a chill brushing their throats.

The cold sweat and suppressed laughter froze on their faces. The one who had targeted Kuina was Tang Shen’s first victim, bearing the brunt of his assault; his expression contorted in agony.

Sss—

There was no time to resist. Only now did their hands fly to their throats, but before they could react, their heads tumbled into their palms, eyes still wide in disbelief as blood sprayed into the air, caught by the sea breeze and turned to a crimson mist.

“Isn’t this my own head? How did it end up in my hands?”

That was the last thought of the five pirates before they all collapsed.

The Circular Draw Blade Slash was a variation Tang Shen created—combining the draw-cut with Bagua footwork to complete the move in a flash, born of a moment’s insight.

The sudden turn of events left everyone stunned—including Kuina, who had been laughing just a moment before, and Geng Shirou, hiding at the side, who had truly thought Tang Shen was just spouting barbs to infuriate his foes. Who could have expected that, in the next heartbeat, Tang Shen would draw his sword and slaughter his enemies so swiftly?

[Ding~ You have slain an ordinary pirate, gaining 10 experience points.]
[Ding~ You have slain an ordinary pirate, gaining 10 experience points.]
[Ding~ You have slain an ordinary pirate, gaining 10 experience points.]
[Ding~ You have slain an ordinary pirate, gaining 10 experience points.]
[Ding~ You have slain an ordinary pirate, gaining 10 experience points.]

The system’s notifications echoed in his mind, making Tang Shen’s eyes gleam with delight. All these days, he’d been stuck at level 9, unable to reach level 10 because beasts above level 8 were so scarce in the forest—he’d only reached level 9 yesterday. In other words, high-level monsters on the island spawned too slowly.

Yet now, killing pirates netted so much experience—his heart leapt with joy at this unexpected windfall. These pirates were practically walking treasure chests; if he kept this up, he’d reach level 10 in no time.

It was a naked temptation, and the excitement in Luo Qin’s eyes was almost palpable. To him, the remaining pirates were no longer people—they were pure, glittering experience points!

"Kuina, don’t you dare compete with me—these are all mine!" Ye Tian cried as he turned and charged at the remaining pirates, his voice brimming with excitement.

These were high-value targets for leveling up—utter bliss!

He raised his ordinary iron sword and slashed at the pirate in front of him.

Hearing Tang Shen’s voice, Kuina finally snapped out of her shock. With a shout, she sprang forward, her refined steel sword swinging unhesitatingly at another pirate.

After all, when even her master was dispatching foes so decisively, she couldn’t lag behind. Competing with her master wasn’t limited to training; even in slaying pirates, she had to measure up.

She was already behind—there was no way she’d fall further.

The pirates, fierce in appearance (mainly because they were ugly), proved laughably weak in actual combat. Kuina felt no pressure at all—she slit a pirate’s throat with ease, her movements as light as falling willow fluff, gracefully evading their blades.

One pirate tried to cut off her retreat, but no matter how he swung, he couldn’t even graze her—the hem of her dress remained untouched.

The pirate whose neck had just been sliced stared at her in disbelief, his voice hoarse: “Impossible! How… how could she dodge that? How does her movement change so unpredictably?”

By the time he realized what had happened, a chill ran down his neck. He clutched at his throat, warm blood spurting through his fingers, unstoppable. His strength ebbed away, the light fading from his pupils until only dull gray remained. With a thud, he collapsed to the ground, never to move again.

None of the pirates could have imagined that the seemingly harmless little girl, once she drew her sword and charged, transformed into a ferocious beast every bit as deadly as Tang Shen.

“Damn!” Tang Shen cursed when he saw Kuina joining in. Panic flashed across his face.

It hurt—each pirate minion meant ten experience points lost! That was the equivalent of ten tusked rabbits, or five fire-chickens! He’d struggled so much with those rabbits—well, it only took a single strike, but it was still a drain on stamina. Besides, for ordinary players, tusked rabbits were still nightmarish foes—ten experience points could take a new player straight to level one.

He had to kill faster. His eyes shone as if lit by bulbs, a strange grin spreading across his face as he gazed at the pirates awaiting slaughter.

The pirates who had recovered from their shock hastily raised their blades and attacked the pair. Though their efforts were still chaotic, at least they managed to mount some resistance—they were, after all, men who lived and died by the sword.

Yet to Tang Shen, their attacks were riddled with flaws—less threatening than the waves he trained against at sea. Every move was laid bare before him.

“Too slow—far too slow!” he growled.

Iron sword flashing, he executed basic sword techniques with consummate skill—each strike aimed at a weakness, every thrust driving home the attack.

Eyes, wrists, the side of the neck, throat, heart—he sought out every vulnerability as if by instinct, attacking with unerring precision.