Luo Yunxi stood there in a daze for quite a while before heading downstairs.
She carefully checked every door and window, locking them securely from the inside.
Ignoring the corpses scattered across the floor, she picked up two iron bars and gripped them tightly.
She didn’t know exactly what Feng Moxi intended to do, but she was certain of one thing.
The girl wasn’t leaving tonight.
As darkness slowly blanketed the sky, distant monster roars echoed through the night from time to time.
The eerie silence only made the world feel even more unsettling.
A shiver ran down Luo Yunxi’s spine.
She hurried upstairs and settled into the room directly across from Feng Moxi’s.
If Xiaoxi said her water ability was weak, then she’d simply train it until it wasn’t.
She would also strengthen her body.
At the very least, when the time came to run for her life, she refused to become someone else’s burden.
Feng Moxi knew nothing of Luo Yunxi’s determination.
After entering her room, she calmed her mind before eagerly sending her consciousness into the spatial artifact.
She had cultivated through an entire night, survived a brutal day of fighting, and even awakened a respectable metal-element ability.
Perhaps…
The broken sword would no longer reject her.
Her gaze settled on the massive sword suspended in midair.
Slowly, she reached out and wrapped her hand around the hilt.
“No rejection…”
Joy flashed across her face.
She tightened her grip and pulled with all her strength.
The enormous sword merely trembled twice before becoming perfectly still again.
It remained suspended in the air like an unwavering guardian, stubborn and immovable.
“So close…”
She sighed inwardly.
Then she withdrew her consciousness and sat cross-legged to continue cultivating her internal energy.
She dared not waste a single moment.
As her cultivation continued, she clearly felt the hidden force within her body growing stronger.
It was completely different from the enhanced physical strength she had possessed in her previous life.
This energy felt broader…
More enduring…
It flowed gently through her meridians like an endless river.
The sensation filled her with confidence.
According to the cultivation manual stored in her mind, anyone wishing to become a sword cultivator first had to develop internal energy and break through to the Innate Realm.
Only after advancing further into the Acquired Realm would one truly qualify as a sword cultivator.
Only then could they wield the sword…
And eventually condense true sword qi.
Which meant that reaching the Innate Realm was her highest priority.
Warm currents slowly circulated through her body.
Her limbs relaxed.
The energy flowed along her meridians, repeatedly forcing open the narrow pathways within her body.
Gradually, it merged with the flow of her blood before finally gathering in her dantian.
Fresh waves of energy continuously poured into it.
Her entire body settled into a comfortable, gentle cycle.
Again…
And again…
She lost track of time.
When Feng Moxi finally opened her eyes, another layer of sweat covered her body.
Mixed with the sweltering heat and the foul odor lingering in the room, the smell was almost unbearable.
She flexed her fingers.
After cultivating through the night, the metal-element ability she had only recently awakened had become noticeably more stable.
Her movements were lighter.
Her limbs felt far more agile.
She casually grabbed an iron rod and swung it several times.
The room was instantly thrown into chaos.
Furniture splintered.
Debris scattered across the floor.
A faint smile finally spread across her lips.
So this…
was the true power of an elemental ability.
The night passed peacefully.
Feng Moxi found a backpack in the room and packed away all the food she had brought upstairs.
While chewing on a steamed bun, she opened the door.
The first thing she saw was Luo Yunxi staring at her with eager anticipation.
“You’re still here?”
Luo Yunxi shook her head firmly and raised the iron rod in her hand.
“I want to stay with you.”
Feng Moxi said nothing.
She simply walked downstairs and out into the courtyard.
Outside the gate were three vehicles.
One was a large bus, its body covered in blood, every window shattered.
The second was a Ford Kuga.
The third was a Hummer.
Both SUVs bore dents and cracked body panels, likely stolen during the chaos.
Three monsters still wandered around the vehicles.
At their feet lay two mutilated corpses.
Judging from what remained of their appearance, they were the two girls who had escaped yesterday.
A shadow passed through Luo Yunxi’s eyes.
Of the ten girls who had originally been imprisoned…
Only the two of them remained together now.
Two had died in the mansion’s living room.
Two more lay dead outside.
The remaining four had fled yesterday.
Whether they were still alive…
No one knew.
Her heart grew unbearably heavy.
The monsters noticed the two girls and immediately staggered toward them.
Feng Moxi raised her iron rod, preparing to strike.
Before she could move, Luo Yunxi’s eyes flared with determination.
She rushed forward first, swinging her iron rod directly at a monster’s head.
Each swing carried every ounce of frustration and fear she had bottled up.
Feng Moxi nodded slightly.
Not bad.
This girl was already doing far better than her former self.
At least she had the courage to fight.
Feng Moxi quickly dealt with the other two monsters before turning her attention back to Luo Yunxi.
With her newly awakened ability, Luo Yunxi’s movements had become much more agile.
Combined with the physical training she had done throughout the night, she was actually holding her own against the beginner-stage monster.
“Avoid its claws.”
“As long as you don’t get scratched, you’ll survive.”
“Got it!”
Luo Yunxi continuously used her iron rod to knock away the monster’s grasping claws.
Finally, she spotted an opening.
She swung with all her strength.
Thud!
The rod landed squarely on the monster’s head.
Unfortunately, her strength was still limited, and the monster’s skull was incredibly hard.
The blow only left it dazed.
It didn’t kill it.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
After landing the first hit, Luo Yunxi relentlessly struck its head over and over again.
Eventually, the skull cracked apart.
The monster collapsed to the ground.
Even then, it continued twisting its body while clawing toward her.
Without hesitating, Luo Yunxi smashed both of its wrists until they stopped moving.
Then she lifted the rod high one final time.
Crash!
She crushed its head into a bloody pulp.
Tears immediately welled up in Luo Yunxi’s eyes.
The first person she looked toward was Feng Moxi.
Only after seeing Feng Moxi give a small nod did she finally burst into tears of joy.
She had taken her first real step.
She…
could kill monsters too.
While clearing the mansion earlier, Feng Moxi had found the vehicle keys.
She opened the driver’s door of the Hummer and climbed inside.
Luo Yunxi looked at her in surprise.
“You know how to drive?”
They were only sixteen or seventeen years old.
Under normal circumstances, neither of them should have known how to drive.
Then she remembered hearing one of the captors mention that Feng Moxi came from an influential family.
The thought immediately made everything seem more reasonable.
Feng Moxi tilted her head slightly.
“Are you getting in?”
“I… I’m coming!”
Overjoyed that Feng Moxi had accepted her, Luo Yunxi quickly wiped away her tears and climbed into the passenger seat.
She smiled sincerely.
“Thank you for letting me come with you.”
Feng Moxi looked straight ahead.
“The only person who can truly help you…”
“…is yourself.”
Luo Yunxi fell silent.
Feng Moxi started the engine.
Releasing the handbrake, she turned the vehicle around and drove onto the rough dirt road ahead.
The narrow road wound through the countryside.
Dilapidated houses lined both sides, many partially collapsed.
The earthquake, along with its aftershocks, had devastated this area.
Nearly every nearby village had been abandoned.
There were probably very few survivors left.
As for the other four girls who had escaped…
There was no sign of them anywhere.
No one knew where they had gone.
Watching the desolate landscape pass by, both girls felt an overwhelming heaviness settle over them.
Neither spoke another word.