Steadily Upgrading Everything!
Chapter 47: Come, and eat this!

Chapter 47: Come, and eat this!

As John stood up, his saber drawn, his body leaking blood yet brimming with unnatural energy, the lizards seemed to freeze for a moment, as if taken aback by the tenacity of a man who should’ve already been dead.

Then, in the next instant, the entire swarm moved.

Hundreds of them.

Their muscular limbs slapped against the rock walls and leapt through the air, their scaled bodies gliding unnaturally fast, like black shadows racing across the surface of water.

The sound of claws scraping, hissing, and flesh-hungry snarls filled the crevice, drowning out everything else.

John’s eyes widened, but instead of fear, he laughed.

A wild, guttural, almost insane laugh.

"Come, and eat this!"

A thick beam of light, his Soul Piercing Gaze, burst forth from his forehead.

The beam carved through the swarm like a divine blade, instantly eviscerating ten of the frontmost lizards.

Their bodies exploded mid-air, guts and bone flying like debris from a shattered dam.

But John wasn’t done.

Boom! Another beam followed, then another, each one spearing through the rushing pack, blasting apart everything it touched.

The spiritual energy emitted from his technique created shockwaves, rippling through stone and blood alike.

Dozens of the beasts screamed and died, their charred remains crashing to the ground as others jumped over their corpses, unrelenting in their charge.

John gritted his teeth and fired again, tearing through another cluster of them.

But then...

Thud.

His heart skipped.

A violent sting ripped through his chest like barbed wire being pulled from the inside out.

The spiritual heat that had powered his limbs began to fade, becoming cold and jagged.

"This pill..." he gasped, staggering slightly. "It’s reaching its limit!"

He could already feel his control slipping. His dantian churned violently, like a whirlpool turning in reverse.

The energy he’d borrowed from the pill was running wild inside him.

"I can’t use any more Soul Piercing Gazes," he realized through gritted teeth.

His vision flicked ahead.

Twenty.

Twenty lizards remained, each snarling, each charging straight for him with jaws wide open.

"Get here, you fuckers!"

With that, he leapt forward into the pack like a man possessed.

His saber moved, no, danced.

Twelve Saber Slashes, each strike a seamless arc of steel infused with raw willpower, began slicing through the horde.

A roar echoed with every motion.

One slash tore through a lizard’s neck.

Another dismembered two in a single swipe.

A third buried deep into the skull of a charging beast, spraying black blood all over John’s already torn robes.

Pain flared through his body with each motion, his previous wounds splitting wider, reopened by the exertion.

His ribs cracked under pressure.

His chest, once sealed by the healing pill, began to bleed again.

Still, he fought. Still, he killed.

His saber became a blur, his breath came in ragged bursts, and his vision swam red.

Then...

"Agh!" A violent cough bent him forward.

Blood, thick, dark blood, gushed out of his mouth.

His body trembled.

He looked up, bloodshot eyes locking on the final lizard still standing.

Its forked tongue flicked in the air. Its beady black eyes narrowed in focus.

Unlike the others, this one had hesitated at the edge of the battlefield, cautious, waiting for its moment.

"Shit... the effect of the pill is over," John thought, his limbs trembling violently. "Now comes the backlash..."

Suddenly, his legs refused to move.

His muscles locked.

His bones screamed.

Crack.

He collapsed, face-first, onto the blood-soaked ground.

A fresh wave of blood poured from his mouth, soaking the stones beneath him.

His saber slipped from his hand and clattered nearby.

He couldn’t move.

His blurred vision caught sight of the final lizard as it slowly crept forward, its steps deliberate, patient, like a predator waiting for the final breath of its prey.

John turned his head weakly toward Caros, still unconscious, still unmoving, lying just a few feet away.

His trembling fingers reached for his storage bag.

The escape slip.

"I have to crush it... If I don’t... we both die..."

But before he could reach it, another violent spasm wracked his body.

Blood erupted from his throat in a jet, and his hand fell limp.

His eyes flickered.

And then, darkness took him.

About two hours later...

A twitch flickered in Caros’s fingers before his eyes slowly cracked open.

His vision was a blur of spinning shadows and grey rocks, his head pounding like a war drum.

A low groan escaped his lips as he tried to sit up.

"Urgh... What happened...?"

He instinctively reached for his thigh, and his breath caught.

The dagger was still embedded in it.

"Shit... Agh!" he hissed, grabbing the hilt and yanking it free with a sharp jerk.

Blood welled instantly from the wound. Without wasting a moment, he tore a long cloth from his robe and wrapped it tightly around the wound, gritting his teeth to keep himself steady.

And then, snap!

His memories came rushing back.

The ambush. The black string. The sword. John.

"John!"

Caros looked around in a panic.

His eyes darted across the stone crevice until they landed on a collapsed figure a few meters away.

The pool of dried blood beneath the man made Caros’s heart freeze.

He stumbled forward, nearly tripping over corpses of grotesque lizards, until he reached the motionless body.

"Hey...HEY! Wake up!"

He dropped to his knees and flipped John onto his back.

His heart raced as he checked for breath, for warmth, anything.

John’s face was pale, streaked with blood and dried sweat, but he was alive. Barely.

Caros looked around again, this time taking in his surroundings fully.

And that’s when his jaw slackened.

All around him were bodies, hundreds of dead lizards, mangled and scorched.

Black blood painted every inch of the rock walls.

Some corpses were still twitching.

Most had been obliterated entirely.

He stood still, stunned.

"This guy..." he muttered, glancing back at John. "He fought... in this condition?"

A strange flicker passed through his eyes, equal parts respect, curiosity, and a growing unease.

Caros took in a long, shaky breath. He placed his hand on John’s chest and channeled his Qi inside.

A faint pulse of life answered back.

"He’s still alive," he exhaled. "The healing pill must’ve stabilized him, but... he definitely took something powerful. Some kind of Qi-enhancing pill. Otherwise, there’s no way, no way, he could’ve wiped out this many."

He carefully reached into his storage bag and pulled out another high-grade healing pill.

With gentle care, he lifted John’s head and slipped the pill into his mouth, guiding it down with a bit of water from his flask.

Then, picking John up and slinging him over his shoulder, he placed him on a ginat stone that was flat from above.

Four Days Later...

The putrid scent of decaying flesh hit John’s nose the moment he awoke.

His eyelids fluttered open, and a murky view of crimson walls and fly-covered corpses greeted him.

"Agh..." He tried to retch, but his throat was so dry that nothing came out.

A sharp headache pulsed through his skull as he sat up, swaying in place.

He glanced around.

No sign of Caros.

The dried blood under him cracked like old leather as he moved. "Did he abandon me? What happened to that last lizard?" His voice was hoarse, barely a whisper.

He tried to stand, but his legs crumpled beneath him, and he dropped with a grunt.

"My body... I have no energy left," he groaned, breathing heavily.

Suddenly...

"Don’t move too much."

John turned his head.

Caros appeared beside him, holding a wooden bowl filled with steaming soup and a metal jug of water.

His robes were stained with smoke and blood, but his face had that same crooked grin.

"You’re finally awake," Caros said, crouching beside him. "Here. Eat this—you’ll need something warm before you collapse again."

John barely nodded.

He reached for the jug and drank like a starved animal, chugging until he coughed.

Then, taking the bowl, he began eating.

The meat soup was surprisingly good, herbs and spice balanced the gamey flavor.

After a few minutes of silence and Qi circulation, John’s mind cleared enough to form thoughts again.

He stood slowly, muscles trembling.

"What happened to that last lizard?" he asked, his tone cautious.

"What last lizard?" Caros raised an eyebrow. "When I woke up, the place looked like a warzone. Only corpses everywhere. No movement."

John frowned.

He remembered clearly, there was one lizard left, watching him as he passed out. He explained what he saw.

Caros turned silent, then shrugged. "Maybe it saw my charming face and decided to let us live."

John rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Or maybe it just didn’t want to catch bloodthirsty madness."

"Either way," Caros grinned, "I’m glad it did. You owe your handsome friend here some thanks. I cleaned up the place while you were having your four-day beauty sleep."

"Four days?!" John choked. "You mean I was out for that long?"

"Yup. Don’t worry, I did some hunting while you snored like an old grandpa. Got a few beast cores too. Split them fifty-fifty."

John’s heart pounded. He reached for his System Panel.

---

[System Panel]

Name: John Coral

Age: 25

Cultivation: Spirit Seed Realm (1345 / 3200)

Upgrade Slot: Empty

Skills:

• Meditation (Level 6 – Max)

• Breathing (Level 5 – Max)

• Spatial Awareness (Level 5)

• Slow Toad Breathing Skill (Level 10 – Max)

• Double Face Lizard Technique (Level 7 – Max)

• Basic Flame Control (Level 3)

• Alchemy (Level 5)

• Twelve Circle Slashes (Level 4)

• Soul Piercing Gaze (Level 4)

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