Chapter Thirty-Seven: The One-Horned Kun

The night was deep.

Within the Li residence, the lamp in Li Pingyang’s room burned bright. After an entire night of effort, his work was finally complete. Gazing upon his achievement, Li Pingyang gave a satisfied smile.

He rubbed his eyes and yawned. Glancing outside, he realized the sky was already dark. Unconsciously, he had labored from day into night, marveling at how swiftly time had passed.

Lazily slumped over his desk, Li Pingyang felt no sleepiness, only fatigue. With closed eyes, he pondered.

Just then, the ring on his finger flashed.

Was it reminding him to practice his cultivation?

He closed his eyes again, cleared his mind of distractions, and his breathing slowed, eventually guiding him once more into the secret realm.

Previously, when he entered the void, he had opened his eyes to see the suspended secret realm. This time, however, a massive bronze door appeared before him.

He approached the bronze door and pushed it, but it didn’t budge. The ring on his finger gleamed again, emitting a faint green light that flickered continuously.

Black mist seeped through the cracks of the door, drifting into the ring. Li Pingyang had no idea what it was, but felt no discomfort.

Unbeknownst to him, after the mist was absorbed, the broken blade within his dantian awakened, and the nine chains binding it trembled violently.

He tried pushing the door again—and it actually opened!

Halfway through, the bronze door swung apart on its own, allowing Li Pingyang to step into the secret realm. The surroundings remained unchanged, mountains and rivers as before.

He walked to the edge of the cliff and leapt atop the giant boulder where he had previously practiced swordplay. With a grasping motion, he summoned his short sword from the void. Above the distant waterfall, the white figure appeared once more.

He was about to follow the sword practice, but unexpectedly slipped, his body plummeting downward. He had no idea what lay below, but a fall from here would surely shatter him to pieces.

The book on the domineering sword technique had only taught him swordsmanship and formidable sword arts, but nothing about flight or lightness skills.

Just as he thought all was lost, suddenly something soft caught him, halting his descent.

Amid swirling clouds, he wondered how he had been saved.

He felt around blindly, sensing warmth and movement beneath him, as if he sat atop a living creature. As he puzzled over what it was, a cry rang out.

It came from beneath him—a sound both birdlike and reminiscent of a dolphin, strange and utterly unfamiliar.

Suddenly, the creature raised its head sharply. Li Pingyang saw a pointed single horn, then a round, plump head, followed by its entire body.

When the creature fully revealed itself, Li Pingyang was left speechless with shock—it was a legendary beast, a Kun!

And not just any Kun—a unicorn Kun.

Its entire body was blue, and Li Pingyang sat right on its back. The Kun’s back resembled a vast sea of stars; specks of light shimmered like a dream.

Seeing the Kun gazing up at him, Li Pingyang smiled and said, “Um… thank you for saving me.”

The Kun seemed to understand, chirping happily, then carried Li Pingyang on a proud flight through the boundless secret realm, soaring over many places he had never seen.

He discovered that behind the nine waterfalls lay an even larger world.

Suspended in midair, nine colossal floating stones lined up in the clouds, and at the end of these stones stood an enormous chessboard.

Flying above the chessboard, Li Pingyang gazed at the boundary below, deeply awed.

The chess paths resembled rivers. In his mind, he imagined giant chess pieces moving across the board, conjuring the thrilling image of armies clashing.

With each piece’s advance, vivid battle scenes unfolded. He wondered at the caliber of the masters who could play such a game.

The unicorn Kun soared past the chessboard, carrying Li Pingyang through the secret realm. As his awe from before hadn’t faded, he was stunned once more by the next sight.

Ahead, between two cliffs, stood two even more gigantic statues, poised as if locked in combat, each gripping a weapon.

The statue on the left held a long sword, its blade remarkably thin, with five flying dragons engraved upon it. The statue on the right wielded a massive saber, its design peculiar, featuring an eye-like motif on the blade.

Li Pingyang patted the unicorn Kun, asking it to fly lower so he could examine the strange eye pattern on the saber.

The Kun, having dwelled here for centuries, was delighted by Li Pingyang’s arrival. When patted, it flicked its tail in greeting, chirped, and began descending.

As the Kun neared the eye motif, Li Pingyang realized it wasn’t an eye at all, but a cave!

The cave’s outer layer was blood-red sand, inside was white rock, and the pitch-black cave, viewed from afar, truly resembled a monster’s eye.

This cave led straight into the saber-wielding statue. Whether formed naturally or built later, he could not tell. As he got closer, Li Pingyang suddenly felt unwell.

A stabbing pain seized him, forcing him to his knees on the Kun’s back as he clutched his head in agony. Red light flared from his dantian, and the broken blade inside shuddered violently.

He sensed the true qi within him, surging uncontrollably, on the verge of bursting forth.

He stood, eyes reddening, and his body leaped uncontrollably toward the cave.

He dashed through the darkness, drawn ever nearer to whatever called to his heart.

He did not know what awaited him at the end of the darkness—a person, or some mysterious substance?

He drew ever closer.

Only ten steps more…

Six steps…

Three steps…

Stepping out of darkness, he was greeted by a bright, frozen world. In this vast, icy chamber, the walls were studded with countless honeycomb-like crystals.

Each crystal contained a high-level demon beast, and in front of each beast floated a corresponding card.

Li Pingyang hadn’t expected it—without any effort, he had suddenly collected so many cards. Happiness arrived so suddenly!

He gathered all the cards, and his level jumped from LV2 straight to LV7.

“System, display my attribute panel,” Li Pingyang commanded.

A virtual panel appeared before him.

Name: Li Pingyang.
Profession: Demon Slayer.
Level: LV7.
Demon Beast Cards Owned: 23.
Authority: Level 5 [5/100]

Previously, he had slain the Purple-Eyed Giant Serpent, then the White Snake Demon, and on the road to Cangzhou, happened upon and killed the Red-Tailed Snake—three demon beast cards.

Just now, without lifting a finger, he gained another twenty cards. Each card could be exchanged for three system coins in the shop for various items.

His authority had now risen to level 5—just one more level and he could unlock weapon privileges, allowing him to exchange for equipment in the weapon shop.

He glanced at the very bottom of the shop, where a hand grenade required 100 system coins to exchange. Li Pingyang laughed heartily, thinking, “When on earth will I ever get my hands on that?”