Even a Hundred-Year Soul Beast Wasn't Enough

"Now that's a more normal answer."

Li Zhexian stood beneath the tree, looking at the two red points of light behind the canopy.

The system quickly made an assessment.

The target was a hundred-year Ironback Ape, and its attack power was on the high side. The precise value had yet to be calculated.

"Can you say anything besides 'I don't know'?"

The Ironback Ape jumped down from the tree.

When it landed, the impact sent dirt flying to the sides and shook a shower of leaves from the tree.

It stood two heads taller than Li Zhexian, with stiff, gray-black fur covering its back. Its arms were thick, nearly as wide as his waist.

Li Zhexian returned the Azure Lotus Sword to its sheath.

"Brother Ape, could you hit me with all your strength?"

The Ironback Ape let out a low growl, then swung its fist at him.

Li Zhexian made no attempt to dodge.

His body slammed into the tree trunk, and bits of bark fell onto his head.

His shield had already lost 2,360 points.

A ball of blue light landed beside the tree's roots.

Li Zhexian walked over and picked up the ball of blue light. Inside was a bottle of physique enhancement liquid.

"Soul Beast attacks can drop rewards too?"

"The source of the attack does not affect the reward pool's assessment."

"Why didn't you say that earlier?"

The Ironback Ape had already raised its fist again.

Li Zhexian stayed where he was. Only after the fist landed on his shoulder did he raise a hand and gesture.

"You need to sink your waist a little lower and put strength into your legs too."

"If you only use your arm, you can't put much power behind the blow."

The Ironback Ape lowered its head and looked at him.

Then it swept its fist sideways.

Li Zhexian was knocked into the grass. He rolled twice across the dirt before coming to a stop.

He coughed a few times, climbed to his feet, and brushed the dirt out of his mouth.

"That punch wasn't bad."

The Ironback Ape began throwing punches in rapid succession.

Every time Li Zhexian was hit, he gave it a comment.

"The power in the third punch was too scattered."

"The fourth punch was even worse than the one before it."

"You're plenty strong, but your accuracy is rather poor."

The Ironback Ape grew angrier and angrier.

It slammed a fist into the ground.

The dirt churned up and buried Li Zhexian to his waist.

He pulled his legs out of the dirt and picked up the ball of light beside his foot while he was at it.

The system issued a notification.

The reward pool's quality had declined, and only an ordinary fruit remained inside the ball of light.

"We've been fighting for so long. Why did the rewards get downgraded?"

"When the same attacker attacks continuously, the reward pool's quality will gradually decline."

"Now I know that rule."

Li Zhexian looked at the ordinary fruit in his hand, a trace of distaste on his face.

The Ironback Ape began pounding its chest.

Its roar made the slender trees nearby lean to the side.

The system issued another notification at that moment.

The target was using an innate Soul Skill. Its attack was stronger than its previous ordinary attacks.

Li Zhexian brushed the dirt off his clothes.

"You're finally willing to show some real skill."

The Ironback Ape slammed its fist downward.

It punched a pit into the ground.

Li Zhexian's body sank into the earth, leaving only half of him exposed.

He immediately drank the physique enhancement liquid.

The medicine was still taking effect inside him, and his chest hurt badly, but none of his bones had broken.

Li Zhexian braced his hands against the ground and climbed out of the pit.

Then he spat the dirt out of his mouth.

"This medicine really works."

The Ironback Ape closed in on him and threw another punch.

Li Zhexian used the wind from the punch to flip aside, then reached out and grabbed its wrist.

"Let's stop for now."

The Ironback Ape raised its other fist.

It smashed a nearby tree clean in two.

Li Zhexian let go and rolled aside, then drew the Azure Lotus Sword.

The broken trunk fell, lying crosswise between them.

"If we keep fighting, the rewards won't even be enough to fill the gaps between my teeth."

The Ironback Ape pounded its chest and charged at him.

Li Zhexian untied the small gourd at his waist and opened its mouth.

The fragrance of wine drifted through the woods.

A green wine mist settled against the blade of the Azure Lotus Sword.

Half of the Drunken Immortal Wine Pot's illusory image appeared above his head, then quickly faded and vanished.

"There isn't much wine, so I need to use it sparingly."

The lotus patterns on the blade began to light up one by one.

Li Zhexian shifted to the side and thrust his sword at the Ironback Ape's arm.

The blade grazed its palm.

The wine mist split into three sword shadows, forcing the Ironback Ape to retreat several steps in succession.

Li Zhexian did not pursue it.

He simply held the tip of his sword in front of the Ironback Ape's chest.

"Do you still want to fight?"

"With my next sword strike, I won't just graze your hand."

The Ironback Ape growled and swung its fist.

The fist flew toward Li Zhexian's head.

Li Zhexian tilted his head to the side, dodged the punch, and struck its wrist with the back of his sword.

The Ironback Ape's fist struck a tree trunk.

Leaves fell from above.

It first looked down at its hand, then raised its head and looked at Li Zhexian.

"Do you still want to keep fighting?"

The Ironback Ape did not answer.

It turned and charged into the woods, crashing through several bushes along the way.

Li Zhexian returned the Azure Lotus Sword to its sheath and walked over to the last ball of white light.

There was no pill inside the white light.

There was only a black fragment with a broken edge.

As soon as he picked up the fragment, he felt warmth in his palm.

"System, identify it."

"Unable to identify."

"You can't even identify this black fragment?"

"Unable to confirm its exact name or purpose. It is suspected to be a fragment of an ancient divine artifact."

Li Zhexian turned the fragment over in his hand.

A very fine line ran across its surface.

The line resembled both a sword mark and a crack in a tree root.

As he was about to put the fragment into his cloth bag, a low growl came from deep in the woods.

The fallen leaves on the ground trembled.

It was not the Ironback Ape's voice from earlier.

"What else is up ahead?"

The system paused for a while before answering.

Another high-energy signature was approaching. The target could not yet be confirmed.

The low growl came from deep in the woods again.

It was closer than before.

Li Zhexian tightened his grip on the black fragment, then raised his head and looked into the depths of the woods.

This fragment was probably the reason that thing had appeared.

He held the Azure Lotus Sword crosswise in front of him and walked toward the source of the growl.