Waylaid by Robbers, He Strikes Back to Establish His Might!

They had died in all manner of ways, and the air was thick with the stench of blood.

Xiao Han stood among the carcasses, frowning slightly.

In the battle just now, he had barely drawn on his spiritual power, relying mainly on the fist intent of Annihilation Divine Fist itself and the strength of his flesh.

The Creation-Heaven-Penetrating Art and the Chaos Green Lotus together make my spiritual energy recovery absurdly fast...

Feeling the spiritual power in his dantian, which had remained nearly full all along, Xiao Han couldn't help muttering to himself.

The Chaos Green Lotus possessed powerful vitality and restorative effects of its own.

The Creation-Heaven-Penetrating Art was a ninth-grade cultivation art, and when circulated, its efficiency at absorbing spiritual energy was far beyond that of ordinary cultivation arts.

With the two combined, and with the vitality of his flesh and blood far surpassing others at the same realm, his endurance was outrageously strong.

How is this any different from a perpetual motion machine...?

The thought popped into Xiao Han's mind.

He bent down and deftly dug the mutated beast cores out of the Wind Wolf carcasses.

Most of these Wind Wolves were F-rank, with only the few stronger ones at the head of the pack reaching D-rank.

Their grades weren't high, but there were plenty of them.

Before long, he had a small bag of glittering cores in his hand, each giving off a faint trace of energy.

He could exchange these for a fair number of points and Federation coins at the Martial Artist Association.

"Warm-up's done. Time to head farther in and take a look."

Xiao Han hefted the bag of cores and gazed deeper into the wilderness.

Just in the outer area, he had gained a basic familiarity with the two divine techniques he had just acquired and, along the way, tested his monstrous ability to fight for extended periods.

After straightening his clothes a little, Xiao Han fixed on a direction.

He used A Step to the Ends of the Earth, which he had grown increasingly adept at, and after a few flashing leaps, he quickly vanished into the depths of the dense forest, leaving only a scene of carnage behind.

Xiao Han moved swiftly through the dense forest, his footwork more nimble and unpredictable than before.

Although he had only just begun learning the footwork technique A Step to the Ends of the Earth,

with the Eternal Night King Martial Soul quietly aiding him, he used it quite smoothly and naturally.

Actual combat was indeed the best whetstone, and his footwork was becoming better integrated with his surroundings at a rapid pace.

Mutated beasts on the level of Wind Wolves truly no longer posed much of a challenge to him.

Xiao Han pondered this.

He needed to find a tougher opponent to trade blows with.

It would be the perfect chance to see just how powerful Annihilation Divine Fist was.

As the thoughts turned in his mind, Xiao Han didn't slow his steps, continuing through the forest.

He steadily approached the edge of Area 1.

The farther in he went, the thicker and taller the surrounding trees became. Dense branches and leaves blocked out the daylight, and the surroundings grew considerably darker.

The smell of blood in the air seemed stronger, and he could faintly hear mutated beasts roaring and fighting in the distance.

This place seemed to be a mixture of dragons and snakes, and was by no means safe.

"Hmm?"

Xiao Han abruptly stopped in his tracks.

A series of heavy footsteps sounded, drawing closer and closer, mixed with labored breathing.

He reacted swiftly, immediately bending low and quietly making his way over under the cover of a giant tree.

Peering through a gap in the foliage, he carefully looked toward the source of the sounds.

A boar-type mutated beast of astonishing size appeared in his field of vision.

Its head was lowered, its snout sniffing and digging forcefully at the ground as though searching for something.

Its entire body was covered in tough, hornlike hide, and the two long, thick, pointed tusks beside its mouth were particularly conspicuous. One look was enough to tell that neither its defense nor its attack could be underestimated.

The energy fluctuations it emitted were unmistakably at the Martial Artist Realm Second Level!

Tusked Boar, D-rank mutated beast. Astonishing defense, powerful charge, and armor-piercing tusks... Good, you'll do.

Xiao Han made up his mind.

This Tusked Boar was just right for testing how well Annihilation Divine Fist could break through defenses.

Just as he was considering when to strike, he suddenly noticed some movement in the shadows of the trees behind and to his side.

He immediately grew alert.

Immediately afterward, three figures swept around from the depths of the forest, quickly encircling him.

Xiao Han stopped all movement at once and turned his gaze toward the three figures.

All three were dressed neatly in close-fitting clothes suited for combat.

The stench of blood clung heavily to them.

One look was enough to tell they were seasoned fighters who had risked their lives in the wilderness for years.

Their leader was a bald, heavily built man.

The scar on his face was especially conspicuous, slashing savagely from the corner of his eye to the corner of his mouth.

By Xiao Han's estimate, the man's cultivation was at the Martial Artist Realm Third Level.

As for the other two,

one was tall and thin, with a pair of sinister triangular eyes.

The other was much shorter and stockier, and wore a stern expression at all times.

Both were at the Martial Artist Realm Second Level.

One look showed that these three were no good, and they had spread out in a fan to surround him as soon as they appeared. Their purpose was obvious.

Xiao Han's heart tightened. His previous fights with people had all been sparring matches, but this one was clearly a matter of life and death.

The scar-faced man grinned, revealing a mouthful of broad yellow teeth, and swept his gaze over Xiao Han, lingering for a moment on the bulging bag at his waist.

Then he said greedily, "Kid, you've got some nerve, wandering into a place like this alone. Tsk, tsk, your luck's pretty good, though. Look at that, quite a haul."

The tall, thin man with triangular eyes chuckled.

"Boss, why waste words on a little brat like this? Look at his soft, tender skin. He's probably some young master from a rich family who ran out to experience life, or a greenhorn who just passed his martial artist certification and doesn't know how high the heavens are or how deep the earth is."

The short, stocky martial artist remained silent, merely drawing the short-handled axe from his back and fixing his attention firmly on Xiao Han.

Scarface took a step forward, releasing his imposing aura without reservation.

"Kid, be smart and hand over every last core, coin, and valuable you've got, quick! If I'm in a good mood, I might show you some mercy and consider sparing your miserable life!"

Xiao Han's expression remained calm. He looked at them steadily and slowly asked, "The three of you are serious? You're robbing me?"

"Huh? Death's staring you in the face, and you still dare talk tough?"

Impatience instantly appeared on the tall, thin man's face as he said, "Boss, don't waste time on him! He's a rookie who just got certified. So what if we kill him? Who'll know we did it? Get him!"

Before he finished speaking, the tall man's figure flashed forward, the short blade in his hand striking like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, straight for Xiao Han's throat!

At the same time, the scar-faced man let out a low roar. His broad, thick-backed cleaver whistled through the air as it came crashing down on Xiao Han's head like Mount Tai, its force startlingly heavy and fierce!

The short, stocky martial artist quietly circled around from the side, his short axe precisely cutting off Xiao Han's escape to the left!

The three worked together seamlessly. Who knew how many martial artists had met bitter deaths under such seamless teamwork?

Faced with this sudden assault from all sides, Xiao Han felt a little excited.

He had been worrying about finding a suitable opponent to practice his fist techniques on, and now someone had brought him a pillow just as he was getting sleepy?

They had come at just the right time!

He couldn't even be bothered to summon the Chaos Green Lotus for defense. He didn't take attacks of this level seriously.

"Hmph."

The instant the blades and axe were about to touch him, Xiao Han's figure suddenly turned indistinct, then melted into the air.

At that very moment, he instantly activated the Eternal Night King Martial Soul!

The next moment, before the three robbers' astonished eyes, Xiao Han's figure actually vanished into thin air right where he stood!