Mountains Remain Green, Waters Flow On

My name was Hemon. Just hearing my name, you should have known I was badass.

Like Bi Meng, he was Bi Bi Meng, and I was Chi Chi Meng. Obviously, we were brothers.

As Bi Meng's brother, I was exceptionally skilled at defense. No one could break through my defenses unless they were far stronger than me. Impressive, right?

Hm? You said I was bragging, since I was later killed by Six Star Dou Zhe Xiao Yan's Eight Extremes Collapse.

No!

Let me tell you, if he hadn't been the protagonist, I wasn't bragging when I said he probably couldn't even have shaken one of my hairs.

That was just how awesome I was!

You asked why I was only the third-ranking figure in a mercenary group now?

Let me tell you, the boss was a Dou Shi. I simply couldn't beat him! As for Second Brother Gan Mu, he was only a Nine Star Dou Zhe. Even if I stood there and let him hit me, he couldn't move me.

As for why I didn't become the deputy commander, of course it was because "Second Brother" didn't sound very friendly, so naturally I refused.

I was quite brawny. I could eat enough food for more than ten people in one sitting, which showed just how healthy I was.

And plenty of young girls secretly admired me. Whenever those girls in town saw me, they would always quickly hide away. I knew they were just shy.

But there were still some young married women who couldn't resist my charm and threw themselves into my arms.

Especially Madam Lan. She was plump and well-rounded, exactly my type.

To make her fall even more deeply in love with me, I planned to find her a snow fox as a pet, so I brought my underlings into the Monster Mountain Range.

Not long after entering, we encountered what seemed to be an enemy of our mercenary group. He was just a kid, yet the bounty on him within the mercenary group was quite high.

For a moment, I even thought I was the protagonist. This was heaven giving me a chance to earn some extra money.

So I decided to give him a comfortable death. "Kid, come... come over and let me smash your... your head!"

I had imagined that with a shake of my mighty body, he would surely either flee in panic or kneel and beg for mercy, pleading for me to spare him.

But the outcome was far from ideal. He actually dared to resist!

I decided to use my overwhelmingly powerful strength to crush him and make him understand just how grave a mistake his choice had been.

"Die!"

Hemon stomped hard on the ground, and his enormous body shot into the air like a mountain. Then, pulled downward by his immense weight, he began to descend, bringing with him a crushing pressure that shattered the stones on the ground and caused muffled booms to echo through the air.

Xiao Bai was also bent beneath that pressure. Even the simplest movement required tremendous effort.

Seeing the massive ball of flesh hurtling toward him with its terrifying oppressive force, Xiao Bai sensed a trace of danger.

He quickly pivoted, kicked off with his heel, and borrowed the force to launch himself away.

BOOM!

A tremendous crash rang out. Dust rose everywhere, blanketing the entire area.

Hearing that enormous impact, Xiao Bai was shocked, and a lingering fear welled up in his heart.

Good thing I dodged quickly. Otherwise, even if that hadn't killed me, I would have been crippled.

As dust filled the air, a black figure emerged from the area. It appeared to be the so-called third commander.

Seeing this, Xiao Bai made no unnecessary movements. A sword of light immediately appeared in his hand.

He roared inwardly.

"Light Slash!"

The light sword in his hand flashed, and with a swing of Xiao Bai's arm, a crescent-shaped beam flew toward the black figure.

Clang~

The sound of metal striking metal rang out, and the black figure was forced back a step.

Xiao Bai's expression darkened. He knew his attack had accomplished nothing.

"Useless. What I cultivate is the Rock Cultivation Technique, the strongest defensive technique."

The black figure was extremely arrogant.

But Xiao Bai still refused to give up. He launched several more attacks, which struck the figure and produced the same series of clangs.

This was truly troublesome.

Thinking back to the original story, Xiao Yan had been able to defeat this human shield thanks to the hidden force of Eight Extremes Collapse, as well as that invincible protagonist's halo.

Unfortunately, Xiao Bai lacked one of those things. He had no means of attacking the inside through the outside, leaving him somewhat helpless.

If he could inflict damage, even just a little, Xiao Bai would have had the confidence to fight this lump of flesh to the end.

He could use hit-and-run tactics to keep him pinned down, then wear him to death.

After all, the recovery ability of a Heaven Tier technique was no joke.

Yet the situation before him differed from what Xiao Bai had expected. Now, he couldn't kill the guy no matter how much he attacked, and he was also surrounded. Though they couldn't pose any threat to him, it still felt awful.

Since he couldn't hurt him, why should he waste time here?

"Damn it, you fat bastard, you're impressive. The mountains remain green and the waters flow on. Just wait for me, brat!"

"Hehe, kid, you're surrounded by us. Do you think you can escape?" the skinny man sneered.

"I don't want to talk to idiots. Remember my name—the most handsome guy on the Dou Qi Continent, Young Master Xiao Bai!"

Xiao Bai shot the man a contemptuous glance, swept his gaze around, and muttered inwardly.

"Light Escape!"

Xiao Bai's body was immediately enveloped in light, then transformed into a streak of radiance that vanished beyond the horizon at a speed like chasing stars and the moon.

While Xiao Bai and Hemon had been fighting, the members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group had quickly surrounded them in a semicircle, since the other side was a cliff.

Yet none of them had expected Xiao Bai to possess an escape technique, and he had simply gotten away.

The skinny, monkey-like man appeared to be a squad leader with some authority.

He called over a mercenary who looked rather clever and roared in frustration, "Quick, send word to the commander. Tell him that brat Xiao Bai is in the Monster Mountain Range."

"As for what happened after we encountered him, figure out how to explain it yourself..." As he spoke, he gave the mercenary a threatening look.

The mercenary was also a clever man and immediately understood.

"Understood, Captain. I'll say we fought Xiao Bai for three hundred rounds, then Commander Hemon defeated him with a single strike. Just as we were about to capture him, he resorted to trickery and escaped while we were off guard. We're continuing to pursue him now... How does that sound?"

"Mm, not bad. It would be even better if you polished it up a little."

"Understood!"

Very soon, that mercenary vanished into the forest.

At that moment, they gave no thought to the reward. The most important thing was to save face. If others learned that their target had escaped from the encirclement of more than twenty of them, they would never be able to show their faces around here again.

They hated Xiao Bai to the bone. Only by making him pay a painful price could they ease the hatred in their hearts.

Before long, news that Xiao Bai was in the Monster Mountain Range spread out. More and more members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group began entering the Monster Mountain Range to search for his tracks.

These men were led by the young commander Mu Li, who had volunteered for the role, while Deputy Commander Gan Mu and Commander Mu She held the rear and oversaw the larger situation.

The entire mercenary group began operating like a high-speed precision machine, determined to grind anyone who provoked it into dust.

Xiao Bai, still within the Monster Mountain Range, knew nothing of this. After escaping their encirclement, he did not find a place to hide. Instead, he continued his treasure-hunting journey.