Sacrifice, Mutation

In an instant, the many members of the Fierce Tiger Gang scattered like birds and beasts. Not a single one went to rescue Liu Bao, who was badly wounded, vomiting blood, and sent flying more than ten meters away. Instead, every last one of them fled in all directions.

In only a few moments, everyone had vanished without a trace.

"You really are a tragedy."

Lu Chuan carried his war blade and walked toward Liu Bao step by step, his face cold and grim as he sneered repeatedly. "You raised such a large gang, yet now that you're in trouble, not one of them came to save you. They're all running for their lives.

That shows just how little you are loved by anyone..."

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Liu Bao spat out blood and struggled to climb to his feet. Even the arm holding his short axe was trembling slightly.

That slash from Lu Chuan had been too terrifying. The bones in his entire arm had been shaken cracked, and even gripping the short axe took effort.

"Boy, I am the Hall Master of the Fierce Tiger Gang's East Hall. If you kill me, you will become enemies with the entire Fierce Tiger Gang. In this Outer City, the Fierce Tiger Gang is the heavens. You should know very well what happens when you offend the Fierce Tiger Gang..."

Liu Bao wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and growled through gritted teeth, "Leave now, and I'll hand your Sister over to you. We'll pretend none of this ever happened. What do you say?"

"I don't think so..."

Lu Chuan sneered. "After killing you, I'll take my Sister and move my whole family into the Inner City. What can your Fierce Tiger Gang do to me?"

As he spoke, Lu Chuan advanced step by step. The war blade in his hand trembled slightly, and a crisp Blade Hum suddenly burst forth.

But to Liu Bao's ears, that Blade Hum was a death knell, making him tremble all over.

His already ugly expression became even darker.

He had never imagined that after running rampant through the Outer City for decades, he would ultimately die at the hands of an unknown junior like Lu Chuan.

He was unwilling to accept this!

"Lu Chuan, are you truly going to fight me until we Never Die..."

Liu Bao's face twisted into a savage mask. Bloodthirsty killing intent gradually surfaced in his eyes, and his entire body seemed to transform into a bloodthirsty Fierce Tiger.

"Never Die? Heh heh... are you worthy?"

Lu Chuan sneered and stepped forward, instantly crossing more than ten meters. He abruptly appeared before Liu Bao and slashed down with his blade.

"Then let's die together..."

At that moment, a sudden mutation occurred.

Liu Bao suddenly let out a furious roar. A strange, dark-red Blood Fiend Energy erupted from within his body, while streams of mist like black smoke surfaced across his face.

The next moment, Liu Bao's body began to swell at Rapid Speed, his aura erupting without end as well.

A terrifying glow of sinister blood qi flew out and actually blocked Lu Chuan's descending war blade head-on.

Then Lu Chuan felt a tyrannical blast of force erupt, forcibly sending him reeling back more than ten steps before he barely managed to steady himself.

Roar, roar...

At that moment, low growls like those of a Fierce Beast rang out.

Liu Bao's body had already expanded to over two meters tall, covered all over in black scales. His eyes were scarlet like a venomous snake's, and Sinister Baleful Qi radiated from his entire body.

Like a bloodthirsty venomous snake, he stared fixedly at Lu Chuan and let out a hoarse growl. "Damned Little Bastard, I'll tear you apart alive..."

Lu Chuan immediately frowned.

He had never expected Liu Bao to turn into such a ghostly thing in an instant.

How the hell was this still human? It was simply a fusion of man and beast. To Lu Chuan, it felt as though a venomous snake were staring him down, making his entire body uncomfortable.

"Damn it, what evil technique did this guy use to become neither human nor ghost?"

Lu Chuan secretly thought, "However, his aura has grown much stronger. His strength has probably increased severalfold."

Lu Chuan sensed a powerful threat from Liu Bao.

He held his war blade horizontally before his chest and stared at Liu Bao, his nerves stretched to the limit, not daring to relax in the slightest.

"Little brute, die..."

At that moment, Liu Bao moved. He shot across like a venomous snake, the angle of the short axe in his hand vicious and tricky as he swung it fiercely at Lu Chuan.

Crack...

The power behind this axe strike was more than twice as strong as before.

The short axe shook, immediately erupting with a deep whistling sound as it tore through the air. The gale swept out, sending sand and stones flying. It gouged furrows into the ground, jagged like interlocking dog teeth, savage and terrifying.

The edge of the short axe flashed, reaching Lu Chuan in an instant.

Lu Chuan was immediately startled. The power and speed of Liu Bao's axe strike had increased far too much compared with before.

His gaze sharpened, and his war blade swept out fiercely to meet Liu Bao's short axe.

Boom... Bang...

Blade and axe collided, erupting with an earth-shaking crash.

Lu Chuan only felt a powerful impact sweep over him. His arm went numb, and the overwhelming force pushed him staggering backward.

However, Liu Bao did not have it easy either.

Lu Chuan's slash was not so easy to receive. After a single exchange, Liu Bao was likewise blasted flying backward.

"Kill..."

But in only an instant, Liu Bao let out another low roar and charged at Lu Chuan again.

At the same time, the scales on his face, like Snake Scales, became denser and more sinister in an instant.

His eyes turned completely crimson.

With a flash, in less than a second, he had already rushed before Lu Chuan and brought his axe down once more.

The force of this axe strike was clearly another thirty percent stronger than before.

Then it collided viciously with Lu Chuan once again.

Rumble... Bang...

For a time, the two clashed madly. Within a single short minute, they exchanged no fewer than a hundred moves.

Powerful impacts collided continuously. Lu Chuan was sent flying again and again, his body cracking as though his five viscera and six bowels had shifted out of place. His entire body burned with searing pain.

However, compared with Lu Chuan, Liu Bao was no better off.

His body, two to three meters tall, was already drenched in blood. The scales on his face grew ever more savage, and his blood qi was sinister and strange.

At the same time, he was secretly growing anxious.

"Damn it, why is this kid so strong? I used a Secret Technique, sacrificing my own Essence Blood to the Python God, causing my strength to surge and Raised to the Eighth Rank Bone Quenching Realm, yet I still can't do anything to this kid. Just how did he cultivate?"

Liu Bao's heart pounded in shock.

Killing intent boiled in his heart. After clash after clash, his aura was no longer powerful and began to decline.

Every Secret Technique had a time limit. What was more, his Secret Technique was founded on sacrificing his own Essence Blood, thereby gaining power bestowed by that unknown and mysterious existence to enhance his strength.

But how much Essence Blood could a person possess?

Even though Martial Artists were stronger than ordinary people, they could not keep sacrificing for such a long time.

If this continued, then even if Lu Chuan did not kill him, he would die once his Essence Blood ran dry.

"Little Bastard, I refuse to believe you're this strong. If Eighth Rank Early Stage isn't enough, then Eighth Rank Middle Stage..."

Suddenly, Liu Bao let out a furious roar. A trace of madness flashed through his eyes, and a blood-red pill appeared in his palm. He swallowed it in one gulp.