First Display of Skill

The autumn wind sighed, stirring the grass and trees in the forest into a rustling sound as leaves fluttered down.

Han Housheng gripped the pudao tightly and slowly walked forward. His eyes were filled with resolve, leaving everyone only with the sight of his firm, solid back.

"Climb the trees!" His tone was firm and left no room for argument.

The others did not dare be careless in the slightest, much less waste even a moment of the escape time Han Housheng was risking his life to win for them.

They all shot toward several trees about five meters away, each roughly forty centimeters thick, like arrows loosed from a bowstring.

The three wild boars closest to them let out a howl when they saw this and charged again.

Han Housheng stood guard in front of everyone, holding his blade horizontally. The veins on his body bulged as he watched the three charging boars and let out a furious shout!

The imposing force displayed by that shout made the three wild boars hesitate, afraid to advance rashly.

In ancient times, martial artists often shouted during bouts.

This was not a pointless yell. It served several purposes. First, it dispelled their fear and kept them from becoming too tense. Second, it helped them concentrate, keeping their muscles taut. Third, it intimidated their enemies.

By then, the other seven people had reached the trees.

Lin Yuan knew the situation was urgent and did not dare delay. He said to Han Fei, "You climb first."

Zhao Youjia immediately cried anxiously, "What about me? I can't climb!"

"Up!" Lin Yuan did not waste words on him.

Han Fei glanced at Lin Yuan, then climbed up at once without hesitation, stopping on one of the branches.

Then Lin Yuan looked at Zhao Youjia. "Grab that branch later."

Zhao Youjia was utterly confused. That branch was several meters above the ground. How was he supposed to grab it?

Before he could figure it out, Lin Yuan seized him by the back of his collar, lifting him like a cat.

"Remember, grab it. I'm giving you only one chance. If you miss, you're feeding the boars." Lin Yuan's tone did not allow him to argue.

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Yuan abruptly heaved him upward, and Zhao Youjia's body was thrown several meters into the air.

Lin Yuan had gauged his strength perfectly. He threw Zhao Youjia about half a meter higher than the branch, putting it right at chest level.

As long as he was not completely useless, grabbing the branch would not be difficult.

Zhao Youjia reacted quickly and immediately grabbed the branch, but that was all he managed. Half his body still hung in midair.

"Han Fei, pull him up."

After saying that, Lin Yuan ran toward the others.

The siblings Xun Haotian and Xun Ruobing had already climbed up.

Although Xun Ruobing had studied medicine since childhood instead of practicing martial arts like her brother, she had grown up in a martial arts family, so her physical condition was still decent. With her brother's help, she climbed up quickly.

At that moment, the most difficult pair to get into the trees was undoubtedly Han Shusheng and Liu Shan.

Han Shusheng could climb up easily, but Liu Shan was simply too heavy and his arms too weak. He was still struggling beneath the tree.

On Han Housheng's side, three wild boars surrounded him.

Neither side made the first move.

Suddenly, a loud boar's cry rang out from the hillside. It was the Boar King.

The three wild boars seemed to receive some kind of order. Two of them suddenly charged at Han Housheng, while the other rushed toward Liu Shan.

Han Housheng knew that the time to fight for his life had come. His eyes widened like bronze bells, and his face flushed red as though he had drunk several jin of liquor. It was a sign that he was bringing all his strength to bear.

"Ha!"

He stepped forward and raised his blade with both hands. His entire body suddenly spun once, and borrowing the force of the rotation, he slashed diagonally.

The wild boar charging straight at him was extremely nimble. When it was about two meters away, it suddenly leaped to the right, dodging his powerful slash.

The other boar took advantage of the fact that his blade had yet to recover and charged toward his left side.

If Han Housheng withdrew his blade and gathered strength for another attack, he would inevitably have to take the boar's blow during the interval.

Thus, he braced his left hand against the back of the blade and smoothly swept it upward, executing Sea Bottom Moonrise.

If his opponent had been human, this move would certainly have left them dead or wounded.

But his opponent was a wild boar with thick hide and astonishing strength.

The boar attacking from the left showed no fear at all. It leaped straight at Han Housheng.

The boar seemed to have calculated that this move would not do much damage to it.

In the blink of an eye, the blade did not strike the boar's head. Instead, it deviated more than an inch to the left.

As a result, the pudao struck the right side of the boar's body, about a centimeter to the right of its spine.

The boar's bristles were slick and gleaming. Although Han Housheng's upward strike hit it, it did not land solidly. The instant the blade made contact, its edge slid away.

Han Housheng realized what had happened and cursed inwardly.

If the boar rammed into him, he would be finished here.

Thus, he threw his entire body to the right and rolled twice across the ground, narrowly dodging the boar's attack.

The battle on that side was fierce, and Liu Shan's situation was just as nerve-racking.

Since Liu Shan simply could not climb up, Han Shusheng had no choice but to think of another method.

He climbed up first, then lowered the rope tied to his javelin, allowing Liu Shan to use it to climb.

But Liu Shan was truly a good-for-nothing youth.

His hands were weak and his waist lacked strength. Even with a rope, he still could not climb up.

This was already his third attempt. During the previous two, he had climbed to about two meters before falling back down.

He gripped the rope tightly with both hands and braced both feet against the tree trunk, using nearly every ounce of strength he had to climb.

"Good grief, why does this lousy rope keep wobbling?"

Liu Shan complained incessantly as he climbed.

When the wild boars had been chasing him, he had felt as though his legs were about to give out. Now, he felt as though his arms were about to give out.

If not for his desire to survive supporting him, he would have given up long ago.

"Big brother, can't you pull me up?" Liu Shan raised his head and pleaded with Han Shusheng.

Han Shusheng looked helpless. "I can't pull you up from here."

His strength was limited. How could he possibly pull Liu Shan, who weighed more than a hundred and sixty pounds, up while perched in a tree?

Just as Liu Shan was complaining, a wild boar charged straight at him.

As it happened, this was the same boar that had chased him earlier.

Old acquaintances meeting again, their eyes were especially red.

Liu Shan recognized it immediately. The boar had a very obvious feature: one corner of its ear was missing.

"It's you again, you bastard! Why the hell do you keep chasing me?"

After cursing loudly, Liu Shan hurriedly used all his strength to climb. His life could not withstand any more fooling around.

At that moment, he was roughly one and a half meters above the ground, completely within the boar's attack range.

The boar only needed to make a slight leap to smash Liu Shan's backside.

The charging boar kept making "squeak, squeak" sounds, seemingly revealing its excitement.

Seeing the boar about to charge, cold sweat broke out across Liu Shan's palms.

The sweat in his hands suddenly made his body slide downward.

His entire body slammed heavily onto the ground.

Liu Shan's heart pounded violently, and fear instantly filled his whole body.

At that moment, everyone watching from the trees was terribly anxious for him.

"It's over! I'm really done for this time!"

At that critical moment, Lin Yuan's figure suddenly appeared in front of Liu Shan.

Liu Shan looked up at him as though he were seeing a towering mountain. Never before had he felt that a person could be so imposing.

"He's not trying to die, is he?" Xun Ruobing said worriedly from the tree.

"A Yuan, get out of the way!" Han Fei immediately shouted at Lin Yuan.

In his heart, compared with Liu Shan's life, the life of his childhood friend was ten thousand times more precious.

Everyone's hearts were in their throats.

But they did not know that Lin Yuan's heart was currently like a blazing flame, filled with excitement.

There was not the slightest trace of fear in his eyes. Instead, they were filled with an intense fighting spirit.